Wednesday –
Year 2 Advent 1
Evening Prayer
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
O gracious
light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O
Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of
the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your
praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at
all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of
Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
1 Help,
O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the
faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2 They utter lies to
each other;
with flattering lips and a double
heart they speak.
3 May the
Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue
that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, ‘With our tongues
we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who
is our master?’
5 ‘Because
the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I
will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
‘I
will place them in the safety for which they long.’
6 The
promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver
refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified
seven times.
7 You,
O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us
from this generation for ever.
Psalm 13
1 How long,
O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How
long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear
pain* in my soul,
and
have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be
exalted over me?
3 Consider
and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to
my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will
say, ‘I have prevailed’;
my foes
will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I
trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall
rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because
he has dealt bountifully with me.
1 Fools say
in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
They
are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is
no one who does good.
2 The Lord
looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if
there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
3 They have
all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
there
is no one who does good,
no, not one.
4 Have they
no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my
people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon
the Lord?
5 There they
shall be in great terror,
for God is with the
company of the righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the
poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 O that
deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When
the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob
will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died,* all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless.
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,* not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.*
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 15
My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior;*
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From
this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has
done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on
those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the
strength of his arm,*
he has scattered the proud in their
conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,*
and
has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good
things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to
the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise
of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,*
to Abraham and
his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be
for ever. Amen.
I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was
buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose
again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right
hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the
dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection
of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom
come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive
those
who sin against us.
Save
us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for
ever. Amen.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: The First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Protection
Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For Mission
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory
to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can
ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the
Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians
3:20,21