It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake. For the same God who said, “Out of darkness let light shine,” has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation—the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Officiant O
God, make speed to save us.
People 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.
There is a voice of rebellion deep in the heart of the
wicked; *
there is no fear of God before his eyes.
He flatters himself in his own eyes *
that his
hateful sin will not be found out.
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; *
he
has left off acting wisely and doing good.
He thinks up wickedness upon his bed
and has set
himself in no good way; *
he does not abhor that which is evil.
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, *
and your
faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your
justice like the great deep; *
you save both man and beast, O
LORD.
How priceless is your love, O God! *
your people take
refuge under the shadow of your wings.
They feast upon the abundance of your house; *
you
give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the well of life, *
and in your light
we see light.
Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you,
*
and your favor to those who are true of heart.
Let not the foot of the proud come near me, *
nor the
hand of the wicked push me aside.
See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness!
*
they are cast down and shall not be able to rise.
I said, “I will keep watch upon my ways, *
so
that I do not offend with my tongue.
I will put a muzzle on my mouth *
while the wicked
are in my presence.”
So I held my tongue and said nothing; *
I refrained
from rash words;
but my pain became unbearable.
My heart was hot within me;
while I pondered, the
fire burst into flame; *
I spoke out with my tongue:
LORD, let me know my end and the number of my days, *
so
that I may know how short my life is.
You have given me a mere handful of days,
and my
lifetime is as nothing in your sight; *
truly, even those who
stand erect are but a puff of wind.
We walk about like a shadow,
and in vain we are in
turmoil; *
we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them.
And now, what is my hope? *
O Lord, my hope is in
you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions *
and do not
make me the taunt of the fool.
I fell silent and did not open my mouth, *
for surely
it was you that did it.
Take your affliction from me; *
I am worn down by the
blows of your hand.
With rebukes for sin you punish us;
like a moth you
eat away all that is dear to us; *
truly, everyone is but a puff
of wind.
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
*
hold not your peace at my tears.
For I am but a sojourner with you, *
a wayfarer, as
all my forebears were.
Turn your gaze from me, that I may be glad again,
*
before I go my way and am no more.
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.
A Reading from the Letter to the Philippians.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh—
even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will
be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our
daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive
those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
That this evening may be
holy, good, and peaceful.
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may
lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned
and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to
your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this
life in your faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great
judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound
together by your Holy Spirit in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you,
O Lord.
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
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.
Prayers and Intercessions
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
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