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.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *
and are
so far from my cry
and from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
*
by night as well, but I find no rest.
Yet you are the Holy One, *
enthroned upon the
praises of Israel.
Our forefathers put their trust in you; *
they
trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and were delivered; *
they
trusted in you and were not put to shame.
But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *
scorned by
all and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn; *
they curl their
lips and wag their heads, saying,
“He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him;
*
let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”
Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *
and
kept me safe upon my mother’s breast.
I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;
*
you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *
and there
is none to help.
Many young bulls encircle me; *
strong bulls of
Bashan surround me.
They open wide their jaws at me, *
like a ravening
and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of
joint; *
my heart within my breast is melting wax.
My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd;
my tongue
sticks to the roof of my mouth; *
and you have laid me in the dust
of the grave.
Packs of dogs close me in,
and gangs of evildoers
circle around me; *
they pierce my hands and my feet;
I can
count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me; *
they divide my
garments among them;
they cast lots for my clothing.
Be not far away, O LORD; *
you are my strength;
hasten to help me.
Save me from the sword, *
my life from the power of
the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth, *
my wretched
body from the horns of wild bulls.
I will declare your Name to my brethren; *
in the
midst of the congregation I will praise you.
Praise the LORD, you that fear him; *
stand in awe of
him, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob’s line, give
glory.
For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their
poverty;
neither does he hide his face from them; *
but when
they cry to him he hears them.
My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will
perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who
seek the LORD shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for
ever!”
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the
LORD, *
and all the families of the nations bow before him.
For kingship belongs to the LORD; *
he rules over the
nations.
To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in
worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall
serve him; *
they shall be known as the LORD’S for ever.
They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn
*
the saving deeds that he has done.
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 Romans.
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. 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.
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