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.
Fight those who fight me, O LORD; *
attack those who
are attacking me.
Take up shield and armor *
and rise up to help me.
Draw the sword and bar the way against those who pursue
me; *
say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled;
*
let those who plot my ruin fall back and be dismayed.
Let them be like chaff before the wind, *
and let the
angel of the LORD drive them away.
Let their way be dark and slippery, *
and let the
angel of the LORD pursue them.
For they have secretly spread a net for me without a
cause; *
without a cause they have dug a pit to take me alive.
Let ruin come upon them unawares; *
let them be
caught in the net they hid;
let them fall into the pit they dug.
Then I will be joyful in the LORD; *
I will glory in
his victory.
My very bones will say, “LORD, who is like you?
*
You deliver the poor from those who are too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
Malicious witnesses rise up against me; *
they charge
me with matters I know nothing about.
They pay me evil in exchange for good; *
my soul is
full of despair.
But when they were sick I dressed in sack-cloth *
and
humbled myself by fasting.
I prayed with my whole heart,
as one would for a
friend or a brother; *
I behaved like one who mourns for his
mother,
bowed down and grieving.
But when I stumbled, they were glad and gathered
together;
they gathered against me; *
strangers whom I did not
know tore me to pieces and would not stop.
They put me to the test and mocked me; *
they gnashed
at me with their teeth.
O Lord, how long will you look on? *
rescue me from
the roaring beasts,
and my life from the young lions.
I will give you thanks in the great congregation; *
I
will praise you in the mighty throng.
Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, *
nor
let those who hate me without a cause wink at each other.
For they do not plan for peace, *
but invent
deceitful schemes against the quiet in the land.
They opened their mouths at me and said, *
“Aha!
we saw it with our own eyes.”
You saw it, O LORD; do not be silent; *
O Lord, be
not far from me.
Awake, arise, to my cause! *
to my defense, my God
and my Lord!
Give me justice, O LORD my God,
according to your
righteousness; *
do not let them triumph over me.
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! just
what we want!” *
Do not let them say, “We have
swallowed him up.”
Let all who rejoice at my ruin be ashamed and disgraced;
*
let those who boast against me be clothed with dismay and shame.
Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be
glad; *
let them say always, “Great is the LORD,
who
desires the prosperity of his servant.”
And my tongue shall be talking of your righteousness
*
and of your praise all the day long.
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.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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 Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for 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, you manifest in your servants the signs of your presence: Send forth upon us the spirit of love, that in companionship with one another your abounding grace may increase among us; 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.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13