Thine is the day, O God, thine also the night; thou hast established the moon and the sun. Thou hast fixed all the boundaries of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter.
Psalm 74:15, 16
Officiant O
God, make speed to save us.
People O
Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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 thy praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
Thou art 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.
Truly God is loving unto Israel *
even unto such
as are of a clean heart.
Nevertheless, my feet were almost gone *
my
treadings had well-nigh slipt.
And why? I was grieved at the wicked *
I do also
see the ungodly in such prosperity.
For they are in no peril of death *
but are
lusty and strong.
They come in no misfortune like other folk *
neither
are they plagued like other men.
And this is the cause that they are so holden with
pride *
and overwhelmed with cruelty.
Their eyes swell with fatness *
and they do even
what they lust.
They corrupt other, and speak of wicked
blasphemy *
their talking is against the most High.
For they stretch forth their mouth unto the heaven *
and
their tongue goeth through the world.
Therefore fall the people unto them *
and
thereout suck they no small advantage.
Tush, say they, how should God perceive it *
is
there knowledge in the most High?
Lo, these are the ungodly, these prosper in the world,
and these have riches in possession *
and I said, Then have I
cleansed my heart in vain, and washed mine hands in innocency.
All the day long have I been punished *
and
chastened every morning.
Yea, and I had almost said even as they *
but
lo, then I should have condemned the generation of thy children.
Then thought I to understand this *
but it was
too hard for me,
Until I went into the sanctuary of God *
then
understood I the end of these men;
Namely, how thou dost set them in slippery places *
and
castest them down, and destroyest them.
O how suddenly do they consume *
perish, and
come to a fearful end!
Yea, even like as a dream when one awaketh *
so
shalt thou make their image to vanish out of the city.
Thus my heart was grieved *
and it went even
through my reins.
So foolish was I, and ignorant *
even as it were
a beast before thee.
Nevertheless, I am alway by thee *
for thou hast
holden me by my right hand.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel *
and after
that receive me with glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee *
and there is
none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth *
but God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
For lo, they that forsake thee shall perish *
thou
hast destroyed all them that commit fornication against thee.
But it is good for me to hold me fast by God, to put my
trust in the Lord God *
and to speak of all thy works in the
gates of the daughter of Sion.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians.
Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
My soul doth magnify the Lord, *
and my spirit hath
rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded *
the lowliness of his
handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth *
all generations shall
call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *
and holy
is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him *
throughout
all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm; *
he hath
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *
and
hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, *
and the
rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel,
*
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for
ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his
only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born
of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The
third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into
heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father
almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the
dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
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
with thy spirit.
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 thee, O Lord.
That thy holy angels may
lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat thee, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned
and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat thee, O Lord.
That there may be peace to
thy Church and to the whole world,
We entreat thee, O Lord.
That we may depart this
life in thy faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great
judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat thee, O Lord.
That we may be bound
together by thy Holy Spirit in the communion of all thy saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat
thee, O Lord.
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from thy ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst take away the sting of death: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake up after thy likeness; for thy tender mercies’ sake. Amen.
O God, who dost manifest in thy servants the signs of thy presence: Send forth upon us the Spirit of love, that in companionship with one another thine 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, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee; and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world 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