I will bless the Lord, who giveth me counsel; my heart teacheth me, night after night. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.
Psalm 16:7, 8
Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we
have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have
followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts,
we
have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those
things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things
which we ought not to have done.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon
us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou
those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto
mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, O most merciful
Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly,
righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.
All stand
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 Gospel According to John.
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
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.
V. O
Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
R. And
grant us thy salvation.
V. Endue
thy ministers with righteousness;
R. And
make thy chosen people joyful.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in thee can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under thy care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
thy way be known upon earth;
R. Thy
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 thy Holy Spirit.
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 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, 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.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14