If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.
Psalm 139:10,11
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.
LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you
know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts
from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are
acquainted with all my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O
LORD, know it altogether.
You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your
hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so
high that I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go then from your Spirit? *
where can I
flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *
if I make
the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning *
and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand will lead me *
and your right
hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
*
and the light around me turn to night,”
Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright
as the day; *
darkness and light to you are both alike.
For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit
me together in my mother’s womb.
I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your
works are wonderful, and I know it well.
My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being
made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the
womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were
fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.
How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is
the sum of them!
If I were to count them, they would be more in number
than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be
like yours.
Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God! *
You that
thirst for blood, depart from me.
They speak despitefully against you; *
your enemies
take your Name in vain.
Do I not hate those, O LORD, who hate you? *
and do I
not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with a perfect hatred; *
they have become
my own enemies.
Search me out, O God, and know my heart; *
try me and
know my restless thoughts.
Look well whether there be any wickedness in me *
and
lead me in the way that is everlasting.
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 Book of Proverbs.
The beginning of wisdom
is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever else you get,
get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she
will honour you if you embrace her.
She will place on your
head a fair garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.’
Hear, my child, and
accept my words,
that the years of your life may
be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I
have led you in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk, your
step will not be hampered;
and if you run, you
will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction; do not
let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not
walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn
away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have
done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they
have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of
wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which
shines brighter and brighter until full day.
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.
A Reading from the Gospel According to John.
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in
peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom
you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of
your people Israel.
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.
Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. 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.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
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