Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth: The Lord is his name.
Amos 5:8
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.
O LORD God of vengeance,
*
O God of vengeance, show yourself.
Rise up, O Judge of the
world; *
give the arrogant their just deserts.
How long shall the wicked,
O LORD, *
how long shall the wicked triumph?
They bluster in their
insolence; *
all evildoers are full of boasting.
They crush your people, O
LORD, *
and afflict your chosen nation.
They murder the widow and
the stranger *
and put the orphans to death.
Yet they say, “The
LORD does not see, *
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
Consider well, you dullards
among the people; *
when will you fools understand?
He that planted the ear,
does he not hear? *
he that formed the eye, does he not see?
He who admonishes the
nations, will he not punish? *
he who teaches all the world, has
he no knowledge?
The LORD knows our human
thoughts; *
how like a puff of wind they are.
Happy are they whom you
instruct, O Lord! *
whom you teach out of your law;
To give them rest in evil
days, *
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the LORD will not
abandon his people, *
nor will he forsake his own.
For judgment will again be
just, *
and all the true of heart will follow it.
Who rose up for me against
the wicked? *
who took my part against the evildoers?
If the LORD had not come to
my help, *
I should soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
As often as I said, “My
foot has slipped,” *
your love, O LORD, upheld me.
When many cares fill my
mind, *
your consolations cheer my soul.
Can a corrupt tribunal have
any part with you, *
one which frames evil into law?
They conspire against the
life of the just *
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the LORD has become my
stronghold, *
and my God the rock of my trust.
He will turn their
wickedness back upon them
and destroy them in their own malice;
*
the LORD our God will destroy them.
Come, let us sing to the
LORD; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his
presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with
psalms.
For the LORD is a great
God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns
of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made
it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and
bend the knee, *
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For he is our God,
and
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh,
that today you would hearken to his voice!
Harden not your hearts,
as
your forebears did in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that
day at Massah,
when they tempted me.
They put me to the test,
*
though they had seen my works.
Forty years long I detested
that generation and said, *
“This people are wayward in
their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my wrath,
*
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
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 Ephesians.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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.
That this evening may
be holy, good, and peaceful.
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels
may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O
Lord.
That we may be
pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O
Lord.
That there may be
peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O
Lord.
That we may depart
this life in your faith and fear, and not be condemned before the
great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound
together by your Holy Spirit in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you,
O Lord.
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. 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. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia,
alleluia.
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