Evening Prayer

Monday after Pentecost

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches 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

BCP p. 117

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

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.

Psalm 4 BCP p. 587

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?”

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.

Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the LORD.

Many are saying,
“Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.

You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 7 BCP p. 590

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; *
save and deliver me from all who pursue me;

Lest like a lion they tear me in pieces *
and snatch me away with none to deliver me.

O LORD my God, if I have done these things: *
if there is any wickedness in my hands,

If I have repaid my friend with evil, *
or plundered him who without cause is my enemy;

Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, *
trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.

Stand up, O LORD, in your wrath; *
rise up against the fury of my enemies.

Awake, O my God, decree justice; *
let the assembly of the peoples gather round you.

Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; *
O LORD, judge the nations.

Give judgment for me according to my righteousness, O LORD, *
and according to my innocence, O Most High.

Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous; *
for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.

God is my shield and defense; *
he is the savior of the true in heart.

God is a righteous judge; *
God sits in judgment every day.

If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; *
he will bend his bow and make it ready.

He has prepared his weapons of death; *
he makes his arrows shafts of fire.

Look at those who are in labor with wickedness, *
who conceive evil, and give birth to a lie.

They dig a pit and make it deep *
and fall into the hole that they have made.

Their malice turns back upon their own head; *
their violence falls on their own scalp.

I will bear witness that the LORD is righteous; *
I will praise the Name of the LORD Most High.

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.

The Lessons

The First Lesson 1 John 3:18-4:6

A Reading from the First Letter of John.

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

15. The Song of Mary Luke 1:46-55

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.

The Apostles’ Creed BCP p. 96

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.

The Prayers

Officiant The Lord be with you.
People
And also with you.
Officiant
Let us pray.

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

Suffrages A

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.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness keep us, we pray, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready both in mind and body, may accomplish with free hearts those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

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.







A Prayer for Mission

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.



A Prayer of St. Chrysostom BCP p. 102

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