Evening Prayer

Wednesday after  the Last Sunday after Pentecost

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

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory and Psalter                              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 128                                                 BCP p. 783

Happy are they all who fear the LORD, *
and who follow in his ways!

You shall eat the fruit of your labor; *
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, *
your children like olive shoots round about your table.

The man who fears the LORD *
shall thus indeed be blessed.

The LORD bless you from Zion, *
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

May you live to see your children’s children; *
may peace be upon Israel.

Psalm 129                                                 BCP p. 784

“Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth,” *
let Israel now say;

“Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth, *
but they have not prevailed against me.”

The plowmen plowed upon my back *
and made their furrows long.

The LORD, the Righteous One, *
has cut the cords of the wicked.

Let them be put to shame and thrown back, *
all those who are enemies of Zion.

Let them be like grass upon the housetops, *
which withers before it can be plucked;

Which does not fill the hand of the reaper, *
nor the bosom of him who binds the sheaves;

So that those who go by say not so much as, “The LORD prosper you. *
We wish you well in the Name of the LORD.”

Psalm 130                                                 BCP p. 784

Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *
O LORD, who could stand?

For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, wait for the LORD, *
for with the LORD there is mercy;

With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

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 Lesson                                           Matt. 19:23-30

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

 

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

12. A Song of Creation       Song of the Three Young Men, 35-65

Invocation

Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

I    The Cosmic Order

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord, *
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.

Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew, *
all winds and fire and heat.

Winter and Summer, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold, *
drops of dew and flakes of snow

Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O nights and days, *
O shining light and enfolding dark.

Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

II    The Earth and its Creatures

Let the earth glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills, and all that grows upon the earth, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O springs of water, seas, and streams, *
O whales and all that move in the waters.

All birds of the air, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O beasts of the wild, *
and all you flocks and herds.

O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

III    The People of God

Let the people of God glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O priests and servants of the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Doxology

Let us glorify the Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, *
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

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 in heaven,
            hallowed be your Name,
            your kingdom come,
            your will be done,
            on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
            as we forgive those
            who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
            and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
            and the glory are yours,
            now and for 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 everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. 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 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