Wednesday –
Feast of St. Luke
Evening Prayer
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
O God, make speed to save us.
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.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and
make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth,
your
saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you,
O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for
you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the
nations upon earth.
Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let
all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God,
our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us;
let
all the ends of the earth revere him.
14
1
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." *
All
are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
there is none who does any
good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon us all, *
to
see if there is any who is wise,
if there is one who seeks after
God.
3 Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have
turned bad; *
there is none who does good; no, not one.
4
Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers *
who eat up my people
like bread
and do not call upon the Lord?
5 See how they
tremble with fear, *
because God is in the company of the
righteous.
6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the
afflicted, *
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that
Israel's deliverance would come out of Zion! *
when the Lord
restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel
be glad.
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing
to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his
name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his
marvellous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord,
and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered
above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are
idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6
Honour and majesty are before him;
strength and
beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the
peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring
an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy
splendour;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
The
world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He
will judge the peoples with equity.’
11 Let the heavens be
glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea
roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the
field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the
forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord; for he
is coming,
for he is coming to judge the
earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and
the peoples with his truth.
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.
Reading
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the
feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good
news,
who announces salvation,
who
says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your
sentinels lift up their voices,
together
they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the
return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into
singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord
has comforted his people,
he has redeemed
Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before
the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth
shall see
the salvation of our God.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 15
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.
Reading
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying* with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with* the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’
So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 17
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.
The
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
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.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: Feast of St. Luke
Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to declare in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church the same love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Protection
Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For Mission
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.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
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.
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