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.
Fight those who fight me, O LORD; *
attack those who
are attacking me.
Take up shield and armor *
and rise up to help me.
Draw the sword and bar the way against those who pursue
me; *
say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled;
*
let those who plot my ruin fall back and be dismayed.
Let them be like chaff before the wind, *
and let the
angel of the LORD drive them away.
Let their way be dark and slippery, *
and let the
angel of the LORD pursue them.
For they have secretly spread a net for me without a
cause; *
without a cause they have dug a pit to take me alive.
Let ruin come upon them unawares; *
let them be
caught in the net they hid;
let them fall into the pit they dug.
Then I will be joyful in the LORD; *
I will glory in
his victory.
My very bones will say, “LORD, who is like you?
*
You deliver the poor from those who are too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
Malicious witnesses rise up against me; *
they charge
me with matters I know nothing about.
They pay me evil in exchange for good; *
my soul is
full of despair.
But when they were sick I dressed in sack-cloth *
and
humbled myself by fasting.
I prayed with my whole heart,
as one would for a
friend or a brother; *
I behaved like one who mourns for his
mother,
bowed down and grieving.
But when I stumbled, they were glad and gathered
together;
they gathered against me; *
strangers whom I did not
know tore me to pieces and would not stop.
They put me to the test and mocked me; *
they gnashed
at me with their teeth.
O Lord, how long will you look on? *
rescue me from
the roaring beasts,
and my life from the young lions.
I will give you thanks in the great congregation; *
I
will praise you in the mighty throng.
Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, *
nor
let those who hate me without a cause wink at each other.
For they do not plan for peace, *
but invent
deceitful schemes against the quiet in the land.
They opened their mouths at me and said, *
“Aha!
we saw it with our own eyes.”
You saw it, O LORD; do not be silent; *
O Lord, be
not far from me.
Awake, arise, to my cause! *
to my defense, my God
and my Lord!
Give me justice, O LORD my God,
according to your
righteousness; *
do not let them triumph over me.
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! just
what we want!” *
Do not let them say, “We have
swallowed him up.”
Let all who rejoice at my ruin be ashamed and disgraced;
*
let those who boast against me be clothed with dismay and shame.
Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be
glad; *
let them say always, “Great is the LORD,
who
desires the prosperity of his servant.”
And my tongue shall be talking of your righteousness
*
and of your praise all the day long.
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 Acts of the Apostles.
Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;
but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: “You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are
worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we
will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the
throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will
praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high
vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will
praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
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.
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. 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.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14