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.
Rescue me from my enemies, O God; *
protect me from
those who rise up against me.
Rescue me from evildoers *
and save me from those who
thirst for my blood.
See how they lie in wait for my life,
how the mighty
gather together against me; *
not for any offense or fault of
mine, O LORD.
Not because of any guilt of mine *
they run and
prepare themselves for battle.
Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see; *
for you,
LORD God of hosts, are Israel’s God.
Awake, and punish all the ungodly; *
show no mercy to
those who are faithless and evil.
They go to and fro in the evening; *
they snarl like
dogs and run about the city.
Behold, they boast with their mouths,
and taunts are
on their lips; *
“For who,” they say, “will hear
us?”
But you, O LORD, you laugh at them; *
you laugh all
the ungodly to scorn.
My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength; *
for you, O
God, are my stronghold.
My merciful God comes to meet me; *
God will let me
look in triumph on my enemies.
Slay them, O God, lest my people forget; *
send them
reeling by your might
and put them down, O Lord our shield.
For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their
lips,
for the cursing and lies that they utter, *
let them be
caught in their pride.
Make an end of them in your wrath; *
make an end of
them, and they shall be no more.
Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob, *
and to
the ends of the earth.
They go to and fro in the evening; *
they snarl like
dogs and run about the city.
They forage for food, *
and if they are not filled,
they howl.
For my part, I will sing of your strength; *
I will
celebrate your love in the morning;
For you have become my stronghold, *
a refuge in the
day of my trouble.
To you, O my Strength, will I sing; *
for you, O God,
are my stronghold and my merciful God.
O God, you have cast us off and broken us; *
you have
been angry;
oh, take us back to you again.
You have shaken the earth and split it open; *
repair
the cracks in it, for it totters.
You have made your people know hardship; *
you have
given us wine that makes us stagger.
You have set up a banner for those who fear you, *
to
be a refuge from the power of the bow.
Save us by your right hand and answer us, *
that
those who are dear to you may be delivered.
God spoke from his holy place and said: *
“I
will exult and parcel out Shechem;
I will divide the valley of
Succoth.
Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; *
Ephraim is my
helmet and Judah my scepter.
Moab is my wash-basin,
on Edom I throw down my sandal
to claim it, *
and over Philistia will I shout in triumph.”
Who will lead me into the strong city? *
who will
bring me to Edom?
Have you not cast us off, O God? *
you no longer go
out, O God, with our armies.
Grant us your help against the enemy, *
for vain is
the help of man.
With God we will do valiant deeds, *
and he shall
tread our enemies under foot.
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 certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”
The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers. And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the
glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom
enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will
appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the
brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night
they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion
of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin
or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your
portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night
you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your
God will be your glory.
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.
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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.
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