Evening Prayer

Lent
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws which he set before us. Daniel 9:9, 10

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I 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

The Invitatory and Psalter

Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Venite
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 69

⁽¹⁾ Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. ⁽²⁾ I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. ⁽³⁾ I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God. ⁽⁴⁾ Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.

⁽⁵⁾ O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You. ⁽⁶⁾ Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. ⁽⁷⁾ Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. ⁽⁸⁾ I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother's children;

⁽⁹⁾ Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. ⁽¹⁰⁾ When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach. ⁽¹¹⁾ I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them. ⁽¹²⁾ Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards.

⁽¹³⁾ But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

⁽¹⁷⁾ And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies. ⁽¹⁹⁾ You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; My adversaries are all before You. ⁽²⁰⁾ Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

⁽²¹⁾ They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. ⁽²²⁾ Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap. ⁽²³⁾ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually. ⁽²⁴⁾ Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.

⁽²⁵⁾ Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents. ⁽²⁶⁾ For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded. ⁽²⁷⁾ Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness. ⁽²⁸⁾ Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.

⁽²⁹⁾ But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. ⁽³⁰⁾ I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. ⁽³¹⁾ This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. ⁽³²⁾ The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

⁽³³⁾ For the LORD hears the poor, And does not despise His prisoners. ⁽³⁴⁾ Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them. ⁽³⁵⁾ For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. ⁽³⁶⁾ Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Jeremiah Chapter 22

⁽¹³⁾ Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor's service without wages And gives him nothing for his work, ⁽¹⁴⁾ Who says, 'I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers, And cut out windows for it, Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. ⁽¹⁶⁾ He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?' says the LORD.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 'They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!' ⁽¹⁹⁾ He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. ⁽²⁰⁾ Go up to Lebanon, and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry from Abarim, For all your lovers are destroyed.

⁽²¹⁾ I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, 'I will not hear.' This has been your manner from your youth, That you did not obey My voice. ⁽²²⁾ The wind shall eat up all your rulers, And your lovers shall go into captivity; Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated For all your wickedness. ⁽²³⁾ O inhabitant of Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like the pain of a woman in labor?

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 8

⁽¹²⁾ Therefore, brethren, we are debtors -- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ⁽¹³⁾ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ⁽¹⁴⁾ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ⁽¹⁵⁾ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'

⁽¹⁶⁾ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ⁽¹⁷⁾ and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ⁽¹⁹⁾ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

⁽²⁰⁾ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ⁽²¹⁾ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ⁽²²⁾ For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ⁽²³⁾ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

⁽²⁴⁾ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ⁽²⁵⁾ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. ⁽²⁶⁾ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ⁽²⁷⁾ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 6

⁽⁴¹⁾ The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread which came down from heaven.' ⁽⁴²⁾ And they said, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?' ⁽⁴³⁾ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, 'Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁽⁴⁴⁾ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁽⁴⁵⁾ It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁽⁴⁷⁾ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. ⁽⁴⁸⁾ I am the bread of life.

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁽⁵¹⁾ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Moses    Exodus 15:1 to 6, 11 to 13, 17 to 18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge;
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him,
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior;
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea;
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might;
your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand;
the earth swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
with your might you brought them in safety to
your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign forever and forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


The Apostles' Creed
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 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

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Fourth Sunday in Lent
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with the following
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