Evening Prayer

--Today is the Feast of Saint Alphege--
Easter Week
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, whom the Lord hath afflicted. Lamentations 1:12

Saint and Major Saints' Days
We give thanks to the Father, who has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Colossians 1:12

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.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, whom the Lord has afflicted.

The Lessons

Psalm 95

⁽¹⁾ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. ⁽²⁾ Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. ⁽³⁾ For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. ⁽⁴⁾ In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.

⁽⁵⁾ The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. ⁽⁶⁾ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁽⁷⁾ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: ⁽⁸⁾ Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁽⁹⁾ When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' ⁽¹¹⁾ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' '

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.

Psalm 88

⁽¹⁾ O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. ⁽²⁾ Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. ⁽³⁾ For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. ⁽⁴⁾ I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

⁽⁵⁾ Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. ⁽⁶⁾ You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. ⁽⁷⁾ Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

⁽⁹⁾ My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah ⁽¹¹⁾ Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? ⁽¹²⁾ Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

⁽¹³⁾ But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. ⁽¹⁴⁾ LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? ⁽¹⁵⁾ I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

⁽¹⁷⁾ They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

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.

Job Chapter 19

⁽²¹⁾ Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me! ⁽²²⁾ Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh? ⁽²³⁾ Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! ⁽²⁴⁾ That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!

⁽²⁵⁾ For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; ⁽²⁶⁾ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, ⁽²⁷⁾ Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hebrews Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ⁽²⁾ For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ⁽³⁾ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: 'So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' ' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁽⁴⁾ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works';

⁽⁵⁾ and again in this place: 'They shall not enter My rest.' ⁽⁶⁾ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁽⁷⁾ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, 'Today,' after such a long time, as it has been said: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.' ⁽⁸⁾ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

⁽⁹⁾ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ⁽¹¹⁾ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ⁽¹²⁾ For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

⁽¹³⁾ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ⁽¹⁵⁾ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

No Gospel Reading Today

A Song of Creation   Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
Invocation
Glorify the Lord,
all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

The People of God

Let the people of God glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O priests and servants of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
You that are holy and humble of heart,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Doxology
Let us glorify the Lord:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

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:  Holy Saturday
O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. 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

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