Evening Prayer

Today is the Feast of The Nativity of St. John the Baptist -- Click for Readings
Ordinary Time
I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.' Psalm 122:1

Saint and Major Saints' Days
Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4

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   Alleluia

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 97

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! ⁽²⁾ Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. ⁽³⁾ A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. ⁽⁴⁾ His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

⁽⁵⁾ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ⁽⁶⁾ The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. ⁽⁷⁾ Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. ⁽⁸⁾ Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁽⁹⁾ For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. ⁽¹¹⁾ Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. ⁽¹²⁾ Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

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 99

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved! ⁽²⁾ The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise Your great and awesome name -- He is holy. ⁽⁴⁾ The King's strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁽⁵⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool -- He is holy. ⁽⁶⁾ Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them. ⁽⁷⁾ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them. ⁽⁸⁾ You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁽⁹⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy.

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.

1 Samuel Chapter 6

⁽¹⁾ Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. ⁽²⁾ And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, 'What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place.' ⁽³⁾ So they said, 'If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.' ⁽⁴⁾ Then they said, 'What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?' They answered, 'Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

⁽⁵⁾ Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. ⁽⁶⁾ Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart? ⁽⁷⁾ Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. ⁽⁸⁾ Then take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.

⁽⁹⁾ And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us -- it happened to us by chance.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ⁽¹¹⁾ And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. ⁽¹²⁾ Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

⁽¹³⁾ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. ⁽¹⁵⁾ The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the LORD. ⁽¹⁶⁾ So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 5

⁽²⁷⁾ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ⁽²⁸⁾ saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!' ⁽²⁹⁾ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. ⁽³⁰⁾ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

⁽³¹⁾ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ⁽³²⁾ And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.' ⁽³³⁾ When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. ⁽³⁴⁾ Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.

⁽³⁵⁾ And he said to them: 'Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. ⁽³⁶⁾ For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. ⁽³⁷⁾ After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. ⁽³⁸⁾ And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;

⁽³⁹⁾ but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it -- lest you even be found to fight against God.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁽⁴¹⁾ So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. ⁽⁴²⁾ And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 21

⁽³⁷⁾ And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. ⁽³⁸⁾ Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. ⁽¹⁾ Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. ⁽²⁾ And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. ⁽³⁾ Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. ⁽⁴⁾ So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.

⁽⁵⁾ And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁽⁶⁾ So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. ⁽⁷⁾ Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. ⁽⁸⁾ And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.'

⁽⁹⁾ So they said to Him, 'Where do You want us to prepare?' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And He said to them, 'Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. ⁽¹¹⁾ Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, 'Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?' ' ⁽¹²⁾ Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.'

⁽¹³⁾ So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79

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 forever.

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 forever.

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 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:  Proper 7 The Sunday closest to June 22
O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13