Evening Prayer

Ordinary Time
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

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.

The earth is the Lord's for he made it: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 50

⁽¹⁾ The Mighty One, God the LORD, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. ⁽²⁾ Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. ⁽³⁾ Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. ⁽⁴⁾ He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people:

⁽⁵⁾ Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.' ⁽⁶⁾ Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah ⁽⁷⁾ Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! ⁽⁸⁾ I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me.

⁽⁹⁾ I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. ⁽¹¹⁾ I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. ⁽¹²⁾ If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

⁽¹³⁾ Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? ⁽¹⁴⁾ Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ But to the wicked God says: 'What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth,

⁽¹⁷⁾ Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? ⁽¹⁸⁾ When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. ⁽¹⁹⁾ You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. ⁽²⁰⁾ You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.

⁽²¹⁾ These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. ⁽²²⁾ Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: ⁽²³⁾ Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.'

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 Kings Chapter 18

⁽¹⁾ And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.' ⁽²⁾ So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. ⁽³⁾ And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. ⁽⁴⁾ For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)

⁽⁵⁾ And Ahab had said to Obadiah, 'Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock. ⁽⁶⁾ So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁽⁷⁾ Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, 'Is that you, my lord Elijah?' ⁽⁸⁾ And he answered him, 'It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' '

⁽⁹⁾ So he said, 'How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ⁽¹⁰⁾ As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. ⁽¹¹⁾ And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here' '! ⁽¹²⁾ And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.

⁽¹³⁾ Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ⁽¹⁴⁾ And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' ' He will kill me!' ⁽¹⁵⁾ Then Elijah said, 'As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, 'Is that you, O troubler of Israel?' ⁽¹⁸⁾ And he answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Philippians Chapter 2

⁽¹²⁾ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ⁽¹³⁾ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Do all things without complaining and disputing, ⁽¹⁵⁾ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

⁽¹⁶⁾ holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. ⁽¹⁷⁾ Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. ⁽¹⁹⁾ But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

⁽²⁰⁾ For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. ⁽²¹⁾ For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. ⁽²²⁾ But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. ⁽²³⁾ Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.

⁽²⁴⁾ But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly. ⁽²⁵⁾ Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; ⁽²⁶⁾ since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ⁽²⁷⁾ For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

⁽²⁸⁾ Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. ⁽²⁹⁾ Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; ⁽³⁰⁾ because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 2

⁽¹³⁾ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ⁽¹⁵⁾ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: ⁽¹⁸⁾ A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.' ⁽¹⁹⁾ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ⁽²⁰⁾ saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.'

⁽²¹⁾ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ⁽²²⁾ But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ⁽²³⁾ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'

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:  Proper 18 The Sunday closest to September 7
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 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