Evening Prayer

Today is the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels -- Click for Readings
Ordinary Time
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3

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 89

⁽¹⁾ I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. ⁽²⁾ For I have said, 'Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.' ⁽³⁾ I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ⁽⁴⁾ Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.' ' Selah

⁽⁵⁾ And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. ⁽⁶⁾ For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? ⁽⁷⁾ God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him. ⁽⁸⁾ O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

⁽⁹⁾ You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. ⁽¹¹⁾ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. ⁽¹²⁾ The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.

⁽¹³⁾ You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance. ⁽¹⁶⁾ In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

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.

2 Kings Chapter 17

⁽²⁴⁾ Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. ⁽²⁵⁾ And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ⁽²⁶⁾ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, 'The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.' ⁽²⁷⁾ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, 'Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.'

⁽²⁸⁾ Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. ⁽²⁹⁾ However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. ⁽³⁰⁾ The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ⁽³¹⁾ and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

⁽³²⁾ So they feared the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. ⁽³³⁾ They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods -- according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. ⁽³⁴⁾ To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, ⁽³⁵⁾ with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: 'You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them;

⁽³⁶⁾ but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. ⁽³⁷⁾ And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. ⁽³⁸⁾ And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ⁽³⁹⁾ But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.'

⁽⁴⁰⁾ However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. ⁽⁴¹⁾ So these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Corinthians Chapter 7

⁽²⁵⁾ Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy. ⁽²⁶⁾ I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress -- that it is good for a man to remain as he is: ⁽²⁷⁾ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ⁽²⁸⁾ But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.

⁽²⁹⁾ But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, ⁽³⁰⁾ those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ⁽³¹⁾ and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 6

⁽²⁵⁾ Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ⁽²⁶⁾ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ⁽²⁷⁾ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ⁽²⁸⁾ So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

⁽²⁹⁾ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ⁽³⁰⁾ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ⁽³¹⁾ Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ⁽³²⁾ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

⁽³³⁾ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ⁽³⁴⁾ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Song of the Redeemed       Revelation 15:3 to 4  
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done,
  surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth,
 O King of all the ages.

Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the praises of your Name?
  for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near
and fall down before you,
  because your just and holy works have been revealed.
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 First Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 12:2 to 6
 
Surely, it is God who saves me;
  I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold
and my sure defense,
  and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
  from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
  Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
  see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord,
for he has done great things,
  and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
  for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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 21 The Sunday closest to September 28
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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 King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; 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