Evening Prayer

Advent
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

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.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 5

⁽¹⁾ Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. ⁽²⁾ Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. ⁽³⁾ My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. ⁽⁴⁾ For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.

⁽⁵⁾ The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. ⁽⁶⁾ You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. ⁽⁷⁾ But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. ⁽⁸⁾ Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.

⁽⁹⁾ For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You. ⁽¹¹⁾ But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. ⁽¹²⁾ For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

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 6

⁽¹⁾ O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. ⁽²⁾ Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. ⁽³⁾ My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD -- how long? ⁽⁴⁾ Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies' sake!

⁽⁵⁾ For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks? ⁽⁶⁾ I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. ⁽⁷⁾ My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies. ⁽⁸⁾ Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁽⁹⁾ The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

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.

Amos Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: ⁽²⁾ You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.' ⁽³⁾ Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? ⁽⁴⁾ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

⁽⁵⁾ Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? ⁽⁶⁾ If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? ⁽⁷⁾ Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. ⁽⁸⁾ A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

⁽⁹⁾ Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: 'Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For they do not know to do right,' Says the LORD, 'Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.' ' ⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Peter Chapter 1

⁽¹²⁾ For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ⁽¹³⁾ Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, ⁽¹⁴⁾ knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

⁽¹⁶⁾ For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. ⁽¹⁷⁾ For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

⁽²⁰⁾ knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, ⁽²¹⁾ for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 21

⁽¹²⁾ Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ⁽¹³⁾ And He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' ' ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant

⁽¹⁶⁾ and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?' ⁽¹⁷⁾ Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again.' Immediately the fig tree withered away.

⁽²⁰⁾ And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, 'How did the fig tree wither away so soon?' ⁽²¹⁾ So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. ⁽²²⁾ And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'

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 Third Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
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:  First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 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