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

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 72

⁽¹⁾ Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son. ⁽²⁾ He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. ⁽³⁾ The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. ⁽⁴⁾ He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

⁽⁵⁾ They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. ⁽⁶⁾ He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. ⁽⁷⁾ In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. ⁽⁸⁾ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁽⁹⁾ Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. ⁽¹¹⁾ Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. ⁽¹²⁾ For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.

⁽¹³⁾ He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. ⁽¹⁴⁾ He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised. ⁽¹⁶⁾ There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

⁽¹⁷⁾ His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! ⁽¹⁹⁾ And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. ⁽²⁰⁾ The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

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.

Isaiah Chapter 28

⁽⁹⁾ Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? ⁽¹⁰⁾ For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.' ⁽¹¹⁾ For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, ⁽¹²⁾ To whom He said, 'This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,' And, 'This is the refreshing'; Yet they would not hear.

⁽¹³⁾ But the word of the LORD was to them, 'Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,' That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, ⁽¹⁵⁾ Because you have said, 'We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. ⁽¹⁹⁾ As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.' ⁽²⁰⁾ For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.

⁽²¹⁾ For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon -- That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act. ⁽²²⁾ Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 21

⁽⁹⁾ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ⁽¹¹⁾ having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ⁽¹²⁾ Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

⁽¹³⁾ three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ⁽¹⁶⁾ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ⁽¹⁸⁾ The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ⁽¹⁹⁾ The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ⁽²⁰⁾ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

⁽²¹⁾ The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 1

⁽²⁶⁾ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ⁽²⁷⁾ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ⁽²⁸⁾ And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!' ⁽²⁹⁾ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

⁽³⁰⁾ Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ⁽³¹⁾ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ⁽³²⁾ He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ⁽³³⁾ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.'

⁽³⁴⁾ Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' ⁽³⁵⁾ And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ⁽³⁶⁾ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ⁽³⁷⁾ For with God nothing will be impossible.'

⁽³⁸⁾ Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


Glory to God        
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.


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:  Fourth Sunday of Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; 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