Evening Prayer

Epiphany
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3

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 Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 148

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
 
⁽⁵⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. ⁽⁶⁾ He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. ⁽⁷⁾ Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths; ⁽⁸⁾ Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
 
⁽⁹⁾ Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; ⁽¹⁰⁾ Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; ⁽¹¹⁾ Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; ⁽¹²⁾ Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.
 
⁽¹³⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints -- Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. Praise the LORD!

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 149

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. ⁽²⁾ Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. ⁽⁴⁾ For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
 
⁽⁵⁾ Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. ⁽⁶⁾ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, ⁽⁷⁾ To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; ⁽⁸⁾ To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;
 
⁽⁹⁾ To execute on them the written judgment -- This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!

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 150

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
 
⁽⁵⁾ Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! ⁽⁶⁾ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

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 43

⁽¹⁴⁾ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives -- The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships. ⁽¹⁵⁾ I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters, ⁽¹⁷⁾ Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
 
⁽¹⁸⁾ Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. ⁽²⁰⁾ The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. ⁽²¹⁾ This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.
 
⁽²²⁾ But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel. ⁽²³⁾ You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. ⁽²⁴⁾ You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities. ⁽²⁵⁾ I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
 
⁽²⁶⁾ Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. ⁽²⁷⁾ Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. ⁽²⁸⁾ Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches. ⁽¹⁾ Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen. ⁽²⁾ Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: 'Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. ⁽³⁾ For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; ⁽⁴⁾ They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.'
 
⁽⁵⁾ One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' And name himself by the name of Israel.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hebrews Chapter 6

⁽¹⁷⁾ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ⁽¹⁸⁾ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ⁽¹⁹⁾ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ⁽²⁰⁾ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
 
⁽¹⁾ For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ⁽²⁾ to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated 'king of righteousness,' and then also king of Salem, meaning 'king of peace,' ⁽³⁾ without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. ⁽⁴⁾ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
 
⁽⁵⁾ And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁽⁶⁾ but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁽⁷⁾ Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁽⁸⁾ Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
 
⁽⁹⁾ Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ⁽¹⁰⁾ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 4

⁽²⁷⁾ And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, 'What do You seek?' or, 'Why are You talking with her?' ⁽²⁸⁾ The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ⁽²⁹⁾ Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' ⁽³⁰⁾ Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
 
⁽³¹⁾ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' ⁽³²⁾ But He said to them, 'I have food to eat of which you do not know.' ⁽³³⁾ Therefore the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?' ⁽³⁴⁾ Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
 
⁽³⁵⁾ Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ⁽³⁶⁾ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ⁽³⁷⁾ For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' ⁽³⁸⁾ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.'
 
⁽³⁹⁾ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁽⁴¹⁾ And many more believed because of His own word. ⁽⁴²⁾ Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.'
 
The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.

You are God        
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.


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:  Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; 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