Evening Prayer

Lent
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws which he set before us. Daniel 9:9, 10

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.

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

The Lessons

Psalm 37

⁽¹⁾ Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. ⁽²⁾ For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. ⁽³⁾ Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. ⁽⁴⁾ Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁽⁵⁾ Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. ⁽⁶⁾ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. ⁽⁷⁾ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. ⁽⁸⁾ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret -- it only causes harm.

⁽⁹⁾ For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. ⁽¹¹⁾ But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ⁽¹²⁾ The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

⁽¹³⁾ The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. ⁽¹⁴⁾ The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. ⁽¹⁶⁾ A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous. ⁽¹⁸⁾ The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be 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.

Deuteronomy Chapter 7

⁽⁶⁾ For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. ⁽⁷⁾ The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ⁽⁸⁾ but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁽⁹⁾ Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

⁽¹⁰⁾ and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. ⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Titus Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, ⁽²⁾ in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, ⁽³⁾ but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; ⁽⁴⁾ To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁽⁵⁾ For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you -- ⁽⁶⁾ if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. ⁽⁷⁾ For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, ⁽⁸⁾ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,

⁽⁹⁾ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ⁽¹¹⁾ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. ⁽¹²⁾ One of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.'

⁽¹³⁾ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ⁽¹⁴⁾ not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. ⁽¹⁵⁾ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ⁽¹⁶⁾ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 1

⁽²⁹⁾ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ⁽³⁰⁾ This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' ⁽³¹⁾ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.' ⁽³²⁾ And John bore witness, saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

⁽³³⁾ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' ⁽³⁴⁾ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'

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:  Last Sunday after the Epiphany
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; 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: 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