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 is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 107

⁽³³⁾ He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; ⁽³⁴⁾ A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. ⁽³⁵⁾ He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. ⁽³⁶⁾ There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,

⁽³⁷⁾ And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest. ⁽³⁸⁾ He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease. ⁽³⁹⁾ When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction and sorrow, ⁽⁴⁰⁾ He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;

⁽⁴¹⁾ Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock. ⁽⁴²⁾ The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth. ⁽⁴³⁾ Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of 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 108

⁽¹⁾ O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. ⁽²⁾ Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. ⁽³⁾ I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. ⁽⁴⁾ For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the clouds.

⁽⁵⁾ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth; ⁽⁶⁾ That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me. ⁽⁷⁾ God has spoken in His holiness: 'I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. ⁽⁸⁾ Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver.

⁽⁹⁾ Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Over Philistia I will triumph.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? ⁽¹¹⁾ Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? ⁽¹²⁾ Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless.

⁽¹³⁾ Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

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.

Jeremiah Chapter 23

⁽⁹⁾ My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right. ⁽¹¹⁾ For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,' says the LORD. ⁽¹²⁾ Therefore their way shall be to them Like slippery ways; In the darkness they shall be driven on And fall in them; For I will bring disaster on them, The year of their punishment,' says the LORD.

⁽¹³⁾ And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land.' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 9

⁽¹⁾ I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, ⁽²⁾ that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. ⁽³⁾ For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, ⁽⁴⁾ who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;

⁽⁵⁾ of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. ⁽⁶⁾ But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, ⁽⁷⁾ nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.' ⁽⁸⁾ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

⁽⁹⁾ For this is the word of promise: 'At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac ⁽¹¹⁾ (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), ⁽¹²⁾ it was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.'

⁽¹³⁾ As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! ⁽¹⁵⁾ For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 6

⁽⁶⁰⁾ Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, 'This is a hard saying; who can understand it?' ⁽⁶¹⁾ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, 'Does this offend you? ⁽⁶²⁾ What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁽⁶³⁾ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

⁽⁶⁴⁾ But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁽⁶⁵⁾ And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' ⁽⁶⁶⁾ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. ⁽⁶⁷⁾ Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?'

⁽⁶⁸⁾ But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁽⁶⁹⁾ Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' ⁽⁷⁰⁾ Jesus answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?' ⁽⁷¹⁾ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song of Creation     Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
Invocation
Glorify the Lord,
all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

The Cosmic Order
Glorify the Lord,
you angels and all powers of the Lord,
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
every shower of rain and fall of dew,
all winds and fire and heat.
Winter and Summer, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,
drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O nights and days,
O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
You that are holy and humble of heart,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Doxology
Let us glorify the Lord:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

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 in Lent
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; 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