Evening Prayer

Lent
Jesus said, 'If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Mark 8:34

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 131

⁽¹⁾ LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. ⁽²⁾ Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me. ⁽³⁾ O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth 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.

Psalm 132

⁽¹⁾ LORD, remember David And all his afflictions; ⁽²⁾ How he swore to the LORD, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: ⁽³⁾ Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; ⁽⁴⁾ I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids,

⁽⁵⁾ Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.' ⁽⁶⁾ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods. ⁽⁷⁾ Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. ⁽⁸⁾ Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.

⁽⁹⁾ Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For Your servant David's sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. ⁽¹¹⁾ The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: 'I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body. ⁽¹²⁾ If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.'

⁽¹³⁾ For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: ⁽¹⁴⁾ This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. ⁽¹⁵⁾ I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. ⁽¹⁶⁾ I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

⁽¹⁷⁾ There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed. ⁽¹⁸⁾ His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.'

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 26

⁽¹⁾ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying, ⁽²⁾ Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. ⁽³⁾ Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.' ⁽⁴⁾ And you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD: 'If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you,

⁽⁵⁾ to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), ⁽⁶⁾ then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.' ' ' ⁽⁷⁾ So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. ⁽⁸⁾ Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, 'You will surely die!

⁽⁹⁾ Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant'?' And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. ⁽¹⁰⁾ When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the LORD's house. ⁽¹¹⁾ And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, 'This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.' ⁽¹²⁾ Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: 'The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard.

⁽¹³⁾ Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then the LORD will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. ⁽¹⁴⁾ As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, 'This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 11

⁽¹⁾ I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ⁽²⁾ God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ⁽³⁾ LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life'? ⁽⁴⁾ But what does the divine response say to him? 'I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.'

⁽⁵⁾ Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. ⁽⁶⁾ And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. ⁽⁷⁾ What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. ⁽⁸⁾ Just as it is written: 'God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.'

⁽⁹⁾ And David says: 'Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.' ⁽¹¹⁾ I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. ⁽¹²⁾ Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 10

⁽¹⁹⁾ Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ⁽²⁰⁾ And many of them said, 'He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?' ⁽²¹⁾ Others said, 'These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?' ⁽²²⁾ Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

⁽²³⁾ And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. ⁽²⁴⁾ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, 'How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.' ⁽²⁵⁾ Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. ⁽²⁶⁾ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

⁽²⁷⁾ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ⁽²⁸⁾ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ⁽²⁹⁾ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. ⁽³⁰⁾ I and My Father are one.'

⁽³¹⁾ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ⁽³²⁾ Jesus answered them, 'Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?' ⁽³³⁾ The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.' ⁽³⁴⁾ Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods' '?

⁽³⁵⁾ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ⁽³⁶⁾ do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? ⁽³⁷⁾ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ⁽³⁸⁾ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.'

⁽³⁹⁾ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁽⁴¹⁾ Then many came to Him and said, 'John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.' ⁽⁴²⁾ And many believed in Him there.

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:  Fifth Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 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