Evening Prayer - July 23, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 119:49-72

1 Samuel 25:23-44

Acts 14:19-28

Mark 4:35-41

Ordinary Time
I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.' Psalm 122:1

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

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

ⓘ A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 119

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.⁽⁵⁰⁾ This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.⁽⁵¹⁾ The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.⁽⁵²⁾ I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself.

⁽⁵³⁾ Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.⁽⁵⁴⁾ Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.⁽⁵⁵⁾ I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law.⁽⁵⁶⁾ This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts.

⁽⁵⁷⁾ You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words.⁽⁵⁸⁾ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.⁽⁵⁹⁾ I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.⁽⁶⁰⁾ I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

⁽⁶¹⁾ The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law.⁽⁶²⁾ At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments.⁽⁶³⁾ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.⁽⁶⁴⁾ The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁵⁾ You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word.⁽⁶⁶⁾ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.⁽⁶⁷⁾ Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.⁽⁶⁸⁾ You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁹⁾ The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.⁽⁷⁰⁾ Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.⁽⁷¹⁾ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.⁽⁷²⁾ The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

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.

1 Samuel Chapter 25

⁽²³⁾ Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.⁽²⁴⁾ So she fell at his feet and said: 'On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.⁽²⁵⁾ Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.⁽²⁶⁾ Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.

⁽²⁷⁾ And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.⁽²⁸⁾ Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout your days.⁽²⁹⁾ Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling.⁽³⁰⁾ And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel,

⁽³¹⁾ that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.'⁽³²⁾ Then David said to Abigail: 'Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!⁽³³⁾ And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.⁽³⁴⁾ For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!'

⁽³⁵⁾ So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, 'Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.'⁽³⁶⁾ Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light.⁽³⁷⁾ So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.⁽³⁸⁾ Then it came about, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

⁽³⁹⁾ So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.' And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.⁽⁴⁰⁾ When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, 'David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.'⁽⁴¹⁾ Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, 'Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'⁽⁴²⁾ So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

⁽⁴³⁾ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.⁽⁴⁴⁾ But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 14

⁽¹⁹⁾ Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.⁽²⁰⁾ However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.⁽²¹⁾ And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,⁽²²⁾ strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'

⁽²³⁾ So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.⁽²⁴⁾ And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.⁽²⁵⁾ Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.⁽²⁶⁾ From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

⁽²⁷⁾ Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.⁽²⁸⁾ So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 4

⁽³⁵⁾ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.'⁽³⁶⁾ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.⁽³⁷⁾ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.⁽³⁸⁾ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?'

⁽³⁹⁾ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.⁽⁴⁰⁾ But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'⁽⁴¹⁾ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, 'Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!'

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 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

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Proper 11 The Sunday closest to July 20
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and 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.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory, and, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

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