Evening Prayer

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
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 50

⁽¹⁾ The Mighty One, God the LORD, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. ⁽²⁾ Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. ⁽³⁾ Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. ⁽⁴⁾ He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people:

⁽⁵⁾ Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.' ⁽⁶⁾ Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah ⁽⁷⁾ Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! ⁽⁸⁾ I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me.

⁽⁹⁾ I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. ⁽¹¹⁾ I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. ⁽¹²⁾ If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

⁽¹³⁾ Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? ⁽¹⁴⁾ Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ But to the wicked God says: 'What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth,

⁽¹⁷⁾ Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? ⁽¹⁸⁾ When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. ⁽¹⁹⁾ You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. ⁽²⁰⁾ You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.

⁽²¹⁾ These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. ⁽²²⁾ Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: ⁽²³⁾ Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.'

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 28

⁽³⁾ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. ⁽⁴⁾ Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. ⁽⁵⁾ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁽⁶⁾ And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

⁽⁷⁾ Then Saul said to his servants, 'Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.' And his servants said to him, 'In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.' ⁽⁸⁾ So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, 'Please conduct a seance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.' ⁽⁹⁾ Then the woman said to him, 'Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, 'As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.'

⁽¹¹⁾ Then the woman said, 'Whom shall I bring up for you?' And he said, 'Bring up Samuel for me.' ⁽¹²⁾ When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, 'Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!' ⁽¹³⁾ And the king said to her, 'Do not be afraid. What did you see?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ So he said to her, 'What is his form?' And she said, 'An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.' And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Now Samuel said to Saul, 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' And Saul answered, 'I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Then Samuel said: 'Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy? ⁽¹⁷⁾ And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day.

⁽¹⁹⁾ Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.' ⁽²⁰⁾ Then immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 15

⁽¹⁾ And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.' ⁽²⁾ Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. ⁽³⁾ So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. ⁽⁴⁾ And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁽⁵⁾ But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.' ⁽⁶⁾ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. ⁽⁷⁾ And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: 'Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁽⁸⁾ So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁽⁹⁾ and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ⁽¹¹⁾ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. ⁽²⁾ And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, ⁽³⁾ who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, ⁽⁴⁾ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.

⁽⁵⁾ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. ⁽⁶⁾ When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. ⁽⁷⁾ And he cried out with a loud voice and said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.' ⁽⁸⁾ For He said to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit!'

⁽⁹⁾ Then He asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. ⁽¹¹⁾ Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. ⁽¹²⁾ So all the demons begged Him, saying, 'Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.'

⁽¹³⁾ And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. ⁽¹⁴⁾ So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ⁽¹⁶⁾ And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. ⁽¹⁹⁾ However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, 'Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.' ⁽²⁰⁾ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

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:  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: 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