Evening Prayer

Ordinary Time
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3

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.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 87

⁽¹⁾ His foundation is in the holy mountains. ⁽²⁾ The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob. ⁽³⁾ Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah ⁽⁴⁾ I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: 'This one was born there.' '

⁽⁵⁾ And of Zion it will be said, 'This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.' ⁽⁶⁾ The LORD will record, When He registers the peoples: 'This one was born there.' Selah ⁽⁷⁾ Both the singers and the players on instruments say, 'All my springs are in you.'

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 90

⁽¹⁾ LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. ⁽²⁾ Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. ⁽³⁾ You turn man to destruction, And say, 'Return, O children of men.' ⁽⁴⁾ For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

⁽⁵⁾ You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: ⁽⁶⁾ In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers. ⁽⁷⁾ For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. ⁽⁸⁾ You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.

⁽⁹⁾ For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ⁽¹¹⁾ Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. ⁽¹²⁾ So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

⁽¹³⁾ Return, O LORD! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! ⁽¹⁵⁾ Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children.

⁽¹⁷⁾ And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.

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.

2 Kings Chapter 11

⁽¹⁾ When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. ⁽²⁾ But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. ⁽³⁾ So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. ⁽⁴⁾ In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds -- of the bodyguards and the escorts -- and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king's son.

⁽⁵⁾ Then he commanded them, saying, 'This is what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king's house, ⁽⁶⁾ one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. ⁽⁷⁾ The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king. ⁽⁸⁾ But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.'

⁽⁹⁾ So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ⁽¹⁰⁾ And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the LORD. ⁽¹¹⁾ Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. ⁽¹²⁾ And he brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, 'Long live the king!'

⁽¹³⁾ Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. ⁽¹⁴⁾ When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, 'Treason! Treason!' ⁽¹⁵⁾ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, 'Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.' For the priest had said, 'Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses' entrance into the king's house, and there she was killed.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD's people, and also between the king and the people. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king's house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. ⁽²⁰⁾ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king's house.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Corinthians Chapter 7

⁽¹⁰⁾ Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. ⁽¹¹⁾ But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. ⁽¹²⁾ But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. ⁽¹³⁾ And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

⁽¹⁴⁾ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. ⁽¹⁶⁾ For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? ⁽¹⁷⁾ But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ⁽²⁰⁾ Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. ⁽²¹⁾ Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.

⁽²²⁾ For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. ⁽²³⁾ You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ⁽²⁴⁾ Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 6

⁽¹⁹⁾ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ⁽²⁰⁾ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ⁽²¹⁾ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ⁽²²⁾ The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

⁽²³⁾ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! ⁽²⁴⁾ No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

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.

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:  Proper 20 The Sunday closest to September 21
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; 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: 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