Evening Prayer

Advent
Watch, for you know not when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. Mark 13:35, 36

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.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 148

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!

⁽⁵⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. ⁽⁶⁾ He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. ⁽⁷⁾ Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths; ⁽⁸⁾ Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

⁽⁹⁾ Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; ⁽¹⁰⁾ Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; ⁽¹¹⁾ Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; ⁽¹²⁾ Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.

⁽¹³⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints -- Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. Praise 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 149

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. ⁽²⁾ Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. ⁽⁴⁾ For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

⁽⁵⁾ Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. ⁽⁶⁾ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, ⁽⁷⁾ To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; ⁽⁸⁾ To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;

⁽⁹⁾ To execute on them the written judgment -- This honor have all His saints. Praise 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 150

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

⁽⁵⁾ Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! ⁽⁶⁾ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise 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.

Amos Chapter 6

⁽¹⁾ Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes! ⁽²⁾ Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? ⁽³⁾ Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near; ⁽⁴⁾ Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall;

⁽⁵⁾ Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; ⁽⁶⁾ Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. ⁽⁷⁾ Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed. ⁽⁸⁾ The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: 'I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.'

⁽⁹⁾ Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. ⁽¹⁰⁾ And when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, 'Are there any more with you?' Then someone will say, 'None.' And he will say, 'Hold your tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the LORD.' ⁽¹¹⁾ For behold, the LORD gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces. ⁽¹²⁾ Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

⁽¹³⁾ You who rejoice over Lo Debar, Who say, 'Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves By our own strength?' ⁽¹⁴⁾ But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,' Says the LORD God of hosts; 'And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Thessalonians Chapter 1

⁽⁵⁾ which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; ⁽⁶⁾ since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁽⁷⁾ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁽⁸⁾ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁽⁹⁾ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ⁽¹⁰⁾ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. ⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, ⁽¹²⁾ that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 1

⁽⁵⁷⁾ Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁽⁵⁸⁾ When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. ⁽⁵⁹⁾ So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁽⁶⁰⁾ His mother answered and said, 'No; he shall be called John.'

⁽⁶¹⁾ But they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.' ⁽⁶²⁾ So they made signs to his father -- what he would have him called. ⁽⁶³⁾ And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, 'His name is John.' So they all marveled. ⁽⁶⁴⁾ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.

⁽⁶⁵⁾ Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁽⁶⁶⁾ And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, 'What kind of child will this be?' And the hand of the Lord was with him. ⁽⁶⁷⁾ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ⁽⁶⁸⁾ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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 Third Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
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.


You are God        
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.


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:  Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; 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