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

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 30

⁽¹⁾ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. ⁽²⁾ O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. ⁽³⁾ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁽⁴⁾ Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

⁽⁵⁾ For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. ⁽⁶⁾ Now in my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved.' ⁽⁷⁾ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. ⁽⁸⁾ I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication:

⁽⁹⁾ What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? ⁽¹⁰⁾ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!' ⁽¹¹⁾ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, ⁽¹²⁾ To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You 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 32

⁽¹⁾ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. ⁽²⁾ Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. ⁽³⁾ When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁽⁴⁾ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

⁽⁵⁾ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁽⁶⁾ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. ⁽⁷⁾ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ⁽¹¹⁾ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

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.

Isaiah Chapter 8

⁽¹⁾ Moreover the LORD said to me, 'Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. ⁽²⁾ And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.' ⁽³⁾ Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, 'Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; ⁽⁴⁾ for before the child shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.'

⁽⁵⁾ The LORD also spoke to me again, saying: ⁽⁶⁾ Inasmuch as these people refused The waters of Shiloah that flow softly, And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah's son; ⁽⁷⁾ Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of the River, strong and mighty -- The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels And go over all his banks. ⁽⁸⁾ He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.

⁽⁹⁾ Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us.' ⁽¹¹⁾ For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: ⁽¹²⁾ Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

⁽¹³⁾ The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. ⁽¹⁴⁾ He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Thessalonians Chapter 3

⁽⁶⁾ But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. ⁽⁷⁾ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; ⁽⁸⁾ nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, ⁽⁹⁾ not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

⁽¹⁰⁾ For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. ⁽¹¹⁾ For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. ⁽¹²⁾ Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. ⁽¹³⁾ But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

⁽¹⁴⁾ And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. ⁽¹⁷⁾ The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.

⁽¹⁸⁾ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 22

⁽³¹⁾ And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. ⁽³²⁾ But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.' ⁽³³⁾ But he said to Him, 'Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.' ⁽³⁴⁾ Then He said, 'I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.'

⁽³⁵⁾ And He said to them, 'When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?' So they said, 'Nothing.' ⁽³⁶⁾ Then He said to them, 'But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. ⁽³⁷⁾ For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end.' ⁽³⁸⁾ So they said, 'Lord, look, here are two swords.' And He said to them, 'It is enough.'

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 Earth and its Creatures

Let the earth glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills,
and all that grows upon the earth,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O springs of water, seas, and streams,
O whales and all that move in the waters.
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O beasts of the wild,
and all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, 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 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.


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: 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