Evening Prayer

Advent
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

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 72

⁽¹⁾ Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son. ⁽²⁾ He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. ⁽³⁾ The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. ⁽⁴⁾ He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

⁽⁵⁾ They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. ⁽⁶⁾ He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. ⁽⁷⁾ In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. ⁽⁸⁾ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁽⁹⁾ Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. ⁽¹¹⁾ Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. ⁽¹²⁾ For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.

⁽¹³⁾ He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. ⁽¹⁴⁾ He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised. ⁽¹⁶⁾ There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

⁽¹⁷⁾ His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! ⁽¹⁹⁾ And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. ⁽²⁰⁾ The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

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 Samuel Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ⁽²⁾ that the king said to Nathan the prophet, 'See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.' ⁽³⁾ Then Nathan said to the king, 'Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.' ⁽⁴⁾ But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,

⁽⁵⁾ Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: 'Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁽⁶⁾ For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. ⁽⁷⁾ Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' ' ' ⁽⁸⁾ Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.

⁽⁹⁾ And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ⁽¹¹⁾ since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house. ⁽¹²⁾ When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

⁽¹³⁾ He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ⁽¹⁴⁾ I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ⁽¹⁶⁾ And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.' ' '

⁽¹⁷⁾ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Titus Chapter 2

⁽¹¹⁾ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ⁽¹²⁾ teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ⁽¹³⁾ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ⁽¹⁴⁾ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. ⁽¹⁾ Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, ⁽²⁾ to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ⁽³⁾ For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁽⁴⁾ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,

⁽⁵⁾ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁽⁶⁾ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁽⁷⁾ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁽⁸⁾ This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 1

⁽³⁹⁾ Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁽⁴⁰⁾ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁽⁴¹⁾ And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁽⁴²⁾ Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁽⁴³⁾ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁽⁴⁴⁾ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁽⁴⁵⁾ Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.' ⁽⁴⁶⁾ And Mary said: 'My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁽⁴⁷⁾ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁽⁴⁸⁾ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁽⁴⁹⁾ For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

⁽⁵¹⁾ He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁽⁵²⁾ He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. ⁽⁵³⁾ He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. ⁽⁵⁴⁾ He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

⁽⁵⁵⁾ As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.' ⁽⁵⁶⁾ And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ⁽²⁰⁾ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ⁽²¹⁾ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.'

⁽²²⁾ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ⁽²³⁾ Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.' ⁽²⁴⁾ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ⁽²⁵⁾ and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

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 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:  Fourth Sunday of Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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. 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