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 80

⁽¹⁾ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! ⁽²⁾ Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us! ⁽³⁾ Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved! ⁽⁴⁾ O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?

⁽⁵⁾ You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure. ⁽⁶⁾ You have made us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves. ⁽⁷⁾ Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved! ⁽⁸⁾ You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

⁽⁹⁾ You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs. ⁽¹¹⁾ She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River. ⁽¹²⁾ Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

⁽¹³⁾ The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine ⁽¹⁵⁾ And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself. ⁽¹⁶⁾ It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

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

⁽¹⁸⁾ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: 'Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ⁽¹⁹⁾ And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? ⁽²⁰⁾ Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant. ⁽²¹⁾ For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.

⁽²²⁾ Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ⁽²³⁾ And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name -- and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land -- before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? ⁽²⁴⁾ For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. ⁽²⁵⁾ Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said.

⁽²⁶⁾ So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.' And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ⁽²⁷⁾ For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. ⁽²⁸⁾ And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ⁽²⁹⁾ Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Galatians Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? ⁽²⁾ This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ⁽³⁾ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? ⁽⁴⁾ Have you suffered so many things in vain -- if indeed it was in vain?

⁽⁵⁾ Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? -- ⁽⁶⁾ just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' ⁽⁷⁾ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁽⁸⁾ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.'

⁽⁹⁾ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' ⁽¹¹⁾ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' ⁽¹²⁾ Yet the law is not of faith, but 'the man who does them shall live by them.'

⁽¹³⁾ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), ⁽¹⁴⁾ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

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.

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:  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: 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