Evening Prayer: Saturday 24 January 2015

January 24, 2015

Francis de Sales, Bishop, 1622

Evening Prayer – WEEK B

O God, make speed to save us;
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: Where can I go from your Spirit?* where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139.6)

Opening (from Psalm 139)

1 I will thank you because I am marvellously made;*
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
2 My body was not hidden from you,*
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
3 How deep I find your thoughts, O God!*
how great is the sum of them!
4 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand;* to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,*
the world and all who dwell therein.

2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas*

and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3 ‘Who can ascend the hill of the Lord?*
and who can stand in his holy place?’

4 ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,*
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
nor sworn by what is a fraud.

5 They shall receive a blessing from the Lord*
and a just reward from the God of their salvation.’’

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,*
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;*
and the King of glory shall come in.

8 ‘Who is this King of glory?’*
‘The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.’

9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;*
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 ‘Who is he, this King of glory?’*
‘The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.’

Creator and ruler of all, open our hearts that the King of glory may enter, and bring us rejoicing to your holy mountain, where you live and reign, now and for ever.

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you gods,*
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;*
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders;*
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice;*
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees;*
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,*
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;*
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe*
and strips the forests bare.
9 And in the temple of the Lord*
all are crying, ‘Glory!’
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;*
the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
11 The Lord shall give strength to his people;*
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

God of mystery and power, open our eyes to the flame of your love, and open our ears to the thunder of your justice, that we may receive your gifts of blessing and peace, to the glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion (from 1 Timothy 3)

1 Great indeed, we confess,*
is the mystery of our religion.
2 He was manifested in the flesh,*
vindicated in the Spirit,
3 Seen by angels,*
preached among the nations,
4 Believed on in the world;*
taken up in glory.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Where can I go from your Spirit? where can I flee from your presence?

READING(S)

Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Silence

Response (Ps. 105.5)

Call to mind what wonders he has done!
Call to mind what wonders he has done!
His marvellous acts and the judgements of his mouth.
What wonders he has done!
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Call to mind what wonders he has done!

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphons: God has come to the aid of his servant Israel,* as he promised to Abraham and his children.

1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
2 for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant;*
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 The Almighty has done great things for me*
and holy is his name.
4 He has mercy on those who fear him*
in every generation.
5 He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
6 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones*
and has lifted up the lowly.
7 He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
8 He has come to the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
9 the promise he made to our forebears,*
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)

Magnificat Antiphons: God has come to the aid of his servant Israel,* as he promised to Abraham and his children.

PRAYERS

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. 
Amen.

Collect of the Day
Almighty God, your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people, illumined by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.