Friday after Pentecost 15
Evening Prayer – Week D
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: As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,* so our eyes look to the Lord our God. (Ps. 123.2f)
Opening (from Psalm 119)
1 Your faithfulness remains from one generation to another;*
you established the earth, and it abides.
2 By your decree these continue to this day,*
for all things are your servants.
3 I will never forget your commandments,*
because by them you give me life.
4 I see that all things come to an end,*
but your commandment has no bounds.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 88
1 O Lord, my God, my Saviour,*
by day and night I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence;*
incline your ear to my lamentation.
3 For I am full of trouble;*
my life is at the brink of the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;*
I have become like one who has no strength;
5 Lost among the dead,*
like the slain who lie in the grave,
6 Whom you remember no more,*
for they are cut off from your hand.
7 You have laid me in the depths of the Pit,*
in dark places, and in the abyss.
8 Your anger weighs upon me heavily,*
and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9 You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them;*
I am in prison and cannot get free.
10 My sight has failed me because of trouble;*
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.
11 Do you work wonders for the dead?*
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12 Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave?*
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13 Will your wonders be known in the dark?*
or your righteousness in the country where all
is forgotten?
14 But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help;*
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 Lord, why have you rejected me?*
why have you hidden your face from me?
16 Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the
point of death;*
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me;*
your terrors have destroyed me;
18 They surround me all day long like a flood;*
they encompass me on every side.
19 My friend and my neighbour you have put away from me,*
and darkness is my only companion.
Conclusion (from Revelation 5 and 15)
1 Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty;*
just and true are your ways, O King of the ages!
2 Who shall not revere and praise your name, O Lord?*
for you alone are holy.
3 All nations shall come and worship in your presence,*
for your just dealings have been revealed.
4 To God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb*
be praise and honour, glory and might, for ever and ever.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, *so our eyes look to the Lord our God.
READING(S)
Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Response (Ps. 119.89)
Lord, your word is everlasting.
Lord, your word is everlasting.
It stands firm in the heavens.
Your word is everlasting.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Lord, your word is everlasting.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: God has cast down the mighty* and lifted up the lowly.
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 Antiphon: God has cast down the mighty* and lifted up the lowly.
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
Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that richly bearing the fruit of good works, we may by you be richly rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. 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.
