Evening Prayer: Friday after the Third Sunday in Advent
Anticipation
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: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God;*
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life. (Ps. 141.8)
Opening (from Psalms 140 and 141)
1 I have said to the Lord, ‘You are my God;*
listen, O Lord, to my supplication.’
2 O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;*
hear my voice when I cry to you.
3 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor*
and render justice to the needy.
4 Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your name,*
and the upright shall continue in your sight.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 102
1 Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;*
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me;*
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke,*
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered,*
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning*
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness,*
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan;*
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long,*
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 for I have eaten ashes for bread*
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath*
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow,*
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O Lord, endure for ever,*
and your name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon her;*
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love her very rubble,*
and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15 The nations shall fear your name, O Lord,*
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the Lord will build up Zion,*
and his glory will appear.
17 He will look with favour on the prayer of the homeless;*
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,*
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord.
19 For the Lord looked down from his holy place on high;*
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20 That he might hear the groan of the captive*
and set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,*
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together,*
and the kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
23 He has brought down my strength before my time;*
he has shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, ‘O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days;*
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,*
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment;*
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same,*
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue,*
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.’
God of unchanging mercy, look with compassion upon all who suffer: the sick and the friendless, the homeless and the captive, the weary and the depressed. Be present to them in the power of your healing love; give them health, comfort, and hope; and bring them to share in the life of your risen Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Conclusion (from Revelation 22)
1 ‘Behold, I am coming soon*
to repay everyone for what he has done.
2 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,*
the beginning and the end.
3 ‘I am the root and offspring of David,*
the bright morning star.’
4 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’;*
let anyone who hears, say, ‘Come’,
5 Let anyone who is thirsty come;*
let anyone who desires take the water of life without price.
6 The Lord says, ‘Surely I am coming soon’.*
Amen; come, Lord Jesus!
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
READING(S)
John 5:30-47
‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.
‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’
Silence
Response (Ps. 28.11)
Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Shepherd them and carry them for ever.
Bless your inheritance.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphons: (O Radix Jesse) O Root of Jesse* standing like a banner before the nations, in whose presence kings fall silent, whose praise all peoples shall sing: Come, set us free, do not delay.
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: (O Radix Jesse) O Root of Jesse* standing like a banner before the nations, in whose presence kings fall silent, whose praise all peoples shall sing: Come, set us free, do not delay.
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
God of power and mercy, you call us once again to celebrate the coming of your Son. Remove those things which hinder love of you, that when he comes he may find us waiting in awe and wonder for him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
(A suitable hymn)
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.
