Alexander Jolly, Bishop, 1838
Evening Prayer – Week C
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: Search me out, O God, and know my heart;*
try me and know my restless thoughts.
Opening (from Psalm 139.22)
1 You trace my journeys and my resting-places*
and are acquainted with all my ways.
2 Indeed there is not a word on my lips,*
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
3 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me,*
and the light around me turn to night’,
4 Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day;*
darkness and light to you are both alike.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 37.19-42
19 The Lord cares for the lives of the godly,*
and their inheritance shall last for ever.
20 They shall not be ashamed in bad times,*
and in days of famine they shall have enough.
21 As for the wicked, they shall perish,*
and the enemies of the Lord, like the glory of
the meadows, shall vanish; they shall vanish like smoke.
22 The wicked borrow and do not repay,*
but the righteous are generous in giving.
23 Those who are blessed by God shall possess the land,*
but those who are cursed by him shall be destroyed.
24 Our steps are directed by the Lord;*
he strengthens those in whose way he delights.
25 If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong,*
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
26 I have been young and now I am old,*
but never have I seen the righteous forsaken,
or their children begging bread.
27 The righteous are always generous in their lending,*
and their children shall be a blessing.
28 Turn from evil, and do good,*
and dwell in the land for ever.
29 For the Lord loves justice;*
he does not forsake his faithful ones.
30 They shall be kept safe for ever,*
but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.
31 The righteous shall possess the land*
and dwell in it for ever.
32 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,*
and their tongue speaks what is right.
33 The law of their God is in their heart,*
and their footsteps shall not falter.
34 The wicked spy on the righteous*
and seek occasion to kill them.
35 The Lord will not abandon them to their hand,*
nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.
36 Wait upon the Lord and keep his way;*
he will raise you up to possess the land,
and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
37 I have seen the wicked in their arrogance,*
flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
38 I went by, and behold, they were not there;*
I searched for them, but they could not be found.
39 Mark those who are honest; observe the upright;*
for there is a future for the peaceable.
40 Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all;*
the future of the wicked is cut off.
41 But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord;*
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
42 The Lord will help them and rescue them;*
he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
because they seek refuge in him.
God our strength, give us the humility to trust in your loving care, and the patience to be faithful in seeking your kingdom, that we may come to share in the inheritance of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Conclusion A song of Pilgrimage (from Sirach 51)
1 While I was still young, before I began my travels,*
I sought for wisdom openly in my prayers.
2 I asked for her outside the temple sanctuary,*
and I will seek her to the end.
3 She has been the delight of my heart.*
from first blossom to early fruit.
4 I have kept firmly to the true path;*
I have followed her steps since my youth.
5 I bowed my ear a little and received her;*
I found wisdom and was well instructed.
6 Glory to the One who gives me wisdom!*
I will live according to her way.
7 From the beginning I gained understanding from her;*
therefore I will never be deserted.
8 Because I longed to find her with all my heart,*
I have gained a good possession.
9 As my reward the Lord has given me a tongue*
with which I shall sing his praises.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Search me out, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my restless thoughts.
READING(S)
Matthew 21:12-22
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be called a house of prayer”;
but you are making it a den of robbers.’
The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read,
“Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise for yourself”?’
He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done.Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’
Response (Sirach 51.26)
Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you
Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you.
Let your souls receive instruction.
Take her yoke upon you.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: My soul proclaims* the greatness of the Lord
(not repeated in canticle).
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: My soul proclaims* the greatness of the Lord
(not repeated in canticle).
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
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing can be whole and nothing can be holy: increase your mercy towards us, that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so enjoy the good things of time, as not to lose the things of eternity; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
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.
