Evening Prayer: Sunday 6 September 2015

September 6, 2015

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 139
1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me;*
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places*
and are acquainted with all my ways.
3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips,*
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
4 You press upon me behind and before*
and lay your hand upon me.
5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;*
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.
6 Where can I go then from your Spirit?*
where can I flee from your presence?
7 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;*
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
8 If I take the wings of the morning*
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
9 Even there your hand will lead me*
and your right hand hold me fast.
10 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me,*
and the light around me turn to night,’
11 Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;*
darkness and light to you are both alike.
12 For you yourself created my inmost parts;*
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
13 I will thank you because I am marvellously made;*
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
14 My body was not hidden from you,*
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book;*
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.
16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God!*
how great is the sum of them!
17 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.
18 Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God!*
You that thirst for blood, depart from me.
19 They speak despitefully against you;*
your enemies take your name in vain.
20 Do I not hate those, O Lord, who hate you?*
and do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
21 I hate them with a perfect hatred;*
they have become my own enemies.
22 Search me out, O God, and know my heart;*
try me and know my restless thoughts.
23 Look well whether there be any wickedness in me*
and lead me in the way that is everlasting.

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)

Mark 7:24-37
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

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: Abide with us, Lord,* for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent.

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: Abide with us, Lord,* for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent.

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.