Moluag of Lismore, Bishop, c.592
Evening Prayer – Week A
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: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!* you are clothed with majesty and splendour. (Ps. 104.1)
Opening (from Psalm 104)
1 You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,*
and the sun knows the time of its setting.
2 You make darkness that it may be night,*
in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.
3 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;*
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
4 May these words of mine please him;*
I will rejoice in the Lord.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 18.21-50
21 The Lord rewarded me because of my righteous dealing;*
because my hands were clean he rewarded me;
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord*
and have not offended against my God;
23 For all his judgements are before my eyes,*
and his decrees I have not put away from me;
24 For I have been blameless with him*
and have kept myself from iniquity;
25 Therefore the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing,*
because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
26 With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God;*
with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
27 With the pure you show yourself pure,*
but with the crooked you are wily.
28 You will save a lowly people,*
but you will humble the haughty eyes.
29 You, O Lord, are my lamp;*
my God, you make my darkness bright.
30 With you I will break down an enclosure;*
with the help of my God I will scale any wall.
31 As for God, his ways are perfect;
the words of the Lord are tried in the fire;*
he is a shield to all who trust in him.
32 For who is God, but the Lord?*
who is the rock, except our God?
33 It is God who girds me about with strength*
and makes my way secure.
34 He makes me sure-footed like a deer*
and lets me stand firm on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle*
and my arms for bending even a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me your shield of victory;*
your right hand also sustains me;
your loving care makes me great.
37 You lengthen my stride beneath me,*
and my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;*
I will not turn back till I have destroyed them.
39 I strike them down, and they cannot rise;*
they fall defeated at my feet.
40 You have girded me with strength for the battle;*
you have cast down my adversaries beneath me;
you have put my enemies to flight.
41 I destroy those who hate me;
they cry out, but there is none to help them;*
they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer.
42 I beat them small like dust before the wind;*
I trample them like mud in the streets.
43 You deliver me from the strife of the peoples;*
you put me at the head of the nations.
44 A people I have not known shall serve me;
no sooner shall they hear than they shall obey me;*
strangers will cringe before me.
45 The foreign peoples will lose heart;*
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Blessed is my rock!*
Exalted is the God of my salvation!
47 He is the God who gave me victory*
and cast down the peoples beneath me.
48 You rescued me from the fury of my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;*
you saved me from my deadly foe.
49 Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O Lord,*
and sing praises to your name.
50 He multiplies the victories of his king;*
he shows loving-kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.
Conclusion (from 1 John 4)
1 Beloved let us love one another,*
for love is of God;
2 And those who love are born of God*
and know God.
3 Those who do not love do not know God,*
for God is love.
4 In this the love of God was made manifest among us,*
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.
5 In this is love: not that we loved God,*
but that God loved us and sent his Son
to be the expiation for our sins.
6 Beloved, if God so loved us,*
we also ought to love one another.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
you are clothed with majesty and splendour.
READING(S)
Luke 22:24-30
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Response (Ps. 119.105)
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
A light upon my path.
A lantern to my feet.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt 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: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt 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
O God our defender, storms rage about us and cause us to be afraid. Rescue your people from despair, deliver your sons and daughters from fear, and preserve us all from unbelief; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives 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.
