Thursday after Pentecost 20
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 105 Part II
23 Israel came into Egypt,*
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful;*
he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people,*
and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,*
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They worked his signs among them,*
and portents in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it grew dark;*
but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood*
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,*
in the very chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects*
and gnats within all their borders.
32 He gave them hailstones instead of rain,*
and flames of fire throughout their land.
33 He blasted their vines and their fig trees*
and shattered every tree in their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,*
and young locusts without number,
35 Which ate up all the green plants in their land*
and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 He struck down the firstborn of their land,*
the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold;*
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going,*
because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering*
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared,*
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed,*
so the river ran in the dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word*
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,*
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,*
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes*
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!
God of our salvation, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have fulfilled your promise to our ancestors in the faith to redeem the world from slavery and to lead us into the promised land. Grant us living water from the rock and bread from heaven, that we may survive our desert pilgrimage and praise you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
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 11:53 – 12:12
When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile towards him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.
‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’
Silence
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 Antiphons: 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 Antiphons: 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
Lord God our redeemer, who heard the cry of your people and sent your servant Moses to lead them out of
slavery, free us from the tyranny of sin and death, and by the leading of your Spirit bring us to our promised
land; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 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.
