Thursday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
(Consecration of the Rt Revd Kevin Pearson, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, 2011)
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.
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 81
1 Sing with joy to God our strength*
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel,*
the merry harp, and the lyre.
3 Blow the ram’s-horn at the new moon,*
and at the full moon, the day of our feast.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,*
a law of the God of Jacob.
5 He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph,*
when he came out of the land of Egypt.
6 I heard an unfamiliar voice saying,*
‘I eased his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were set free from bearing the load.’
7 You called on me in trouble, and I saved you;*
I answered you from the secret place of thunder
and tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8 Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you:*
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;*
you shall not worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said,*
‘Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.’
11 And yet my people did not hear my voice,*
and Israel would not obey me.
12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts,*
to follow their own devices.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!*
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I should soon subdue their enemies*
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,*
and their punishment would last for ever.
16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat*
and satisfy him with honey from the rock.
Father, forgive our foolish ways, and feed us always with that living bread which is given for the life of the world, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
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. Amen.
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)
John 6:60-71
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.’ He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
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: 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, through our human frailty, we cannot stand firm; give us strength and protection, that, with your help, we may overcome all difficulties; through Jesus Chris, 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.
