Evening Prayer: Thursday 8 January 2015

January 8, 2015

Evening Prayer: Thursday 8 January 2015

Thursday after the Epiphany

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: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,*
as we have put our trust in you. (Ps. 33.22)

Opening (from Psalm 33)
1 The eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him*
on those who wait upon his love.
2 To pluck their lives from death,*
and to feed them in time of famine.
3 Our soul waits for the Lord;*
he is our help and our shield.
4 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him,*
for in his holy name we put our trust.

Psalm 145

1 I will exalt you, O God my King,*
and bless your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless you*
and praise your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;*
there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another*
and shall declare your power.

5 I will ponder the glorious splendour of your majesty*
and all your marvellous works.

6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts,*
and I will tell of your greatness.

7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness;*
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,*
slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 The Lord is loving to everyone*
and his compassion is over all his works.

10 All your works praise you, O Lord,*
and your faithful servants bless you.

11 They make known the glory of your kingdom*
and speak of your power;

12 That the peoples may know of your power*
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;*
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14 The Lord is faithful in all his words*
and merciful in all his deeds.

15 The Lord upholds all those who fall;*
he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,*
and you give them their food in due season.

17 You open wide your hand*
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways*
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him,*
to all who call upon him faithfully.

20 He fulfils the desire of those who fear him,*
he hears their cry and helps them.

21 The Lord preserves all those who love him,*
but he destroys all the wicked.

22 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord;*
let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Almighty God, give us grace to know you more and more, that knowing we may love and loving we may praise, that the whole world may hear your name and worship you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Conclusion (from Philippians 2)
1 Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus:*
the divine nature was his from the first:
2 Yet he did not grasp at equality with God;*
he emptied himself and became like a slave.
3 Taking the nature of man he was revealed in human form;*
he humbled himself and became obedient even to death,
death on a cross.
4 Therefore God has raised him on high,*
and has given him a name above every other name;
5 So that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,*
in heaven, on earth, and in the depths;
6 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord;*
to the glory of God the Father.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
as we have put our trust in you.

READING(S)

John 4:46-54

Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Silence

Response (Ps. 28.11)

Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Shepherd them and carry them for ever.
Bless your inheritance.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphons:  Glory to Christ* who is preached among the nations and
believed on in the world. (from 1 Tim. 3.16)

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: Glory to Christ* who is preached among the nations and believed on in the world. (from 1 Tim 3.16)

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

Eternal God, who by a star led wise men to the worship of your Son, guide by your light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may know your glory; 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.