William of Perth (or Rochester), 1201
Evening Prayer – New Life: The Lord
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: With you is the well of life,* and in your light we see light. (Ps. 36.9)
Opening (from Psalm 36)
1 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,*
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
2 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep;*
you save both man and beast, O Lord.
3 How priceless is your love, O God!*
your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
4 They feast upon the abundance of your house;*
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
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 Colossians 1)
1 Give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;*
he has delivered us from the dominion of darkness.
2 He has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,*
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
3 He is the image of the invisible God,*
the first-born of all creation.
4 For in him all things were created,*
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
5 He is the head of the body, the church;*
he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead.
6 In him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,*
to reconcile all things to himself,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: With you is the well of life,* and in your light we see light. (Ps. 36.9)
READING(S)
Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
Response (Ps. 30.1)
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.
You have not let my enemies triumph over me.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: I am the vine* and you are the branches, says the Lord, alleluia!
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: I am the vine* and you are the branches, says the Lord, alleluia!
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
Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you riches beyond imagination. Pour into our hearts such love towards you that we, loving you above all things, may obtain your promises which exceed all that we can desire; 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.
