Evening Prayer: Tuesday 13 September 2016

September 13, 2016

Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr, 258
Evening Prayer – Week B

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: Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?

Opening (from Psalm 139)

1 I will thank you because I am marvellously made;*
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
2 My body was not hidden from you,*
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
3 How deep I find your thoughts, O God!*
how great is the sum of them!
4 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand;* to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 48
1 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;*
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion,*
the very centre of the world and the city of the great king.
3 God is in her citadels;*
he is known to be her sure refuge.
4 Behold, the kings of the earth assembled*
and marched forward together.
5 They looked and were astounded;*
they retreated and fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there;*
they writhed like a woman in childbirth,
like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7 As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God;*
God has established her for ever.
8 We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God,*
in the midst of your temple.
9 Your praise, like your name, O God, reaches to
the world’s end;* your right hand is full of justice.
10 Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice,*
because of your judgements.
11 Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her;*
count the number of her towers.
12 Consider well her bulwarks;
examine her strongholds;*
that you may tell those who come after.
13 This God is our God for ever and ever;*
he shall be our guide for evermore.

Gracious God, you have made us fellow-citizens with the saints in the city of your eternal light. In the time of storm, when the foundations shake, teach us to wait in silence on your steadfast and transforming love, made known to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion (from 1 Timothy 3)

1 Great indeed, we confess,*
is the mystery of our religion.
2 He was manifested in the flesh,*
vindicated in the Spirit,
3 Seen by angels,*
preached among the nations,
4 Believed on in the world;*
taken up in glory.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?

READING(S)

John 12:9-19

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
the King of Israel!’
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!’
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, ‘You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!’

Response (Ps. 105.5)

Call to mind what wonders he has done!
Call to mind what wonders he has done!
His marvellous acts and the judgements of his mouth.
What wonders he has done!
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Call to mind what wonders he has done!

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: Our spirits rejoice* in God our Saviour.

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: Our spirits rejoice* in God our Saviour.

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 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

Guard your Church, O Lord, with your perpetual mercy: and since without your aid we lose our way, draw us always, by your help, away from harm, and steer us towards salvation; through Jesus Christ, 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.