Evening Prayer: Tuesday 23 December 2025

Tuesday 23 December 2025

This is the new revised order for Daily Prayer authorised for experimental use. You can find the 2006 Revised version here.

Week 4 of Advent
Advent

O God make speed to save us;
O Lord make haste to help us.

Glory to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God; * in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
(Psalm 141.8)

Opening (from Psalms 140 and 141)

1. I have said to the Lord, ”You are my God;
listen, O Lord, to my supplication.”

2. Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly; *
hear my voice when I cry to you

3. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor *
and render justice to the needy.

4. Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your name,*
and the upright shall continue in your sight.

Glory ...
or a suitable Hymn

Psalm 129

1. ”Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth,” *
let Israel now say;

2. ”Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth, *
but they have not prevailed against me.”

3. The farmers plowed upon my back *
and made their furrows long.

4. The Lord, the Righteous One, *
has cut the cords of the wicked.

5. Let them be put to shame and thrown back, *
all those who are enemies of Zion.

6. Let them be like grass upon the housetops, *
which withers before it can be plucked;

7. which does not fill the hand of the reaper, *
nor the bosom of the one who binds the sheaves;

8. so that those who go by say not so much as, ”The Lord prosper you. *
We wish you well in the name of the Lord.”

Glory …

Psalm 130

1. Out of the depths *
have I called you, O Lord;

2. Lord, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

3. If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?

4. For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

5. I wait for you, O Lord; my soul waits for you; *
in your word is my hope.

6. My soul waits for you, O Lord, *
more than sentinels for the morning, more than sentinels for the morning.

7. O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
for with the Lord there is mercy;

8. with whom there is plenteous redemption, *
and who shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Psalm 131

1. O Lord, I am not proud; I have no haughty looks. *
I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.

2. But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother’s breast; *
my soul is quieted within me.

3. O Israel, wait upon the Lord, *
from this time forth for evermore.

Conclusion

Revelation 22

1. I am the Alpha and the Omega, *
says the Lord.

2. The first and the last,*
the beginning and the end.

3. I am the root and offspring of David,*
the bright morning star.

4. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come;*
let anyone who hears, say, Come,

5 Let anyone who is thirsty come;*
let anyone who desires take the water of life without price.

6. The Lord says, Surely I am coming soon.*
Amen; come, Lord Jesus!

Glory …

Antiphon: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God; * in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.

READING(S)

Luke 1:67-80

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Silence

Response (Psalm 28.9)

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.

SONG OF MARY

Song of Mary Antiphon: O God* our King and lawgiver, for whom the nations wait, O Saviour of all people: Come, Lord our God, and save us.

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)

Song of Mary Antiphon: O God* our King and lawgiver, for whom the nations wait, O Saviour of all people: Come, Lord our God, and save us.

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

Stir up your power, Lord, and come:
and strengthen us by the might of your love;
that, although we are hindered by our sins,
your abundant grace and mercy may quickly come and save us;
for you live and reign with the Father,
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.