Evening Prayer: Friday 7 September 2018
Friday after Pentecost 15
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. (Ps. 123.2f)
Opening (from 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
by day and night I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence;*
incline your ear to my lamentation.
3 For I am full of trouble;*
my life is at the brink of the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;*
I have become like one who has no strength;
5 Lost among the dead,*
like the slain who lie in the grave,
6 Whom you remember no more,*
for they are cut off from your hand.
7 You have laid me in the depths of the Pit,*
in dark places, and in the abyss.
8 Your anger weighs upon me heavily,*
and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9 You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them;*
I am in prison and cannot get free.
10 My sight has failed me because of trouble;*
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.
11 Do you work wonders for the dead?*
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12 Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave?*
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13 Will your wonders be known in the dark?*
or your righteousness in the country where all
is forgotten?
14 But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help;*
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 Lord, why have you rejected me?*
why have you hidden your face from me?
16 Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the
point of death;*
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me;*
your terrors have destroyed me;
18 They surround me all day long like a flood;*
they encompass me on every side.
19 My friend and my neighbour you have put away from me,*
and darkness is my only companion.
Glory to the Father…
O Lord, when we are plunged into the darkness of despair, make known to us the wonders of your grace, for you alone are God and from you comes all our help and strength. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
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.
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 9.18-41
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sightand asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesusto be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?" Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see', your sin remains.
Silence
Response Psalm 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:
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:
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
Almighty and merciful God,
by whose grace alone
your faithful people offer you service and praise:
grant that we may hasten without stumbling
towards the things that you promise;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
ever 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.
