Evening Prayer: Thursday 24 November 2022

Thursday 24 November 2022

Lucy Menzies, 1954
Week A

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: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness! you are clothed with majesty and splendour.

Opening (from Psalm 104)

1 You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,*
and the sun knows the time of its setting.
2 You make darkness that it may be night,*
in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.
3 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;*
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
4 May these words of mine please him;*
I will rejoice in the Lord.

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.

Glory to the Father…

Praise to you, God of our salvation; you come to our help and set us free. May your strength be our shield and your word be our lamp, that we may serve you with pure hearts and find victory through our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Conclusion


1 John 4

1 Beloved let us love one another,*
for love is of God;
2 And those who love are born of God*
and know God.
3 Those who do not love do not know God,*
for God is love.
4 In this the love of God was made manifest among us,*
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.
5 In this is love: not that we loved God,*
but that God loved us and sent his Son
to be the expiation for our sins.
6 Beloved, if God so loved us,*
we also ought to love one another.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness! you are clothed with majesty and splendour.

READING(S)

Luke 19.11-27

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.” When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” (And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” ’

Silence

Response Psalm 119.105

Your word is a lantern to my feet
Your word is a lantern to my feet
A light upon my path.
A lantern to my feet.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm; scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.

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: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm; scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.

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, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people:
that they, richly bearing the fruit of good works,
may by you be richly rewarded;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

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.