Evening Prayer: Thursday 31 December 2020

Thursday 31 December 2020

Thursday after the first Sunday of Christmas
Incarnation

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: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, as we have put our trust in you. (Psalm 33.22)

Opening (from 33)

1 The eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him*
on those who wait upon his love.
2 To pluck their lives from death,*
and to feed them in time of famine.
3 Our soul waits for the Lord;*
he is our help and our shield.
4 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him,*
for in his holy name we put our trust.

Glory to the Father
or a suitable Hymn

Psalm 145
1 I will exalt you, O God my King,*
and bless your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless you*
and praise your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;*
there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another*
and shall declare your power.


5 I will ponder the glorious splendour of your majesty*
and all your marvellous works.

6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts,*
and I will tell of your greatness.

7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness;*
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,*
slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 The Lord is loving to everyone*
and his compassion is over all his works.

10 All your works praise you, O Lord,*
and your faithful servants bless you.

11 They make known the glory of your kingdom*
and speak of your power;

12 That the peoples may know of your power*
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;*
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14 The Lord is faithful in all his words*
and merciful in all his deeds.

15 The Lord upholds all those who fall;*
he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,*
and you give them their food in due season.

17 You open wide your hand*
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways*
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him,*
to all who call upon him faithfully.

20 He fulfils the desire of those who fear him,*
he hears their cry and helps them.

21 The Lord preserves all those who love him,*
but he destroys all the wicked.

22 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord;*
let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father…

Almighty God, give us grace to know you more and more, that knowing we may love and loving we may praise, that the whole world may hear your name and worship you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion


Philippians 2

1 Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus:*
the divine nature was his from the first:
2 Yet he did not grasp at equality with God;*
he emptied himself and became like a slave.
3 Taking the nature of man he was revealed in human form;*
he humbled himself and became obedient even to death,
death on a cross.
4 Therefore God has raised him on high,*
and has given him a name above every other name;
5 So that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,*
in heaven, on earth, and in the depths;
6 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord;*
to the glory of God the Father.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, as we have put our trust in you.

READING(S)

Isaiah 65.15b-25

You shall leave your name to my chosen to use as a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death; but to his servants he will give a different name. Then whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of faithfulness, and whoever takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of faithfulness; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my sight. For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord- and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent-its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Revelation 21.1-6

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Silence

Response Psalm 89.27

I will make him my first-born.
I will make him my first-born.
Higher than the kings of the earth.
My first-born.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will make him my first-born.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: To us is born this day a Saviour Christ the Lord.

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: To us is born this day a Saviour Christ the Lord.

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

O God,
you make us glad with the yearly remembrance
of the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ:
grant that, as we joyfully receive him as our Saviour,
so we may with confidence
behold him as he comes to be our Judge;
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.