Evening Prayer: Wednesday 29 March 2023

Wednesday 29 March 2023

John Keble, Priest, 1866
The Suffering Christ

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: Lord, hear my prayer; answer me in your righteousness.

Opening (from Psalm 143)

1 I spread out my hands to you;*
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
2 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me;*
do not hide your face from me
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
3 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,*
for I flee to you for refuge.
4 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;*
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Glory to the Father
or a suitable Hymn

Psalm 55
1 Hear my prayer, O God;*
do not hide yourself from my petition.

2 Listen to me and answer me;*
I have no peace, because of my cares.

3 I am shaken by the noise of the enemy*
and by the pressure of the wicked;

4 For they have cast an evil spell upon me*
and are set against me in fury.

5 My heart quakes within me,*
and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

6 Fear and trembling have come over me,*
and horror overwhelms me.

7 And I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove!*
I would fly away and be at rest.

8 I would flee to a far-off place*
and make my lodging in the wilderness.

9 I would hasten to escape*
from the stormy wind and tempest.’

10 Swallow them up, O Lord; confound their speech;*
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

11 Day and night the watchmen make their rounds upon her walls,*
but trouble and misery are in the midst of her.

12 There is corruption at her heart;*
her streets are never free of oppression and deceit.

13 For had it been an adversary who taunted me,
then I could have borne it;*
or had it been an enemy who vaunted himself against me,
then I could have hidden from him.

14 But it was you, a man after my own heart,*
my companion, my own familiar friend.

15 We took sweet counsel together,*
and walked with the throng in the house of God.

16 Let death come upon them suddenly;
let them go down alive into the grave;*
for wickedness is in their dwellings, in their very midst.

17 But I will call upon God,*
and the Lord will deliver me.

18 In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday,
I will complain and lament,*
and he will hear my voice.

19 He will bring me safely back from the battle
waged against me;*
for there are many who fight me.

20 God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me and
bring them down;*
they never change; they do not fear God.

21 My companion stretched forth his hand against his comrade;*
he has broken his covenant.

22 His speech is softer than butter,*
but war is in his heart.

23 His words are smoother than oil,*
but they are drawn swords.

24 Cast your burden upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you;*
he will never let the righteous stumble.

25 For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful*
down to the pit of destruction, O God.

26 They shall not live out half their days,*
but I will put my trust in you.

Glory to the Father…

God of grace, when we are frightened and alone, help us to trust you and cast our burdens upon you, that we may be upheld by your saving strength. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion


1 Peter 2

1 Christ our Lord suffered for us, leaving us an example,*
that we should follow in his steps.
2 He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips;*
when he was reviled he did not revile in return.
3 When he suffered he did not threaten,*
but trusted in God who judges justly.
4 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,*
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
5 By his wounds we have been healed;*
for we were straying like sheep,
6 But now we have returned*
to the shepherd and guardian of our souls.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Lord, hear my prayer; answer me in your righteousness.

READING(S)

John 10.1-18

‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

Silence

Response Psalm 140.6

I have said to the Lord, You are my God.
I have said to the Lord, You are my God.
Listen, O Lord, to my supplication.
You are my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I have said to the Lord, You are my God.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: Jesus died so that we might live for God.

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: Jesus died so that we might live for God.

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

Merciful God,
look upon your family as we travel to the foot of the cross:
and, by your great goodness, guide us in body;
that, by your protection,
we may also be preserved in heart and mind;
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.