¶ Evening Prayer on Friday
Friday, 4 July 2025

Preparation

O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.

The Blessing of Light (page 110) may replace the Preparation at Evening Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

A prayer of thanksgiving (page 110),

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
AllBlessed be God for ever.

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of Entreaty

1Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and in your faithfulness give ear to my supplications; ♦
answer me in your righteousness.

2Enter not into judgement with your servant, ♦
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.

3My spirit faints within me; ♦
my heart within me is desolate.

4I stretch out my hands to you; ♦
my soul gasps for you like a thirsty land.

5O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; ♦
hide not your face from me
lest I be like those who go down to the Pit.

6Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for in you I put my trust; ♦
show me the way I should walk in,
for I lift up my soul to you.

7Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; ♦
let your kindly spirit lead me on a level path.

8Revive me, O Lord, for your name’s sake; ♦
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.

Psalm 143.1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10, 11

AllGlory 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.

This opening prayer may be said

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 38

Refrain: Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.

1 Rebuke me not, O Lord, in your anger, ♦
neither chasten me in your heavy displeasure.

2 For your arrows have stuck fast in me ♦
and your hand presses hard upon me.

3 There is no health in my flesh
because of your indignation; ♦
there is no peace in my bones because of my sin.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; ♦
their weight is a burden too heavy to bear. R

5 My wounds stink and fester ♦
because of my foolishness.

6 I am utterly bowed down and brought very low; ♦
I go about mourning all the day long.

7 My loins are filled with searing pain; ♦
there is no health in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; ♦
I roar aloud because of the disquiet of my heart. R

9 O Lord, you know all my desires ♦
and my sighing is not hidden from you.

10 My heart is pounding, my strength has failed me; ♦
the light of my eyes is gone from me.

11 My friends and companions stand apart from my affliction; ♦
my neighbours stand afar off.

12 Those who seek after my life lay snares for me; ♦
and those who would harm me whisper evil
and mutter slander all the day long. R

13 But I am like one who is deaf and hears not, ♦
like one that is dumb, who does not open his mouth.

14 I have become like one who does not hear ♦
and from whose mouth comes no retort.

15 For in you, Lord, have I put my trust; ♦
you will answer me, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, ‘Let them not triumph over me, ♦
those who exult over me when my foot slips.’ R

17 Truly, I am on the verge of falling ♦
and my pain is ever with me.

18 I will confess my iniquity ♦
and be sorry for my sin.

19 Those that are my enemies without any cause are mighty, ♦
and those who hate me wrongfully are many in number.

20 Those who repay evil for good are against me, ♦
because the good is what I seek.

21 Forsake me not, O Lord; ♦
be not far from me, O my God.

22 Make haste to help me, ♦
O Lord of my salvation.

Refrain: Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.

Almighty Lord and Saviour,
behold with pity the wounds of your people;
do not forsake us, sinful as we are,
but for the sake of the passion of your
Beloved One, Jesus,
come quickly to our aid,
for his mercy’s sake.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory 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.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Judges 6.25-end

That night the Lord said to him, ‘Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred pole that is beside it; and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order; then take the second bull, and offer it as a burnt-offering with the wood of the sacred pole that you shall cut down.’ So Gideon took ten of his servants, and did as the Lord had told him; but because he was too afraid of his family and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it by night.

When the townspeople rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the sacred pole beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. So they said to one another, ‘Who has done this?’ After searching and inquiring, they were told, ‘Gideon son of Joash did it.’ Then the townspeople said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son, so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pole beside it.’ But Joash said to all who were arrayed against him, ‘Will you contend for Baal? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down.’ Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, ‘Let Baal contend against him’, because he pulled down his altar.

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came together, and crossing the Jordan they encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

Then Gideon said to God, ‘In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.’ And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.’ And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Canticle

A Song of the Justified, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 61 (page 619), may be said

Refrain:

AllOur hope is not in vain,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. Alleluia.

1God reckons as righteous those who believe, ♦
who believe in him who raised Jesus from the dead;

2For Christ was handed over to death for our sins, ♦
and raised to life for our justification.

3Since we are justified by faith, ♦
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

4Through Christ we have gained access
to the grace in which we stand, ♦
and rejoice in our hope of the glory of God.

5We even exult in our sufferings, ♦
for suffering produces endurance,

6And endurance brings hope, ♦
and our hope is not in vain,

7Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts, ♦
through the Holy Spirit, given to us.

8God proves his love for us: ♦
while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

9Since we have been justified by his death, ♦
how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath.

10Therefore, we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ♦
in whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Romans 4.24, 25; 5.1-5, 8, 9, 11

AllGlory 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.

AllOur hope is not in vain,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Luke 14.12-24

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” ’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Forsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
AllBe not far from me, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.

from Psalm 38

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have scattered the proud in their conceit,
and lifted up the lowly.

1My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

2From this day all generations will call me blessed; ♦
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.

3He has mercy on those who fear him, ♦
from generation to generation.

4He has shown strength with his arm ♦
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

5Casting down the mighty from their thrones ♦
and lifting up the lowly.

6He has filled the hungry with good things ♦
and sent the rich away empty.

7He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, ♦
to remember his promise of mercy,

8The promise made to our ancestors, ♦
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1.46-55

AllGlory 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.

Refrain:

AllYou have scattered the proud in their conceit,
and lifted up the lowly.

Prayers

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ The King, members of parliament and the armed forces
¶ Peace and justice in the world
¶ Those who work for reconciliation
¶ All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
¶ Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

All The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.