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 God’s Greatness
1Bless the Lord, O my
soul. ♦
O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
2You are clothed with
majesty and honour, ♦
wrapped in light as in a garment.
3The sun knows the time
for its setting. ♦
You make darkness that it may be night.
4O Lord, how manifold
are your works! ♦
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
5When you send forth
your spirit, they are created, ♦
and you renew the face of the earth.
6May the glory of the
Lord endure for ever; ♦
may the Lord rejoice in his works;
7I will sing to the Lord
as long as I live; ♦
I will make music to my God while I have my being.
Psalm 104.1, 2, 21b ,22a, 26, 32, 33, 35
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 appointed psalmody is said.
Refrain: O sing praises to God, sing praises.
1 Clap your hands together, all you peoples; ♦
O sing to God with shouts of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is to be feared; ♦
he is the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued the peoples under us ♦
and the nations under our feet.
4 He has chosen our heritage for us, ♦
the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. R
5 God has gone up with a merry noise, ♦
the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
6 O sing praises to God, sing praises; ♦
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth; ♦
sing praises with all your skill. R
8 God reigns over the nations; ♦
God has taken his seat upon his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the peoples are gathered together ♦
with the people of the God of Abraham.
10 For the powers of the earth belong to God ♦
and he is very highly exalted.
Refrain: O sing praises to God, sing praises.
As Christ was raised by your glory, O Father,
so may we be raised to new life
and rejoice to be called your children,
both now and for ever.
Refrain: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.
1 Hear this, all you peoples; ♦
listen, all you that dwell in the world,
2 You of low or high degree, ♦
both rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom ♦
and my heart shall meditate on understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a parable; ♦
I will unfold my riddle with the lyre. R
5 Why should I fear in evil days, ♦
when the malice of my foes surrounds me,
6 Such as trust in their goods ♦
and glory in the abundance of their riches?
7 For no one can indeed ransom another ♦
or pay to God the price of deliverance.
8 To ransom a soul is too costly; ♦
there is no price one could pay for it,
9 So that they might live for ever, ♦
and never see the grave.
10 For we see that the wise die also;
with the foolish and ignorant they perish ♦
and leave their riches to others.
11 Their tomb is their home for ever,
their dwelling through all generations, ♦
though they call their lands after their own names.
12 Those who have honour, but lack understanding, ♦
are like the beasts that perish. R
13 Such is the way of those who boast in themselves, ♦
the end of those who delight in their own words.
14 Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;
death is their shepherd; ♦
they go down straight to the Pit.
15 Their beauty shall waste away, ♦
and the land of the dead shall be their dwelling.
16 But God shall ransom my soul; ♦
from the grasp of death will he take me. R
17 Be not afraid if some grow rich ♦
and the glory of their house increases,
18 For they will carry nothing away when they die, ♦
nor will their glory follow after them.
19 Though they count themselves happy while they live ♦
and praise you for your success,
20 They shall enter the company of their ancestors ♦
who will nevermore see the light.
21 Those who have honour, but lack understanding, ♦
are like the beasts that perish.
Refrain: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.
Save us from envy, God our Redeemer,
and deliver us from the chains of wealth,
that, ransomed through your Son,
we may inherit the crown of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Then I said, Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.
But the Lord said to me,
Do not say, I am only a boy;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then the Lord said to me, You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it. The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north.
Then the Lord said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgements against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole landagainst the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
A Song of God’s Grace, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 58 (page 615), may be said
Refrain:
AllThe glorious grace of God
is freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Alleluia.
1Blessed are you,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ♦
for you have blest us in Christ Jesus
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
2You chose us to be yours
in Christ
before the foundation of the world, ♦
that we should be holy and blameless before you.
3In love you destined
us for adoption as your children,
through Jesus Christ, ♦
according to the purpose of your will,
4To the praise of your
glorious grace, ♦
which you freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
5In you, we have redemption
through the blood of Christ, ♦
the forgiveness of our sins,
6According to the riches
of your grace, ♦
which you have lavished upon us.
7You have made known
to us, in all wisdom and insight, ♦
the mystery of your will,
8According to your purpose
which you set forth in Christ, ♦
as a plan for the fullness of time,
9To unite all things
in Christ, ♦
things in heaven and things on earth.
Ephesians 1.3-10
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.
AllThe glorious grace of God
is freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God. Jesus answered him, Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. Nicodemus said to him, How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mothers womb and be born? Jesus answered, Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, You must be born from above. The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be? Jesus answered him, Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
In all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make straight your paths.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
from Proverbs 3
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or A Song of the Blessed (page 606)
may be said
Refrain:
AllMy spirit rejoices in you,
O God,
my soul proclaims your greatness.
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:
AllMy spirit rejoices in you,
O God,
my soul proclaims your greatness.
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 media and the arts
¶ Farming and fishing
¶ Commerce and industry
¶ Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful
or fraught with danger
¶ All who are unemployed
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
Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
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.
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.
©
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from
Church House Publishing.
The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.