O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
a prayer of thanksgiving (page 110),
a suitable hymn,
or A Song of God’s Chosen One
1There shall come forth
a shoot from the stock of Jesse, •
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2And the Spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon him, •
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
3The spirit of counsel
and might, •
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
4He shall not judge by
what his eyes see, •
or decide by what his ears hear,
5But with righteousness
he shall judge the poor, •
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
6The wolf shall dwell
with the lamb, •
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.
7The calf, the lion and
the fatling together, •
with a little child to lead them.
8They shall not hurt
or destroy in all my holy mountain, •
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11.1,2,3b-4a,6,9
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: Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days.
1I said, ‘I will keep watch over my ways, •
so that I offend not with my tongue.
2‘I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, •
while the wicked are in my sight.’
3So I held my tongue and said nothing; •
I kept silent but to no avail. R
4My distress increased, my heart grew hot within me; •
while I mused, the fire was kindled
and I spoke out with my tongue:
5‘Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days, •
that I may know how short my time is.
6‘You have made my days but a handsbreadth,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight; •
truly, even those who stand upright are but a breath. R
7‘We walk about like a shadow
and in vain we are in turmoil; •
we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them.
8‘And now, what is my hope? •
Truly my hope is even in you.
9‘Deliver me from all my transgressions •
and do not make me the taunt of the fool.’ R
10I fell silent and did not open my mouth, •
for surely it was your doing.
11Take away your plague from me; •
I am consumed by the blows of your hand.
12With rebukes for sin you punish us;
like a moth you consume our beauty; •
truly, everyone is but a breath. R
13Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; •
hold not your peace at my tears.
14For I am but a stranger with you, •
a wayfarer, as all my forebears were.
15Turn your gaze from me, that I may be glad again, •
before I go my way and am no more. R
Refrain: Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days.
O Christ, Son of the living God,
help us when we are too cast down to pray,
and grant that we may trust you all our days,
for you are with us in our living and our dying,
Jesus, Lord and God.
Refrain: Great are the wonders you have done, O Lord my God.
1I waited patiently for the Lord; •
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2He brought me out of the roaring pit,
out of the mire and clay; •
he set my feet upon a rock and made my footing sure.
3He has put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; •
many shall see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
4Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, •
who does not turn to the proud that follow a lie.
5Great are the wonders you have done, O Lord my God.
How great your designs for us! •
There is none that can be compared with you.
6If I were to proclaim them and tell of them •
they would be more than I am able to express. R
7Sacrifice and offering you do not desire •
but my ears you have opened;
8Burnt offering and sacrifice for sin you have not required; •
then said I: ‘Lo, I come.
9‘In the scroll of the book it is written of me
that I should do your will, O my God; •
I delight to do it: your law is within my heart.’
10I have declared your righteousness in the great congregation; •
behold, I did not restrain my lips,
and that, O Lord, you know.
11Your righteousness I have not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; •
I have not concealed your loving-kindness and truth
from the great congregation. R
12Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord; •
let your love and your faithfulness always preserve me,
13For innumerable troubles have come about me;
my sins have overtaken me so that I cannot look up; •
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
14Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; •
O Lord, make haste to help me.
15Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it; •
let them be driven back and put to shame
who wish me evil. R
16Let those who heap insults upon me •
be desolate because of their shame.
17Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad; •
let those who love your salvation say always,
‘The Lord is great.’
18Though I am poor and needy, •
the Lord cares for me.
19You are my helper and my deliverer; •
O my God, make no delay. R
Refrain: Great are the wonders you have done, O Lord my God.
Free us from our sins, O God,
and may our sacrifices be of praise
to the glory of your Son,
our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
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.
Great and Wonderful, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 63 (page 621), may be said
Refrain:
AllAll nations shall come and
worship you, O Christ,
and share in the feast of your kingdom.
1Great and wonderful
are your deeds, •
Lord God the Almighty.
2Just and true are your
ways, •
O ruler of the nations.
3Who shall not revere
and praise your name, O Lord? •
for you alone are holy.
4All nations shall come
and worship in your presence: •
for your just dealings have been revealed.
Revelation 15.3, 4
AllTo the One who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb •
be blessing and honour and glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.
AllAll nations shall come and
worship you, O Christ,
and share in the feast of your kingdom.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt-offerings, to make grain-offerings, and to make sacrifices for all time.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord: If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time, only then could my covenant with my servant David be broken, so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with my ministers the Levites. Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will increase the offspring of my servant David, and the Levites who minister to me.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Have you not observed how these people say, ‘The two families that the Lord chose have been rejected by him’, and how they hold my people in such contempt that they no longer regard them as a nation?
Thus says the Lord: Only if I had not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth,
would I reject the offspring of Jacob and of my servant David and not choose any of his descendants as rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy upon them.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?
You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?
But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
‘God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.’
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbour?
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
AllFear not, for I have
redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
AllI have called you by
name; you are mine.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllFear not, for I have
redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
from Isaiah 43
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or A Song of Christ’s Appearing
(page 621) may be said
Refrain:
AllThey were faithful unto death
and God has given them the crown of life.
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:
AllThey were faithful unto death
and God has given them the crown of life.
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs
The cycle on pages 364–365 and the prayer on page 377 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
God our Father,
whose Son enjoyed the love of his friends,
Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
in learning, argument and hospitality:
may we so rejoice in your love
that the world may come to know
the depths of your wisdom, the wonder of your compassion,
and your power to bring life out of death;
through the merits of Jesus Christ,
our friend and brother,
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.
AllThanks be to God.