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EVENING
PRAYER
for Wednesday
in the week after Pentecost
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
Jesus
Christ is the light of the world,
the light no darkness can overcome.
Stay
with us, Lord, for it is evening,
and the day is almost over.
Let your
light scatter the darkness,
and illumine your church.
Joyous
light of glory:
of the immortal
Father;
heavenly,
holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
We
have come to the setting of the sun,
and
we look to the evening light.
We
sing to God, the Father, Son,
and
Holy Spirit:
You
are worthy of being praised
with
pure voices forever.
O
Son of God, O Giver of life:
The
universe proclaims your glory.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and
praise.
Blessed
are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Enlighten our darkness by
the light of your Christ; may his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path, for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation; and we, your creatures,
glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Let my prayer rise before you as
incense;
the
lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O Lord, I call to you; come to me
quickly;
hear
my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you as
incense;
the
lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord,
and
guard the door of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil
thing;
let
me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers.
But my eyes are turned to you, Lord
God;
in
you I take refuge. Strip me not of my life.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Let my prayer rise before you as
incense;
the
lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Silence for meditation.
Let the
incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your
lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your
praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify
you forever and ever.
Amen
Psalm 1
My
delight is in the Law of the Lord.
My delight is in the Law of the Lord.
1 Happy are they
who
have not walked in the counsel | of the wicked,*
nor lingered in the way of
sinners,
nor sat in the seats | of the scornful!
2 Their delight is
in the law | of the Lord,*
and they meditate on his law |
day and night.
3 They are like
trees planted by streams of water,
bearing
fruit in due season, with leaves that | do not wither;*
everything they | do shall
prosper.
4 It is not so |
with the wicked;*
they are like chaff which the
wind | blows away.
5 Therefore the
wicked shall not stand upright
when | judgment comes,*
nor the sinner in the council |
of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way | of the righteous,*
but the way of the wick- | ed is
doomed.
My
delight is in the Law of the Lord.
Lord
God, in your loving wisdom you have set us beside the fountain of life, like a
tree planted by running streams. Grant that the cross of your Son may become
our tree of life in the paradise of your saints, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen
Hymn O Holy Spirit, Enter In LBW 459
1 O Holy Spirit, enter
in,
and in our hearts
your work begin,
and make our hearts
your dwelling.
Sun of the soul, O
Light divine,
around and in us
brightly shine,
your strength in us
upwelling.
In your radiance
life from heaven
now is given
overflowing,
gift of gifts beyond
all knowing.
2 Left to ourselves, we
surely stray;
oh, lead us on the
narrow way,
with wisest counsel guide
us;
and give us
steadfastness, that we
may follow you
forever free,
no matter who derides
us.
Gently heal those
hearts now broken;
give some token
you are near us,
whom we trust to
light and cheer us.
3 O mighty Rock, O
Source of life,
let your good Word in
doubt and strife
that we be faithful
unto death
and live in love and
holy faith,
from you true wisdom
learning.
Lord, your mercy
on us shower;
by your power
Christ confessing,
we will cherish all
your blessing.
READING Luke 11:53 – 12:12
As
he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard
and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in
wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
In the
meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that
they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be
revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in
the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be
proclaimed on the housetops.
“I tell you, my friends, do
not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they
can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he
has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not
one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear
not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
“And I tell you, everyone who
acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the
angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be
denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the
rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should
defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you
ought to say.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Silence for reflection.
Response
In many
and various ways
God
spoke to his people of old by the prophets.
But now in these last days he has spoken to
us by his Son.
The GOSPEL CANTICLE is sung.
My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior,
for he has looked with favor on
his lowly servant.
From this day all generations
will call me blessed.
The Almighty has
done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on
those who fear him
in every
generation.
He has shown the strength of his
arm;
he has scattered the proud in
their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from
their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with
good things,
and the rich he has sent away
empty.
He has come to the help of his
servant Israel,
for he has remembered his
promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our
fathers,
to Abraham and his children
forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the
Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be
forever. Amen
The Lord
be with you.
And also with you.
The prayers are said with the
congregation saying ‘Amen’ to each.
The final prayer is said:
Accept,
O Lord, our praises and supplications, and look graciously on our households
and our faith family, that we may abide this night in peace and safety under
the shadow of your wings, and so assist us by your grace that we may be made
fit for that kingdom where there shall be no more sin, nor sorrow, nor pain,
but all shall be joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, to whom, with you, O Father,
and you, O blessed Jesus, be all glory, both now and evermore.
Amen
The Lord’s
Prayer is said.
Then
is said:
Let us
bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The
almighty and merciful Lord,
the
Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us.
Amen
