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EVENING
PRAYER
for Wednesday
after 5 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
The psalmody begins with this prayer for
forgiveness and protection:
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. Ps. 141:1-7
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 15
1
Lord, who may dwell in your | tabernacle?*
Who may abide upon your | holy
hill?
2 Whoever leads a
blameless life and does | what is right,*
who speaks the truth | from his
heart,
3 there is no guile
upon his tongue; he does no evil | to his friend;*
he does not heap contempt up- |
on his neighbor.
4 In his sight the
wicked | is rejected,*
but he honors those who | fear
the Lord.
5 He has sworn to |
do no wrong*
and does not take | back his
word.
6 He does not give
his money in | hope of gain,*
nor does he take a bribe a- |
gainst the innocent.
7 Whoever | does
these things*
shall never be | overthrown.
Lord
Jesus, you first chose to live among us, and in returning to your Father you
made an eternal home for us. Help us walk blamelessly in your ways and bring us
at last to your holy mountain, where you live and reign with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Hymn God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending LBW 408
(TEXT
MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED HERE)
READING 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in
speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you
excel in this act of grace also.
8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the
earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that
you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this
matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago
started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So
now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be
matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For
if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person
has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For
I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a
matter of fairness 14 your abundance
at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may
supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As
it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever
gathered little had no lack.”
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
L Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and
immortal,
C have mercy and hear us.
C Our 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, and
the power, and the glory,
forever and
ever. Amen
C I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of
heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit
and
born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended
into hell.
On the third day
he rose again.
He ascended into
heaven,
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come
again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy
catholic Church,
the communion of
saints,
the forgiveness
of sins,
the resurrection
of the body,
and the life
everlasting. Amen
L Show us your mercy, O Lord,
C and grant us your salvation.
L Clothe your ministers with
righteousness.
C Let your people sing with joy.
L Give peace, O Lord, in all the
world;
C for only in you can we live in
safety.
L Lord, keep this nation under your
care,
C and guide us in the way of
justice and truth.
L Let your way be known upon earth;
C your saving health among all
nations.
L Let not the needy, O Lord, be
forgotten,
C nor the hope of the poor be
taken away.
L Create in us clean hearts, O God,
C and sustain us with your Holy
Spirit.
L The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
L Let us pray. . . .
C Amen
6. The final prayer is that
appropriate to the time of day:
EVENING
L We give thanks to you, heavenly
Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have this day so
graciously protected us. We beg you to forgive us all our sins and the wrong
which we have done. By your great mercy defend us from all the perils and
dangers of this night. Into your hands we commend our bodies and souls, and all
that is ours. Let your holy angels have charge of us, that the wicked one have
no power over us.
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
L The Lord bless us, defend us from
all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
C Amen
