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EVENING
PRAYER
for Wednesday
after 7 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 130
1 Out of the depths
have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, | hear my voice;*
let your ears consider well the
voice of my | supplication.
2 If you, Lord, were to note what is | done
amiss,*
O Lord, | who could stand?
3 For there is
forgive- | ness with you;*
therefore you | shall be feared.
4 I wait for the Lord; my soul | waits for him;*
in his word | is my hope.
5 My soul waits for
the Lord, more than watchmen | for
the morning,*
more than watchmen | for the
morning.
6 O Israel, wait |
for the Lord,*
for with the Lord | there is mercy;
7 with him there is
plen- | teous redemption,*
and he shall redeem Israel from
| all their sins.
Psalm 131
1 O Lord, I | am not proud;*
I have no | haughty looks.
2 I do not occupy
myself | with great matters,*
or with things that are too |
hard for me.
3 But I still my
soul and make it quiet,
like
a child upon its | mother's breast;*
my soul is quiet- | ed within
me.
4 O Israel, wait up-
| on the Lord,*
from this time forth for- |
evermore.
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
Hymn Come, thou Fount of Every Blessing LBW 499
1 Come, thou Fount of ev'ry blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
fills my heart with joy and love,
teach me ever to adore thee;
may I still thy goodness prove.
2 Here I raise my Ebenezer:
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
wand'ring from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
3 Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be;
let that grace now like a fetter
bind my wand'ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.
Text:
Robert Robinson, 1735-1790, alt.
Reading Ephesians
1:3-14
3Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through
Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the
praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In
him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With
all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as
a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in
heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an
inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who
accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that
we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of
his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the
seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our
inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
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
