¶ Evening Prayer
Epiphany Season
Saturday, 13 January 2024
Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher of the Faith, 367 [Lesser Festival]
Kentigern (Mungo), Missionary Bishop in Strathclyde and Cumbria, 603 [Commemoration]
George Fox, Founder of the Society of Friends (the Quakers), 1691 [Commemoration]
Preparation
O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
Allyour glory is proclaimed in all the world.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
You gave your Christ as a light to the nations,
and through the anointing of the Spirit
you established us as a royal priesthood.
As you call us into your marvellous light,
may our lives bear witness to your truth
and our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
A Song of God’s Splendour (page 561), the following or another suitable hymn
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him, the Lord is his name!
Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness,
high on his heart he will bear it for thee,
comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.
Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine:
truth in its beauty, and love in its tenderness,
these are the offerings to lay on his shrine.
These though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness,
he will accept for the name that is dear;
mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
trust for our trembling and hope for our fear.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him, the Lord is his name!
J S B Monsell
(Tune: 13 10 13 10)
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 Word of God
Psalmody
The appointed psalmody is said.
Psalm 84
Refrain: Blessed are they who dwell in your house.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!♦
My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young:♦
at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
3 Blessed are they who dwell in your house:♦
they will always be praising you.R
4 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,♦
in whose heart are the highways to Zion,
5 Who going through the barren valley find there a spring,♦
and the early rains will clothe it with blessing.
6 They will go from strength to strength♦
and appear before God in Zion.R
7 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;♦
listen, O God of Jacob.
8 Behold our defender, O God,♦
and look upon the face of your anointed.
9 For one day in your courts♦
is better than a thousand.R
10 I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God♦
than dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
11 For the Lord God is both sun and shield;
he will give grace and glory;♦
no good thing shall the Lord withhold
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord God of hosts,♦
blessed are those who put their trust in you.
Refrain: Blessed are they who dwell in your house.
Lord God,
sustain us in this vale of tears
with the vision of your grace and glory,
that, strengthened by the bread of life,
we may come to your eternal dwelling place;
in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 85
Refrain: Show us your mercy, O Lord.
1 Lord, you were gracious to your land;♦
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the offence of your people♦
and covered all their sins.
3 You laid aside all your fury♦
and turned from your wrathful indignation.R
4 Restore us again, O God our Saviour,♦
and let your anger cease from us.
5 Will you be displeased with us for ever?♦
Will you stretch out your wrath from one generation to another?
6 Will you not give us life again,♦
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your mercy, O Lord,♦
and grant us your salvation.R
8 I will listen to what the Lord God will say,♦
for he shall speak peace to his people and to the faithful,
that they turn not again to folly.
9 Truly, his salvation is near to those who fear him,♦
that his glory may dwell in our land.R
10 Mercy and truth are met together,♦
righteousness and peace have kissed each other;
11 Truth shall spring up from the earth♦
and righteousness look down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give all that is good,♦
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him♦
and direct his steps in the way.
Refrain: Show us your mercy, O Lord.
Most holy God,
when we come to you fearing that
truth condemns us,
show us that truth is one with love
in your Word made flesh,
our Saviour 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.
Amos 5.18-end
Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of theLord?
It is darkness, not light;
as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness init?
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, Ohouse of Israel?You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images that you made for yourselves;therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
Canticle
A Song of Praise, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 63 (page 621) or number 71 (page 629), may be said
Refrain:
AllYou created all things, O God,
and are worthy of our praise for ever. Alleluia.
1You are worthy, our Lord and God, ♦
to receive glory and honour and power.
2For you have created all things, ♦
and by your will they have their being.
3You are worthy, O Lamb, for you were slain, ♦
and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and nation.
4You have made them to be a kingdom and priests
serving our God, ♦
and they will reign with you on earth.
Revelation 4.11; 5.9b, 10
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.
AllYou created all things, O God,
and are worthy of our praise for ever. Alleluia.
Scripture Reading
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
1 Corinthians 5
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife.And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?
For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgementin the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus,you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons—not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world.But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one.For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge?God will judge those outside. ‘Drive out the wicked person from among you.’
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Arise, shine, for your light has come;
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.
AllArise, shine, for your light has come;
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.
God’s salvation has been openly shown to all people.
AllThe glory of the Lord is rising upon you.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllArise, shine, for your light has come;
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.
from Isaiah 60
Gospel Canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or A Song of Christ’s Appearing (page 621) may be said
Refrain:
All Those who keep and teach the commandments 1My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, 2From this day all generations will call me blessed; ♦ 3He has mercy on those who fear him, ♦ 4He has shown strength with his arm ♦ 5Casting down the mighty from their thrones ♦ 6He has filled the hungry with good things ♦ 7He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, ♦ 8The promise made to our ancestors, ♦ Luke 1.46-55 AllGlory to the Father and to the Son Refrain: All Those who keep and teach the commandments Thanksgiving may be made for the day. Intercessions are offered Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365 ¶ The unity of the Church A form of prayer found on page 379 may be used. These responses may be used Lord, in your mercy (or) Lord, hear us. Silence may be kept. The Collect of the day is said Almighty God, The Lord’s Prayer is said Believing the promises of God, AllOur Father in heaven, (or) Believing the promises of God, AllOur Father, who art in heaven, May Christ, who sends us to the nations, Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia. ©The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2005 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.
will be considered great in heaven. Alleluia.
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.
from generation to generation.
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,
and lifting up the lowly.
and sent the rich away empty.
to remember his promise of mercy,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
will be considered great in heaven. Alleluia.Prayers
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs
¶ The peace of the world
¶ The healing of the sick
¶ The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
¶ All who travel
hear our prayer
Lord, graciously hear us.
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
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.
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
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.The Conclusion
give us the power of his Spirit.
AllAmen.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
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