Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer
Epiphany Season
Thursday, 8 January 2009

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 145

Refrain: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.

1I will exalt you, O God my King, •
and bless your name for ever and ever.

2Every day will I bless you •
and praise your name for ever and ever.

3Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; •
his greatness is beyond all searching out. R

4One generation shall praise your works to another •
and declare your mighty acts.

5They shall speak of the majesty of your glory, •
and I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

6They shall speak of the might of your marvellous acts, •
and I will also tell of your greatness. R

7They shall pour forth the story of your abundant kindness •
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8The Lord is gracious and merciful, •
long-suffering and of great goodness.

9The Lord is loving to everyone •
and his mercy is over all his creatures. R

10All your works praise you, O Lord, •
and your faithful servants bless you.

11They tell of the glory of your kingdom •
and speak of your mighty power,

12To make known to all peoples your mighty acts •
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. R

13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; •
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14The Lord is sure in all his words •
and faithful in all his deeds.

15The Lord upholds all those who fall •
and lifts up all those who are bowed down. R

16The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, •
and you give them their food in due season.

17You open wide your hand •
and fill all things living with plenty.

18The Lord is righteous in all his ways •
and loving in all his works.

19The Lord is near to those who call upon him, •
to all who call upon him faithfully.

20He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; •
he hears their cry and saves them.

21The Lord watches over those who love him, •
but all the wicked shall he destroy.

22My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, •
and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. R

Refrain: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.

King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing for ever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

Canticle

A Song of Praise, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 63 (page 621) or number 71 (page 629), may be said

This Canticle is also known as Glory and Honour

Refrain:

AllYou created all things, O God,
and are worthy of our praise for ever.

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.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Baruch 2.11-end

And now, O Lord God of Israel, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and with signs and wonders and with great power and outstretched arm, and made yourself a name that continues to this day, we have sinned, we have been ungodly, we have done wrong, O Lord our God, against all your ordinances. Let your anger turn away from us, for we are left, few in number, among the nations where you have scattered us. Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our supplication, and for your own sake deliver us, and grant us favour in the sight of those who have carried us into exile; so that all the earth may know that you are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by your name.

O Lord, look down from your holy dwelling, and consider us. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see, for the dead who are in Hades, whose spirit has been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice to the Lord; but the person who is deeply grieved, who walks bowed and feeble, with failing eyes and famished soul, will declare your glory and righteousness, O Lord.

For it is not because of any righteous deeds of our ancestors or our kings that we bring before you our prayer for mercy, O Lord our God. For you have sent your anger and your wrath upon us, as you declared by your servants the prophets, saying: Thus says the Lord: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon, and you will remain in the land that I gave to your ancestors. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord and will not serve the king of Babylon, I will make to cease from the towns of Judah and from the region around Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the whole land will be a desolation without inhabitants.

But we did not obey your voice, to serve the king of Babylon; and you have carried out your threats, which you spoke by your servants the prophets, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our ancestors would be brought out of their resting-place; and indeed they have been thrown out to the heat of day and the frost of night. They perished in great misery, by famine and sword and pestilence. And the house that is called by your name you have made as it is today, because of the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Yet you have dealt with us, O Lord our God, in all your kindness and in all your great compassion, as you spoke by your servant Moses on the day when you commanded him to write your law in the presence of the people of Israel, saying, ‘If you will not obey my voice, this very great multitude will surely turn into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them. For I know that they will not obey me, for they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their exile they will come to themselves and know that I am the Lord their God. I will give them a heart that obeys and ears that hear; they will praise me in the land of their exile, and will remember my name and turn from their stubbornness and their wicked deeds; for they will remember the ways of their ancestors, who sinned before the Lord. I will bring them again into the land that I swore to give to their ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they will rule over it; and I will increase them, and they will not be diminished. I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people; and I will never again remove my people Israel from the land that I have given them.’

Matthew 20.17-28

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.’

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

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:

AllBehold, my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

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:

AllBehold, my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

Prayers

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

O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we,
who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
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.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Believing the promises of God,
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)

Believing the promises of God,
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.

The Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.

© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2005
All of the official Common Worship publications are being published by Church House Publishing.
 
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.