Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Sunday
Sunday, 2 August 2026
The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Preparation

O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.

The Blessing of Light (page 110) may replace the Preparation at Evening Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

A prayer of thanksgiving (page 110),

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
AllBlessed be God for ever.

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of Worship

1Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, ♦
you that by night stand in the house of the Lord.

2Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary ♦
and bless the Lord.

3The Lord who made heaven and earth ♦
give you blessing out of Zion.

Psalm 134

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.

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 80.1-8 [9-end]

1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, ♦
you that led Joseph like a flock;

2 Shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim, ♦
before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

3 Stir up your mighty strength ♦
and come to our salvation.

4 Turn us again, O God; ♦
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

5 O Lord God of hosts, ♦
how long will you be angry at your people’s prayer?

6 You feed them with the bread of tears; ♦
you give them abundance of tears to drink.

7 You have made us the derision of our neighbours ♦
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

8 Turn us again, O God of hosts; ♦
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

[

9 You brought a vine out of Egypt; ♦
you drove out the nations and planted it.

10 You made room around it, ♦
and when it had taken root, it filled the land.

11 The hills were covered with its shadow ♦
and the cedars of God by its boughs.

12 It stretched out its branches to the Sea ♦
and its tendrils to the River.

13 Why then have you broken down its wall, ♦
so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

14 The wild boar out of the wood tears it off, ♦
and all the insects of the field devour it.

15 Turn again, O God of hosts, ♦
look down from heaven and behold;

16 Cherish this vine which your right hand has planted, ♦
and the branch that you made so strong for yourself.

17 Let those who burnt it with fire, who cut it down, ♦
perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

18 Let your hand be upon the man at your right hand, ♦
the son of man you made so strong for yourself.

19 And so will we not go back from you; ♦
give us life, and we shall call upon your name.

20 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; ♦
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

]

Faithful shepherd of your people,
as we look for the light of your countenance,
restore in us the image of your glory
and graft us into the risen life of your Son,
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.

1 Kings 10.1-13

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt-offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

So she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard. Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.’ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood and precious stones. From the almug wood the king made supports for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

Meanwhile, King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desire that she expressed, as well as what he gave her out of Solomon’s royal bounty. Then she returned to her own land, with her servants.

Canticle

A Song of the Lamb, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 62 (page 620) or number 74 (page 632), may be said

Refrain:

AllLet us rejoice and exult
and give glory and homage to our God. Alleluia.

1Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ♦
whose judgements are true and just.

2Praise our God, all you his servants, ♦
all who fear him, both small and great.

3The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns: ♦
let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.

4For the marriage of the Lamb has come ♦
and his bride has made herself ready.

5Blessed are those who are invited ♦
to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.

Revelation 19.1b, 2a, 5b, 6b, 7, 9b

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.

AllLet us rejoice and exult
and give glory and homage to our God. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Acts 13.1-13

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
the Lord is the strength of my life.
AllThe Lord is my light and my salvation;
the Lord is the strength of my life.
The light shines in the darkness
and the darkness has not overcome it.
AllThe Lord is the strength of my life.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllThe Lord is my light and my salvation;
the Lord is the strength of my life.

from Psalm 27 and John 1

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or the Nunc dimittis (The Song of Simeon) (page 613) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have done great things, O God,
and holy is your name.

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:

AllYou have done great things, O God,
and holy is your name.

Prayers

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ The universal Church
¶ Bishops, synods and all who lead the Church
¶ The leaders of the nations
¶ The natural world and the resources of the earth
¶ All who are in any kind of need

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 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

Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
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

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)

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

All The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.