Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Sunday
Sunday, 13 September 2026
The Fifteenth 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 119.41-48 [49-64]

Refrain: My delight shall be in your commandments.

41 Let your faithful love come unto me, O Lord, ♦
even your salvation, according to your promise.

42 Then shall I answer those who taunt me, ♦
for my trust is in your word.

43 O take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, ♦
for my hope is in your judgements.

44 So shall I always keep your law; ♦
I shall keep it for ever and ever. R

45 I will walk at liberty, ♦
because I study your commandments.

46 I will tell of your testimonies, even before kings, ♦
and will not be ashamed.

47 My delight shall be in your commandments, ♦
which I have greatly loved.

48 My hands will I lift up to your commandments,
which I love, ♦
and I will meditate on your statutes. R

[

49 Remember your word to your servant, ♦
on which you have built my hope.

50 This is my comfort in my trouble, ♦
that your promise gives me life.

51 The proud have derided me cruelly, ♦
but I have not turned aside from your law.

52 I have remembered your everlasting judgements, O Lord, ♦
and have been comforted. R

53 I am seized with indignation at the wicked, ♦
for they have forsaken your law.

54 Your statutes have been like songs to me ♦
in the house of my pilgrimage.

55 I have thought on your name in the night, O Lord, ♦
and so have I kept your law.

56 These blessings have been mine, ♦
for I have kept your commandments.

57 You only are my portion, O Lord; ♦
I have promised to keep your words.

58 I entreat you with all my heart, ♦
be merciful to me according to your promise.

59 I have considered my ways ♦
and turned my feet back to your testimonies.

60 I made haste and did not delay ♦
to keep your commandments. R

61 Though the cords of the wicked entangle me, ♦
I do not forget your law.

62 At midnight I will rise to give you thanks, ♦
because of your righteous judgements.

63 I am a companion of all those who fear you, ♦
those who keep your commandments.

64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your faithful love; ♦
instruct me in your statutes. R

]

Refrain: My delight shall be in your commandments.

Faithful God,
let your word be the treasure of our hearts,
that we may delight in your truth
and walk in the glorious liberty of your Son 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.

Ezekiel 20.1-8, 33-44

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain elders of Israel came to consult the Lord, and sat down before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Why are you coming? To consult me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you. Will you judge them, mortal, will you judge them? Then let them know the abominations of their ancestors, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob—making myself known to them in the land of Egypt—I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; not one of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgement with you face to face. As I entered into judgement with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgement with you, says the Lord God. I will make you pass under the staff, and will bring you within the bond of the covenant. I will purge out the rebels among you, and those who transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside as aliens, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go, serve your idols, every one of you now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred things. As a pleasing odour I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. You shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your ancestors. There you shall remember your ways and all the deeds by which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.

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 20.17-end

From Miletus Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:

‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.

‘And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ’

When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.

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 in the passion of your blessed Son
made an instrument of painful death
to be for us the means of life and peace:
grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ
that we may gladly suffer for his sake;
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.