Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Tuesday
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, c.678 [Lesser Festival]

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 Mercy and Truth

1O God, will you not give us life again, ♦
that your people may rejoice in you?

2Show us your mercy, O Lord, ♦
and grant us your salvation.

3Truly, his salvation is near to those who fear him, ♦
that his glory may dwell in our land.

4Mercy and truth are met together, ♦
righteousness and peace have kissed each other;

5Truth shall spring up from the earth ♦
and righteousness look down from heaven.

6Righteousness shall go before him ♦
and direct his steps in the way.

Psalm 85.6, 7, 9-11, 13

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 74

Refrain: Arise, O God, maintain your own cause.

1 O God, why have you utterly disowned us? ♦
Why does your anger burn
against the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember your congregation that you purchased of old, ♦
the tribe you redeemed for your own possession,
and Mount Zion where you dwelt.

3 Hasten your steps towards the endless ruins, ♦
where the enemy has laid waste all your sanctuary.

4 Your adversaries roared in the place of your worship; ♦
they set up their banners as tokens of victory.

5 Like men brandishing axes on high in a thicket of trees, ♦
all her carved work they smashed down with hatchet and hammer.

6 They set fire to your holy place; ♦
they defiled the dwelling place of your name
and razed it to the ground.

7 They said in their heart, ‘Let us make havoc of them altogether,’ ♦
and they burned down all the sanctuaries of God in the land.

8 There are no signs to see, not one prophet left, ♦
not one among us who knows how long.

9 How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? ♦
Shall the enemy blaspheme your name for ever?

10 Why have you withheld your hand ♦
and hidden your right hand in your bosom? R

11 Yet God is my king from of old, ♦
who did deeds of salvation in the midst of the earth.

12 It was you that divided the sea by your might ♦
and shattered the heads of the dragons on the waters;

13 You alone crushed the heads of Leviathan ♦
and gave him to the beasts of the desert for food.

14 You cleft the rock for fountain and flood; ♦
you dried up ever-flowing rivers.

15 Yours is the day, yours also the night; ♦
you established the moon and the sun.

16 You set all the bounds of the earth; ♦
you fashioned both summer and winter. R

17 Remember now, Lord, how the enemy scoffed, ♦
how a foolish people despised your name.

18 Do not give to wild beasts the soul of your turtle dove; ♦
forget not the lives of your poor for ever.

19 Look upon your creation,
for the earth is full of darkness, ♦
full of the haunts of violence.

20 Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed, ♦
but let the poor and needy praise your name.

21 Arise, O God, maintain your own cause; ♦
remember how fools revile you all the day long.

22 Forget not the clamour of your adversaries, ♦
the tumult of your enemies that ascends continually.

Refrain: Arise, O God, maintain your own cause.

Redeeming God,
renew your broken people
with your Holy Spirit,
that they may walk your narrow way,
and greet your coming dawn
in 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.

Ezra 8.15-end

I gathered them by the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped for three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the descendants of Levi. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise, and sent them to Iddo, the leader at the place called Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his colleagues the temple servants at Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. Since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the descendants of Mahli son of Levi son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and kin, eighteen; also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the descendants of Merari, with his kin and their sons, twenty; besides two hundred and twenty of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him. So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kin with them. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counsellors, his lords, and all Israel there present had offered; I weighed out into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and one hundred silver vessels worth . . . talents, and one hundred talents of gold, twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine polished bronze as precious as gold. And I said to them, ‘You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of families in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.’ So the priests and the Levites took over the silver, the gold, and the vessels as they were weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way. We came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days. On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed into the hands of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. The total was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin-offering twelve male goats; all this was a burnt-offering to the Lord. They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River; and they supported the people and the house of God.

Canticle

A Song of the Holy City, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 72 (page 630), may be said

Refrain:

AllI saw the holy city
coming down out of heaven from God. Alleluia.

1I saw a new heaven and a new earth, ♦
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
and the sea was no more.

2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, ♦
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, ♦
‘Behold, the dwelling of God is among mortals.

4‘He will dwell with them and they shall be his peoples, ♦
and God himself will be with them.

5‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes, ♦
and death shall be no more.

6‘Neither shall there be mourning,
nor crying, nor pain any more, ♦
for the former things have passed away.’

7And the One who sat upon the throne said, ♦
‘Behold, I make all things new.’

Revelation 21.1-5a

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.

AllI saw the holy city
coming down out of heaven from 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.

Romans 12.1-8

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

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

Open my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
Lead me in the path of your commandments
Allthat I may see the wonders of your law.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.

from Psalm 119

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or Great and Wonderful (page 629) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have left all things and followed me:
you will be rewarded a hundred times over and gain eternal life. Alleluia.

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 left all things and followed me:
you will be rewarded a hundred times over and gain eternal life. Alleluia.

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

¶ All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
¶ Those in the midst of famine or disaster
¶ Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
¶ Those who are bereaved
¶ All who work in the medical and healing professions

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,
by whose providence your servant John the Baptist
      was wonderfully born,
and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Saviour
by the preaching of repentance:
lead us to repent according to his preaching
and, after his example,
constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice,
and patiently to suffer for the truth's sake;
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.