Evening Prayer Lent Wednesday 6 March 2024
Preparation O God, make speed to save us.
All O Lord, make haste to help us.
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
Allaccording to your judgement give us life.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
A Song of Entreaty (page 568), the following or another suitable hymn
Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from earthborn passions set me free,
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me
with many a care opprest;
let me thy loving servant be,
and taste thy promised rest.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point thou the heavenly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the flood is past,
I may the eternal brightness see,
and share thy joy at last.
George the Sinner, tr: A W Chatfield
(Tune: SM)
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 36
Refrain:With you, O God, is the well of life.
1Sin whispers to the wicked, in the depths of their heart; ♦
there is no fear of God before their eyes.
2They flatter themselves in their own eyes ♦
that their abominable sin will not be found out.
3The words of their mouth are unrighteous and full of deceit; ♦
they have ceased to act wisely and to do good.
4They think out mischief upon their beds
and have set themselves in no good way; ♦
nor do they abhor that which is evil. R
5Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens ♦
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep; ♦
you, Lord, shall save both man and beast.
7How precious is your loving mercy, O God! ♦
All mortal flesh shall take refuge
under the shadow of your wings.
8They shall be satisfied with the abundance of your house; ♦
they shall drink from the river of your delights.
9For with you is the well of life ♦
and in your light shall we see light. R
10O continue your loving-kindness to those who know you ♦
and your righteousness to those who are true of heart.
11Let not the foot of pride come against me, ♦
nor the hand of the ungodly thrust me away.
12There are they fallen, all who work wickedness. ♦
They are cast down and shall not be able to stand.
Refrain:With you, O God, is the well of life.
O God, the well of life,
make us bright with wisdom,
that we may be lightened with the knowledge of your glory
in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 39
Refrain:Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days.
1I said, ‘I will keep watch over my ways, ♦
so that I offend not with my tongue.
2‘I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, ♦
while the wicked are in my sight.’
3So I held my tongue and said nothing; ♦
I kept silent but to no avail. R
4My distress increased, my heart grew hot within me; ♦
while I mused, the fire was kindled
and I spoke out with my tongue:
5‘Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days, ♦
that I may know how short my time is.
6‘You have made my days but a handsbreadth,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight; ♦
truly, even those who stand upright are but a breath.
7‘We walk about like a shadow
and in vain we are in turmoil; ♦
we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them. R
8‘And now, what is my hope? ♦
Truly my hope is even in you.
9‘Deliver me from all my transgressions ♦
and do not make me the taunt of the fool.’
10I fell silent and did not open my mouth, ♦
for surely it was your doing.
11Take away your plague from me; ♦
I am consumed by the blows of your hand.
12With rebukes for sin you punish us;
like a moth you consume our beauty; ♦
truly, everyone is but a breath. R
13Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; ♦
hold not your peace at my tears.
14For I am but a stranger with you, ♦
a wayfarer, as all my forebears were.
15Turn your gaze from me, that I may be glad again, ♦
before I go my way and am no more.
Refrain:Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days.
O Christ, Son of the living God,
help us when we are too cast down to pray,
and grant that we may trust you all our days,
for you are with us in our living and our dying,
Jesus, Lord and God.
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.
Jeremiah 13.1-11
Thus said the Lord to me, ‘Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth, and put it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.’ So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ‘Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.’ So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. And after many days the Lord said to me, ‘Go now to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.’ Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But now the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Thus says the Lord: Just so I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. For as the loincloth clings to one’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in order that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen.
Canticle
A Song of Christ the Servant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 61 (page 619) or number 67 (page 625), may be said
Refrain:
AllChrist committed no sin,
no guile was found on his lips.
1Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, ♦
that you should follow in his steps.
2He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips, ♦
when he was reviled, he did not revile in turn.
3When he suffered, he did not threaten, ♦
but he trusted himself to God who judges justly.
4Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, ♦
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
5By his wounds, you have been healed,
for you were straying like sheep, ♦
but have now returned
to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2.21b-25
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.
AllChrist committed no sin,
no guile was found on his lips.
Scripture Reading
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
John 8.12-30
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ Then the Jews said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’ They said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Forsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
AllBe not far from me, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
from Psalm 38
Gospel Canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or A Song of Praise (page 627) may be said
Refrain:
AllCome, let us return to the Lord,
for our God will richly pardon.
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:
AllCome, let us return to the Lord,
for our God will richly pardon.
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 364–365
¶ Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
¶ Those serving through leadership
¶ Those looking for forgiveness
¶ Those misled by the false gods of this present age
¶ All who are hungry
A form of prayer found on page 380 may be used.
The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.
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,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life 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
Trusting in the compassion 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)
Trusting in the compassion of God,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
All Our 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.