EVENING PRAYER
for
Wednesday in the Second Week of Advent
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
The
Spirit and the Church cry out:
Come,
Lord Jesus.
All
those who await his appearance pray:
Come, Lord Jesus.
The whole creation pleads:
Come, Lord Jesus.
Joyous
light of glory:
of
the immortal Father;
heavenly, holy, blessed
Jesus Christ.
We have come to the setting of the
sun,
and we look to the
evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit:
You are worthy of being praised
with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life:
The universe proclaims
your glory.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give
him thanks and praise.
We praise and thank you, O God, through your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom you have enlightened us by revealing
to us the light that never fades.
Night has fallen and day’s allotted span
draws to a close.
The daylight which you created for our
pleasure has fully satisfied us, and yet, of your free gift, now the evening
lights do not fail us.
We praise and glorify you through you Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord, through him be glory, honor, and power to you in the
Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.
Amen
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
O Lord, I call to
you; come to me quickly;
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before
my mouth, O Lord,
and guard the door of my lips.
Let not my heart
incline to any evil thing;
let me not be occupied in wickedness
with evildoers.
But my eyes are
turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge. Strip me not
of my life.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it
was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Silence for meditation.
Let
the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your
lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your
praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify
you forever and ever.
Amen
Psalm 80
In
that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk and
honey. Alleluia.
1 Hear, O Shepherd
of Israel, leading Joseph | like a flock;*
shine forth, you that are
enthroned up- | on the cherubim.
2 In the presence of
Ephraim, Benjamin, | and Manasseh,*
stir up your strength and | come to help us.
3 Restore us, O |
God of hosts;*
show the light of your countenance,
and we | shall be saved.
4 O Lord | God of hosts,*
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers | of your people?
5 You have fed them
with the | bread of tears;*
you have given them bowls of |
tears to drink.
6 You have made us
the derision | of our neighbors,*
and our enemies laugh | us to
scorn.
7 Restore us, O |
God of hosts;*
show the light of your countenance,
and we | shall be saved.
8 You have brought a
vine | out of Egypt;*
you cast out the nations and |
planted it.
9 You prepared the |
ground for it;*
it took root and | filled the
land.
10 The mountains were
covered | by its shadow*
and the towering cedar trees |
by its boughs.
11 You stretched out
its tendrils | to the sea*
and its branches | to the river.
12 Why have you
broken | down its wall,*
so that all who pass by pluck | off
its grapes?
13 The wild boar of
the forest has | ravaged it,*
and the beasts of the field have
| grazed upon it.
14 Turn now, O God of
hosts, look down from heaven;
behold and | tend this vine;*
preserve what your right | hand
has planted.
15 They burn it with
| fire like rubbish;*
at the rebuke of your countenance |
let them perish.
16 Let your hand be
upon the man of | your right hand,*
the son of man you have made so
strong | for yourself.
17 And so will we
never turn a- | way from you;*
give us life, that we may call
up- | on your name.
18 Restore us, O Lord | God of hosts;*
show the light of your countenance,
and we | shall be saved.
In
that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk and
honey. Alleluia.
Lord
God, let your anger depart from us. Hear our prayers and restore us, that, as the
Son of man came once clothed in human flesh, so may he come again to judge the
living and the dead; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Hymn LBW 22
1 The
advent of our God
shall
be our theme for prayer;
come,
let us meet him on the road
and
place for him prepare.
2 The
everlasting Son
incarnate
stoops to be,
himself
the servant’s form puts on
to
set his people free.
3 Come,
Zion’s daughter, rise
to
meet your lowly king,
nor
let your faithless heart despise
the
peace he comes to bring.
4 As
judge, on clouds of light,
he
soon will come again,
and
all his scattered saints unite
with
him on high to reign.
5 Before
the dawning day
let
sin be put to flight;
no
longer let the law hold sway,
but
walk in freedom’s light.
6 All
glory to the Son,
who
comes to set us free,
with
Father, Spirit, ever one
through
all eternity.
Text: Charles Coffin, 1676-1749; tr. John
Chandler, 1806-1876, alt.
READING Isaiah
11:1-6
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch
shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the Lord. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or
decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide
with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and
faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down
with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little
child shall lead them.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Response
Fear
not, Mary, you have found favor with the Lord.
Behold, you shall conceive and bear a Son.
Alleluia.
The GOSPEL CANTICLE is sung.
My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his
lowly servant.
From this day all generations will
call me blessed.
The Almighty has done
great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those
who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his
arm;
he has scattered the proud in their
conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from
their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good
things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his
servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of
mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and
will be forever. Amen
An ADVENT LITANY is said.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
Christ,
have mercy. Christ,
have mercy.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
Jesus,
name called Wonderful:
We praise and bless your Holy
Name.
Jesus,
our great Counselor: /R
Jesus,
true and mighty God: /R
Jesus,
everlasting Father: /R
Jesus,
Prince of Peace: /R
Jesus,
Son of David: Deliver us from our
sins, we beseech you.
Jesus,
Branch of Jesse: /R
Jesus,
Rose of Sharon: /R
Jesus,
Lily of the Valleys: /R
Jesus,
Bright and Morning Star: /R
Jesus,
Scepter of Israel: Help
us and bless us.
Jesus,
Light of the Gentiles: /R
Jesus,
Desire of all nations: /R
Jesus,
Sun of Righteousness: /R
Jesus,
Lawgiver, Priest, Judge, and King: /R
O
Jesus, hear us: And
prepare us for your coming.
Gather
your ancient people unto yourself:
Hear our prayer, O Lord, and let our cry
come before you.
Bring
all the nations to come to your light and your truth:
/R
Convert
all leaders of nations to fall down before you
and to desire your beauty: /R
Help
your messengers in every land to prepare the way before you:
/R
Let
all the nations fear you as long as the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations: /R
Give
your ministers righteousness and knowledge: /R
Preserve
all who put their trust in you: /R
And
give peace to all your people: /R
Prepare
us for your coming: And save us
from our sins.
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, and the
power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen
Let
us bless the Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Hymn LBW 34
1 Oh,
come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
and
ransom captive Israel,
that
mourns in lonely exile here
until
the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice!
Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall
come to you, O Israel.
2 Oh,
come, oh, come, great Lord of might,
who
to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in
ancient times once gave the law
in
cloud, and majesty, and awe. Refrain
3 Oh,
come, strong Branch of Jesse, free
your
own from Satan’s tyranny;
from
depths of hell your people save
and
give them vict’ry o’er the grave. Refrain
4 Oh,
come, blest Dayspring, come and cheer
our
spirits by your advent here;
disperse
the gloomy clouds of night,
and
death’s dark shadows put to flight. Refrain
5 Oh,
come, O Key of David, come,
and
open wide our heav’nly home;
make
safe the way that leads on high,
and
close the path to misery. Refrain
Text: Psalteriolum Cantionum
Catholicarum, Köln, 1710; tr. John M. Neale, 1818-1866, alt.
Sermon
Prayer
and Benediction
Accept,
O Lord, our praises and supplications, and look graciously on our households
and our faith family, that we may abide this night in peace and safety under
the shadow of your wings, and so assist us by your grace that we may be made
fit for that kingdom where there shall be no more sin, nor sorrow, nor pain,
but all shall be joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, to whom, with you, O Father,
and you, O blessed Jesus, be all glory, both now and evermore.
Amen
The
almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless
and preserve you. Amen
