Evening Prayer, Wednesday in the First Week of Lent

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EVENING PRAYER

for Wednesday in 1 Lent

Vespers

(Lutheran Book of Worship, page 142)

 

Behold, now is the acceptable time;

now is the day of salvation.

Turn us again, O God of our salvation,

that the light of your face may shine upon us.

May your justice shine like the sun,

and may the poor be lifted up.

 

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.

 

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ; may his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation, and we, your creatures, glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  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 27

 

The Lord delivers us from the power of darkness,

  and leads us into the kingdom of his Son.

 

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then | shall I fear?*

                The Lord is the strength of my life;

of whom then shall I | be afraid?

² When evildoers came upon me to eat | up my flesh,*

                it was they, my foes and my adversaries,

who stum- | bled and fell.

³ Though an army should en- | camp against me,*

                yet my heart shall not | be afraid;

⁴ and though war should rise | up against me,*

                yet will I put my | trust in him.

⁵ One thing have I asked of the Lord; one | thing I seek;*

                that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days | of my life;

⁶ to behold the fair beauty | of the Lord*

                and to seek him | in his temple.

⁷ For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe | in his shelter;*

                he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling

and set me high up- | on a rock.

⁸ Even now he lifts | up my head*

                above my enemies | round about me.

⁹ Therefore I will offer in his dwelling

an oblation with sounds | of great gladness;*

                I will sing and make music | to the Lord.

¹⁰ Hearken to my voice, O Lord, | when I call;*

                have mercy on me and | answer me.

¹¹ You speak in my heart and say, | "Seek my face."*

                Your face, Lord, | will I seek.

¹² Hide not your | face from me,*

                nor turn away your servant | in displeasure.

¹³ You have been my helper; cast me | not away;*

                do not forsake me, O God of  | my salvation.

¹⁴ Though my father and my moth- | er forsake me,*

                the Lord | will sustain me.

¹⁵ Show me your | way, O Lord;*

                lead me on a level path, because | of my enemies.

¹⁶ Deliver me not into the hand of my | adversaries,*

                for false witnesses have risen up against me,

and also those | who speak malice.

¹⁷ What if I had not believed

that I should see the goodness | of the Lord*

                in the land | of the living!

¹⁸ Oh, tarry and await the Lord's pleasure;

be strong, and he shall com- | fort your heart;*

                wait patiently | for the Lord.

 

The Lord delivers us from the power of darkness,

  and leads us into the kingdom of his Son.

 

Gracious Father, protector of those who hope in you: You heard the cry of your Son and kept him safe in your shelter in the day of evil. Grant that your servants who seek your face in times of trouble may see your goodness in the land of the living, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

 

Hymn             Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation              WOV 747

 

1              Christ is made the sure foundation,

                Christ, our head and cornerstone,

                chosen of the Lord and precious,

                binding all the church in one;

                holy Zion’s help forever

                and our confidence alone.

 

2              To this temple, where we call you,

                come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;

                come with all your lovingkindness,

                hear your people as they pray;

                and your fullest benediction

                shed within  our hearts today.

 

3              Grant, we pray, to all your faithful

                all the gifts they ask to gain;

                what they gain from you, forever

                with the blessed to retain;

                and hereafter in your glory

                evermore with you to reign.

 

4             Praise and honor to the Father,

                praise and honor to the Son,

                praise and honor to the Spirit,

                ever three and ever one:

                one in might and one in glory

                while unending ages run!

 

Text: Latin hymn, c. 7th cent.; tr. John M. Neale, 1818-1866, alt.

               

READING                                                          Ephesians 2:11-22

¹¹So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" — a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands — ¹²remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. ¹⁷So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²²in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

The Word of the Lord.                                        Thanks be to God.

Response

In many and various ways

God spoke to this people of old by the prophets.

  But now in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.

 

The GOSPEL CANTICLE is sung.

 

Antiphon:

Let justice roll down like waters,

  and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

 

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

 

Antiphon:

Let justice roll down like waters,

  and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

 

Let us pray.

 

God of the covenant,

as the forty days of deluge swept away the world’s corruption

and watered new beginnings of righteousness and life,

so in the saving waters of baptism

your people are washed clean and born again.

  Throughout these forty days,

  unseal for us the wellspring of your grace,

  cleanse our hearts of all that is not holy,

  and cause your gift of new life to flourish once again.

Grant this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.                           

  Amen

 

Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turn us from the old life of sin. Grant that we who are reborn to new life in him may live in righteousness and holiness all our days, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

 

Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours. Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   

Amen

 

Let us pray for our own needs and for the needs of others.

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you, and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, you will be in the midst of them. Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us, granting us, in this world, knowledge of your truth and, in the age to come, life everlasting.   

Amen

 

O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments; and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever.   

  Amen

 

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              All Praise To Thee, my God                              LBW 278

 

1              All praise to thee, my God, this night

                for all the blessings of the light.

                Keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings,

                beneath thine own almighty wings.

 

2              Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,

                the ill that I this day have done;

                that with the world, myself, and thee,

                I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

 

3              Teach me to live, that I may dread

                the grave as little as my bed.

                Teach me to die, that so I may

                rise glorious at the awesome day.

 

4             Oh, may my soul in thee repose,

                and may sweet sleep mine eyelids close,

                sleep that shall me more vig’rous make

                to serve my God when I awake!

 

5              Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

                praise him, all creatures here below;

                praise him above, ye heav’nly host;

                praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

Text: Thomas Ken, 1637-1711

 

 

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 us.  Amen