Evening Prayer on the Second Wednesday in Lent

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EVENING PRAYER

for Wednesday in 2 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 51

 

The Lord delivers us from the power of darkness,

  and leads us into the kingdom of his Son.

 

¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your | lovingkindness;*

                in your great compassion blot out | my offenses.

² Wash me through and through | from my wickedness,*

                and cleanse me | from my sin.

³ For I know | my transgressions,*

                and my sin is ev- | er before me.

⁴ Against you only | have I sinned*

                and done what is evil | in your sight.

⁵ And so you are justified | when you speak*

                and upright | in your judgment.

⁶ Indeed, I have been wicked | from my birth,*

                a sinner from my | mother's womb.

⁷ For behold, you look for truth | deep within me,*

                and will make me understand | wisdom secretly.

⁸ Purge me from my sin, and I | shall be pure;*

                wash me, and I shall be | clean indeed.

⁹ Make me hear of | joy and gladness,*

                that the body you have broken | may rejoice.

¹⁰ Hide your face | from my sins,*

                and blot out all | my iniquities.

¹¹ Create in me a clean | heart, O God,*

                and renew a right spir- | it within me.

¹² Cast me not away | from your presence,*

                and take not your Holy | Spirit from me.

¹³ Give me the joy of your saving | help again*

                and sustain me with your boun- | tiful Spirit.

¹⁴ I shall teach your ways | to the wicked,*

                and sinners shall re- | turn to you.

¹⁵ Deliver me from | death, O God,*

                and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,

O God of | my salvation.

¹⁶ Open my | lips, O Lord,*

                and my mouth shall pro- | claim your praise.

¹⁷ Had you desired it, I would have | offered sacrifice,*

                but you take no delight | in burnt-offerings.

¹⁸ The sacrifice of God is a | troubled spirit;*

                a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will | not despise.

¹⁹ Be favorable and gra- | cious to Zion,*

                and rebuild the walls | of Jerusalem.

²⁰ Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices,

with burnt-offerings | and oblations;*

                then shall they offer young bullocks up- | on your altar.

 

The Lord delivers us from the power of darkness,

  and leads us into the kingdom of his Son.

 

 

 

 

Almighty and merciful Father, you freely forgive those who, as David of old, acknowledge and confess their sins. Create in us pure hearts, and wash away all our sins in the blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

 

Hymn             Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire            LBW 473

 

1              Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,

                and lighten with celestial fire;

                thou the anointing Spirit art,

                who dost thy sev’nfold gifts impart.

 

2              Thy blessed unction from above

                is comfort, life, and fire of love.

                Enable with perpetual light

                the dullness of our blinded sight.

 

3              Anoint and cheer our soiled face

                with the abundance of thy grace.

                Keep far our foes; give peace at home;

                where thou art guide, no ill can come.

 

4             Teach us to know the Father, Son,

                and thee, of both, to be but one;

                that through the ages all along

                thy praise be our endless song!

 

Text: attr. Rhabanus Maurus, 776-856; tr. John Cosin, 1594-1672

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READING                                                          Ephesians 3:1-13

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— ² assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³ how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. ⁴ When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶ This mystery is^[a] that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in^[b] God, who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. ¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

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.

 

Ever-faithful God,

you were well-pleased with Abraham’s obedience

and you accepted the sacrifice of your Son,

who gave himself up for the sake of us all.

  Train us by Christ’s teaching

  and school us in his obedience,

  that as we walk his way of sacrifice

  we may come to share in your glory.

We ask this through Christ,

our deliverance and our hope,

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.

 

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.   

 

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.   

 

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              To You, Before the Close of Day                      LBW 277

 

1              To you, before the close of day,

                Creator of the world, we pray!

                Your grace and peace to us allow

                and be our guard and keeper now.

 

2              From evil dreams defend our sight,

                from all the terrors of the night,

                from all deluding thoughts that creep

                on heedless minds disarmed by sleep.

 

3              O Father, this we ask be done

                through Jesus Christ, your only Son,

                who with the Holy Ghost and you

                shall live and reign all ages through. Amen

 

Text: compline office hymn, c. 8th cent.; tr. John M. Neale, 1818-1866, adapt.

 

 

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