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EVENING
PRAYER
for Bright
Wednesday
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
Jesus
Christ is risen from the dead.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
We are
illumined by the brightness of his rising.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Death has
no more dominion over us.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
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 the light that never fades.
Night
is falling 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 own free gift, now the evening lights do not fail us.
We
praise you and glorify you through your 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 9
The
glory of the Lord shines on the city. Alleluia.
Its lamp is the Lamb. Alleluia.
1 I will give thanks
to you, O Lord, with | my whole
heart;*
I will tell of all your mar- |
velous works.
2 I will be glad and
re- | joice in you;*
I will sing to your name, | O
Most High.
3 When my enemies
are | driven back,*
they will stumble and perish |
at your presence.
4 For you have
maintained my right | and my cause;*
you sit upon your throne |
judging right.
5 You have rebuked
the ungodly and de- | stroyed the wicked;*
you have blotted out their name
forev- | er and ever.
their cities plowed under, the
memory | of them perished;
7 but the Lord is en- | throned forever;*
he has set up his | throne for
judgment.
8 It is he who rules
the | world with righteousness;*
he judges the peo- | ples with
equity.
9 The Lord will be a refuge for | the
oppressed,*
a refuge in | time of trouble.
10 Those who know
your name will put their | trust in you,*
for you never forsake those who
seek | you, O Lord.
11 Sing praise to the
Lord who | dwells in Zion;*
proclaim to the peoples the
things | he has done.
12 The avenger of
blood will re- | member them;*
he will not forget the cry of |
the afflicted.
13 Have pity on | me,
O Lord;*
see the misery I suffer from
those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the |
gate of death;
14 so that I may tell
of all your praises and rejoice in | your salvation*
in the gates of the cit- | y of
Zion.
15 The ungodly have
fallen into the | pit they dug,*
and in the snare they set is
their | own foot caught.
16 The Lord is known by his | acts of justice;*
the wicked are trapped in the
works of | their own hands.
17 The wicked shall
be given over | to the grave,*
and also all the peoples | that
forget God.
18 For the needy
shall not always | be forgotten,*
and the hope of the poor shall
not per- | ish forever.
19 Rise up, O Lord, let not the ungodly have the |
upper hand;*
let them be | judged before you.
20 Put fear upon |
them, O Lord;*
let the ungodly know they | are
but mortal.
The
glory of the Lord shines on the city. Alleluia.
Its lamp is the Lamb. Alleluia.
Lord
God, righteous judge, hear the cries of your oppressed people. Rescue them from
their oppressors, and save them from the gates of death, so that we may always
rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion; through your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Hymn Renew Me, O Eternal Light LBW 511
READING Ephesians 4:17-32
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Response
In many
and various ways
God
spoke to his 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:
This is
the day the Lord has made. Alleluia.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alleluia.
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:
This is
the day the Lord has made. Alleluia.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alleluia.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
Christ,
have mercy. Christ,
have mercy.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
O
Christ, hear us. In
mercy hear us.
Jesus,
our Paschal Lamb, you were offered for us and have taken away the sins of the
world: Have mercy upon us.
Jesus, by your death you destroyed death and by your rising brought us to eternal life: Have mercy on us.
Jesus, you rose on the first day of the week at early dawn: Have mercy on us.
Jesus,
you first appeared to Mary Magdalene:
Have
mercy on us.
Jesus,
you were seen by the women and worshiped by them:
Have
mercy on us.
Jesus,
you appeared to the eleven, saying to them, ‘Peace be with you:’ Have mercy on us.
Jesus,
you breathed upon the apostles that they might receive the Holy Spirit: Have mercy on us.
Jesus,
you confirmed the faith of Thomas by showing him your hands and your side: Have mercy on us.
Jesus,
you showed yourself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias: Have
mercy on us.
Jesus,
you conversed with disciples upon the mountain in Galilee:
Have
mercy on us.
Jesus,
you spoke to the apostles of the kingdom of God:
Have mercy on
us.
Jesus,
you gave the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything you have commanded: Have
mercy on us.
By
your glorious resurrection; O
Lord, deliver us.
By
your victory over death; O
Lord, deliver us.
By
the glorious majesty of your risen body: O
Lord, deliver us.
Though
unworthy, we implore you: To hear us, Lord our God.
That
we may walk in love, even as you walked in love:
Grant us, good Lord.
That we may set our affections on things above:
Grant
us, good Lord.
That
we may dwell with you forever in the new heavens and the new earth, in the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem:
Grant us, good Lord.
Lamb
of God, you take away the sin of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb
of God, you take away the sin of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb
of God, you take away the sin of the world:
Grant us peace.
O
Christ, hear us. In
mercy hear us.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
Christ,
have mercy. Christ,
have mercy.
Lord,
have mercy. Lord,
have mercy.
O
God, you make us glad by the yearly Festival of the Resurrection. Mercifully
grant that we, who now celebrate these joyous holy days on earth may attain to the
eternal joy of your kingdom; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit; one God, now and forever.
Amen
Herbert Lindemann,
The Daily Office, alt.
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
