Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Arise, My Soul, Arise

Charles Wesley

Arise, my soul arise,
Thy Savior’s sacrifice!
All the names that love could find,
All the forms that love could take,
Jesus in himself hath joined,
Thee, my soul, his own to make.

Prophet, to me reveal
Thy Father’s perfect will;
Never mortal spake like thee,
Human Prophet, like divine;
Loud and strong their voices be,
Small, and still, and inward thine!

On thee, my Priest, I call;
Thy blood atoned for all:
Still the Lamb as slain appears,
Still thou standest before the throne,
Ever offering up my prayers,
These presenting with thine own.

Jesus, thou art my King,
From thee my strength I bring;
Shadowed by thy mighty hand,
Savior, who shall pluck me thence?
Faith supports; by faith I stand,
Strong in thy omnipotence.

Hail! everlasting Lord,
Divine, incarnate Word!
Thee let all my powers confess;
Thee my latest breath proclaim;
Help, ye angel choirs to bless,
Shout the loved Emmanuel’s name!

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin, we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

Psalm 39

𝙍: Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days.

I said, “I will watch my ways
so that I will not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are present.”
I was speechless and still;
I remained silent, even from speaking good,
and my sorrow was stirred. 𝙍

My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, the fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue:

“Show me, O LORD, my end
and the measure of my days.
Let me know how fleeting my life is.
You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths,
and my lifetime as nothing before You.
Truly each man at his best
exists as but a breath.

Surely every man goes about like a phantom;
surely he bustles in vain;
he heaps up riches
not knowing who will haul them away. 𝙍

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.
Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the reproach of fools.
I have become mute;
I do not open my mouth
because of what You have done.
Remove Your scourge from me;
I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity,
consuming like a moth what he holds dear;
surely each man is but a vapor. 𝙍

Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
For I am a foreigner dwelling with You,
a stranger like all my fathers.
Turn Your gaze away from me,
that I may again be cheered
before I depart and am no more.”

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.

𝙍: Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days.

Psalm prayer

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.

Psalm 40

𝙍: Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me up from the pit of despair,
out of the miry clay;
He set my feet upon a rock,
and made my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man
who has made the LORD his trust,
who has not turned to the proud,
nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders You have done,
and the plans You have for us—
none can compare to You—
if I proclaim and declare them,
they are more than I can count. 𝙍

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but my ears You have opened.
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
You did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll:
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
behold, I do not seal my lips,
as You, O LORD, do know.
I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;
I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness
from the great assembly. 𝙍

O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;
Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.
For evils without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart has failed within me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
hurry, O LORD, to help me.

May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who wish me harm
be repelled and humiliated.
May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be appalled at their own shame. 𝙍

May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation
always say, “The LORD be magnified!”

But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my helper and deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

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.

𝙍: Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done.

Psalm prayer

Free us from our sins, O God,
and may our sacrifices be of praise
to the glory of your Son,
our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Job 16:1-17:2

Then Job answered:

“I have heard many things like these;
miserable comforters are you all.
Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?
What provokes you to continue testifying?
I could also speak like you
if you were in my place;
I could heap up words against you
and shake my head at you.
But I would encourage you with my mouth,
and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.

Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved,
and if I hold back, how will it go away?
Surely He has now exhausted me;
You have devastated all my family.
You have bound me, and it has become a witness;
my frailty rises up and testifies against me.
His anger has torn me and opposed me;
He gnashes His teeth at me.
My adversary pierces me with His eyes.

They open their mouths against me
and strike my cheeks with contempt;
they join together against me.
God has delivered me to unjust men;
He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.
I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the neck and crushed me.
He has set me up as His target;
His archers surround me.
He pierces my kidneys without mercy
and spills my gall on the ground.
He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He rushes me like a mighty warrior.

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;
I have buried my horn in the dust.
My face is red with weeping,
and deep shadows ring my eyes;
yet my hands are free of violence
and my prayer is pure.

O earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry for help never be laid to rest.
Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is on high.
My friends are my scoffers
as my eyes pour out tears to God.
Oh, that a man might plead with God
as he pleads with his neighbor!
For when only a few years are past
I will go the way of no return.

“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;
the grave awaits me.
Surely mockers surround me,
and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 8:12-17

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God, my soul proclaims your greatness.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants 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.

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God, my soul proclaims your greatness.

Brief silence

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
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 forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Being made one by the power of the Spirit, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

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. Amen.

Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.