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

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!

Charles Wesley

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!
thine own immortal strength put on;
with terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake
and cast thy foes with fury down.

As in the ancient days appear;
the sacred annals speak thy fame:
be now omnipotently near,
to endless ages still the same.

Thine arm, Lord, is not shortened now;
it lacks not now the power to save;
still present with thy people, thou
bearest them through life's disparted wave.

By death and hell pursued in vain,
to thee the ransomed seed shall come,
shouting, their heavenly Zion gain,
and pass through death triumphant home.

Where pure essential joy is found,
the Lord's redeemed their heads shall raise,
with everlasting gladness crowned,
and filled with love, and lost in praise.

Confession of sin

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.

Psalm 38

𝙍: Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.
For Your arrows have pierced me deeply,
and Your hand has pressed down on me.

There is no soundness in my body
because of Your anger;
there is no rest in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have overwhelmed me;
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds are foul and festering
because of my sinful folly.
I am bent and brought low;
all day long I go about mourning.
For my loins are full of burning pain,
and no soundness remains in my body.
I am numb and badly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.

O Lord, my every desire is before You;
my groaning is not hidden from You.
My heart pounds, my strength fails,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.
My beloved and friends shun my disease,
and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
Those who seek my life lay snares;
those who wish me harm speak destruction,
plotting deceit all day long.

But like a deaf man, I do not hear;
and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.
I am like a man who cannot hear,
whose mouth offers no reply.
I wait for You, O LORD;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Let them not gloat over me—
those who taunt me when my foot slips.”

For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
Yes, I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
Many are my enemies without cause,
and many hate me without reason.
Those who repay my good with evil
attack me for pursuing the good.

Do not forsake me, O LORD;
be not far from me, O my God.
Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.

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: Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

Psalm prayer

Almighty Lord and Savior,
behold with pity the wounds of your people;
do not forsake us, sinful as we are,
but for the sake of the passion of your
Beloved One, Jesus,
come quickly to our aid,
for his mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

2 Chronicles 6:22-42

When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple, then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading before You in this temple, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to them and their fathers.

When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.

When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies besiege them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come, then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple— be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of men— so that they may fear You and walk in Your ways all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.

And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name, then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.

When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to a land far or near, and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’ and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause. May You forgive Your people who sinned against You.

Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your might.
May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.
O LORD God, do not reject Your anointed one.
Remember Your loving devotion to Your servant David.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 13:24-31

“But in those days, after that tribulation:

‘The sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, know that He is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

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:

National leaders, public officials and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers
of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill them;
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

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.