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.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Father, to Thee My Soul I Lift

Charles Wesley

Father, to thee my soul I lift;
My soul on thee depends,
Convinced that every perfect gift
From thee alone descends.

Mercy and grace are thine alone,
And power and wisdom too;
Without the Spirit of thy Son
We nothing good can do.

Thou all our works in us hast wrought,
Our good is all divine;
The praise of every virtuous thought
And righteous word is thine.

From thee, through Jesus, we receive
The power on thee to call,
In whom we are, and move and live:
Our God is all in all.

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 69

𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.

Save me, O God,
for the waters are up to my neck.
I have sunk into the miry depths,
where there is no footing;
I have drifted into deep waters,
where the flood engulfs me.
I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God. 𝙍

Those who hate me without cause
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are those who would destroy me—
my enemies for no reason.
Though I did not steal,
I must repay.

You know my folly, O God,
and my guilt is not hidden from You.
May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me,
O Lord GOD of Hosts;
may those who seek You not be dishonored through me,
O God of Israel.
For I have endured scorn for Your sake,
and shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,
because zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me. 𝙍

I wept and fasted,
but it brought me reproach.
I made sackcloth my clothing,
and I was sport to them.
Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of drunkards. 𝙍

But my prayer to You, O LORD,
is for a time of favor.
In Your abundant loving devotion, O God,
answer me with Your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire
and do not let me sink;
deliver me from my foes
and out of the deep waters. 𝙍

Do not let the floods engulf me
or the depths swallow me up;
let not the Pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, O LORD,
for Your loving devotion is good;
turn to me in keeping with Your great compassion.
Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in distress. 𝙍

Answer me quickly!
Draw near to my soul and redeem me;
ransom me because of my foes.

You know my reproach, my shame and disgrace.
All my adversaries are before You.
Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found no one.
They poisoned my food with gall
and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst. 𝙍

May their table become a snare;
may it be a retribution and a trap.
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
Pour out Your wrath upon them,
and let Your burning anger overtake them.
May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents. 𝙍

For they persecute the one You struck
and recount the pain of those You wounded.
Add iniquity to their iniquity;
let them not share in Your righteousness.
May they be blotted out of the Book of Life
and not listed with the righteous. 𝙍

But I am in pain and distress;
let Your salvation protect me, O God.
I will praise God’s name in song
and exalt Him with thanksgiving.
And this will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.
The humble will see and rejoice.
You who seek God, let your hearts be revived! 𝙍

For the LORD listens to the needy
and does not despise His captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
and those who love His name will settle in it.

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: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.

Psalm prayer

Thirsting on the cross,
your Son shared the reproach of the oppressed
and carried the sins of all;
in him, O God, may the despairing find you,
the afflicted gain life
and the whole creation know its true king,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

2 Chronicles 14:2-15

And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest. So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought Him and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah. So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 14:53-65

They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled. Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.

Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they did not find any. For many bore false witness against Jesus, but their testimony was inconsistent.

Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him: “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’ ” But even their testimony was inconsistent.

So the high priest stood up before them and questioned Jesus, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”

But Jesus remained silent and made no reply.

Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?”

And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.

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

Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
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.