Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver us.
Hurry, O LORD, to help us.

Let your ways be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
As we behold your Son, enthroned on the cross,
stir up in us the fire of your love,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and walk with you in newness of life
singing the praise of him who died
for us and our salvation.
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

Saw Ye Not the Cloud Arise

Charles Wesley

Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as the human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs over all the thirsty land.

Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above,
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the Spirit of his love.

When he first the work begun
Small and feeble was his day,
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way;

More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strongholds it now overthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

Sons of God your Savior praise,
He a door hath opened wide
He hath given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified.

Jesus mighty to redeem,
He alone the work hath wrought,
Worthy is the work of him,
Him who spoke a world from naught.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 56

𝙍: In God I trust. I will not be afraid.

Be merciful to me, O God,
for men are hounding me;
all day they press their attack.
My enemies pursue me all day long,
for many proudly assail me.

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust.
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me? 𝙍

All day long they twist my words;
all their thoughts are on my demise.
They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.
In spite of such sin, will they escape?
In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

You have taken account of my wanderings.
Put my tears in Your bottle—
are they not in Your book? 𝙍

Then my enemies will retreat
on the day I cry for help.
By this I will know that God is on my side.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Your vows are upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
For You have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of 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.

𝙍: In God I trust. I will not be afraid.

Psalm prayer

Faithful God,
your deliverance is nearer than we know;
free us from fear
and help us to find courage in your Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 62

𝙍: Rest in God alone, O my soul.

In God alone my soul finds rest;
my salvation comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress;
I will never be shaken.

How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you throw him down
like a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?
They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch;
they delight in lies;
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse.

Rest in God alone, O my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress; I will not be shaken. 𝙍

My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock;
my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.

Lowborn men are but a vapor,
the exalted but a lie.
Weighed on the scale, they go up;
together they are but a vapor.
Place no trust in extortion,
or false hope in stolen goods.
If your riches increase,
do not set your heart upon them.

God has spoken once;
I have heard this twice:
that power belongs to God,
and loving devotion to You, O Lord.
For You will repay each man
according to his deeds.

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: Rest in God alone, O my soul.

Psalm prayer

O God, teach us to seek security,
not in money or theft,
not in human ambition or malice,
not in our own ability or power,
but in you, the only God,
our rock and our salvation.

Old Testament reading

Jeremiah 22:20-23:8

Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
raise your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers have been crushed.

I warned you when you were secure.
You said, ‘I will not listen.’
This has been your way from youth,
that you have not obeyed My voice.
The wind will drive away all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nestled in the cedars,
how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you,
agony like a woman in labor.”

“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die. You will never return to the land for which you long.”

Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot,
a jar that no one wants?
Why are he and his descendants hurled out
and cast into a land they do not know?
O land, land, land,
hear the word of the LORD!

This is what the LORD says:

“Enroll this man as childless,
a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will prosper
to sit on the throne of David
or to rule again in Judah.”

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming,
declares the LORD,
when I will raise up for David
a righteous Branch,
and He will reign wisely as King
and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
And this is His name by which He will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.

So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’ Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ Then they will dwell once more in their own land.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 12:1-11

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray Him, asked, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there. And they came not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: God proves his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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: God proves his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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:

The persecuted church
The oppressed peoples of the world
All who are lonely
All who are near to death
All who are facing loss

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

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
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

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross, set us free to serve him with joy.
Amen.