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

Who Is This Gigantic Foe

Charles Wesley

Who is this gigantic foe,
That proudly stalks along,
Overlooks the crowd below,
In brazen armor strong?
Loudly of his strength he boasts;
On his sword and spear relies;
Meets the God of Israel’s hosts,
And all their force defies.

Tallest of the earth-born race,
They tremble at his power;
Flee before the monster’s face,
And own him conqueror.
Who this mighty champion is,
Nature answers from within,
He is my own wickedness,
My own besetting sin.

In the strength of Jesus’ name,
I with the monster fight;
Feeble and unarmed I am,
But Jesus is my might;
Mindful of his mercies past,
I trust the same to prove;
Still my helpless soul I cast
On his redeeming love.

From the bear and lion’s paws,
He hath delivered me;
He will still maintain my cause,
And still my helper be;
God in my defense shall stand,
Jesus on my side I have;
From the proud Goliath’s hand
He now my soul shall save.

With my sling and stone I go
To fight the Philistine;
God hath said it shall be so,
And I shall conquer sin;
On his promise I rely,
My trust is in the Lord,
Sure to win the victory,
For he hath spoke the word.

In the strength of God I rise,
I run to meet my foe;
Faith the word of power applies,
And lays the giant low;
Faith in Jesus’ conquering name,
Slings the sin-destroying stone;
Points the word’s unerring aim,
And brings the monster down.

Rise, ye men of Israel, rise!
Your rooted foe pursue;
Shout his praises to the skies,
Who conquers sin for you;
Jesus doth for you appear,
He his conquering grace affords;
Saves you, not with sword and spear,
The battle is the Lord’s.

Every day the Lord of hosts,
His mighty power displays;
Stills the proud Philistine’s boast,
The threatening Gittite slays;
Israel’s God, let all below
Conqueror over sin proclaim,
O that all the earth might know,
The power of Jesus’ name!

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

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

May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for his loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 88

𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

O LORD, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out before You.
May my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those descending to the Pit.
I am like a man without strength.

I am forsaken among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
who are cut off from Your care. 𝙍

You have laid me in the lowest Pit,
in the darkest of the depths.
Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;
all Your waves have submerged me.

You have removed my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them;
I am confined and cannot escape.
My eyes grow dim with grief. 𝙍

I call to You daily, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to You.
Do You work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?

Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon ?
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion? 𝙍

But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Why, O LORD, do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?

From my youth I was afflicted and near death.
I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they engulf me like water;
they enclose me on every side.
You have removed my beloved and my friend;
darkness is my closest companion.

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: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

Psalm prayer

In the depths of our isolation
we cry to you, Lord God;
give light in our darkness
and bring us out of the prison of our despair
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Job 28

“Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the farthest recesses
for ore in deepest darkness.
Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft
in places forgotten by the foot of man.
Far from men he dangles and sways.
Food may come from the earth,
but from below it is transformed as by fire.
Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
containing flecks of gold.
No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
Proud beasts have never trodden it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
The miner strikes the flint;
he overturns mountains at their base.
He hews out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
He stops up the sources of the streams
to bring what is hidden to light.

But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding dwell?
No man can know its value,
nor is it found in the land of the living.
The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’
while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
It cannot be bought with gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,
nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.

From where then does wisdom come,
and where does understanding dwell?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
But God understands its way,
and He knows its place.
For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When God fixed the weight of the wind
and measured out the waters,
when He set a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderbolt,
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it;
He established it and searched it out.
And He said to man, ‘Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Hebrews 11:17-31

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.

By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.

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:

The universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

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

Response

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
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.