Fri. evening Aug. 14
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward 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.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 69
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood overflows me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched;
my eyes grow dim
while I wait for my God.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Those who hate me without cause
are more than the hairs of my head;
they are mighty
who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully;
what I did not steal,
I must now restore.
O God, You know my folly,
and my sins are not hidden from You.
Let not those who wait on You,
O Lord GOD of Hosts,
be ashamed because of me;
let not those who seek You
be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel,
because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
shame has covered my face.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
and an alien to my mother’s children;
for zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon me.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a proverb to them.
Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD,
at an acceptable time; O God,
in the abundance of Your mercy,
answer me in the truth of Your salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire
and let me not sink;
let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the deep waters.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let not the flood overflow me,
nor let the deep swallow me up;
and let not the pit close its mouth on me.
Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
turn to me according to the abundance of Your tender mercies.
Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
deliver me because of my enemies.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all known to You.
Reproach has broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me poison in my food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let their table become a snare before them,
and let their peace be a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened so they do not see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
Pour out Your indignation upon them,
and let Your wrathful anger overtake them.
Let their camp be desolate,
and let no one dwell in their tents.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For they persecute him whom You have struck,
and they recount the pain of those whom You have wounded.
Add guilt to their iniquity,
and let them not come into Your righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
and let them not be recorded with the righteous.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let Your salvation, O God, set me safely on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD
more than an ox or bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this and be glad;
and you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For the LORD hears the poor,
and does not despise His prisoners.
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion,
and will build the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
and those who love His name shall dwell 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
Jeremiah 44:15-30
Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. But we will certainly do whatever we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then we had plenty of food, and were well off, and saw no disaster. But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have been in want of all things and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”
The women also said, “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands?”
Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women, and to all the people who had given him such an answer: “The incense offerings that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you, and your fathers, your kings, and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did they not come into His mind? So the LORD could no longer bear it because of the evil of your deeds and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as it is this day.”
Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’
“Proceed to accomplish your vows and surely perform your vows! Yet hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwells in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the LORD God lives.’ Behold, I will watch over them for disaster and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine until there is an end of them. Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there will know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
“This will be a sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place so that you may know that My words shall surely stand against you for disaster. Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 4:21-34
He said to them, “Is a candle brought to be put under a basket or under a bed and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed; neither is anything kept secret except to be proclaimed. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. The measure you give will be measured for you, and to you who hear will more be given. For to him who has will more be given. And from him who has not will be taken, even what he has.”
He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he does not know how. For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the head, then the full seed in the head. But when the grain is ripe, immediately he applies the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with what parable shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest seed on earth. Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all shrubs, and shoots out great branches, so that the birds of the air may nest in its shade.”
With many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. Without a parable He did not speak to them. But when they were alone, He expounded on all things to His disciples.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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
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.
Thu. evening Aug. 13
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
I Need Thee Every Hour
Confession of Sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 78:40-72
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
How often they provoked Him in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert!
Again and again they tested God,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember His power,
nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
when He performed His signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the fields of Zoan,
and turned their rivers into blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with frost.
He gave up their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to fiery lightning.
He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
by sending angels of destruction.
He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague,
and struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
But He led forth His own people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
He led them on safely, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
He brought them to His holy border,
to the mountain which His right hand had acquired.
He cast out the nations before them,
and divided for them their tribal allotments,
and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
and did not keep His testimonies,
but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
they turned aside like a deceitful bow.
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places
and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
When God heard this, He was filled with wrath
and greatly abhorred Israel,
so that He forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where He dwelt among men,
and delivered His strength to captivity
and His glory to the enemy’s hand.
He gave His people over to the sword,
and was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
The fire consumed their young men,
and their young women were not given in marriage.
Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep,
like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
He routed His enemies back;
He made them a perpetual reproach.
Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph,
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
but chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loves.
He built His sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth that He has established forever.
He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes He brought him
to shepherd Jacob His people,
and Israel His inheritance.
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart
and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
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: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Psalm prayer
God our shepherd, in all our wanderings and temptations, teach us to rest in your mercy and trust in your defense; through him who laid down his life for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 44:1-14
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the calamity that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells in them, because of their wickedness, which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods whom they did not know, neither they nor you nor your fathers. However, I sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.” But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their wickedness and from burning incense to other gods. Therefore My fury and My anger was poured out and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are ruined and desolate, as it is this day.
Now thus says the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you committing this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving you no one to remain, provoking Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to dwell, so that you might cut yourselves off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even to this day, nor have they feared, nor have they walked in My law and My statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set My face against you for disaster, and to cut off all Judah. I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they all will be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They will even be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They will die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they will be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem; by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. So none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there will escape or remain, with the result that they return into the land of Judah to which they have a desire to return to dwell there. For no one shall return except those who escape.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 4:1-20
Again He began to teach by the seaside. A large crowd was gathered before Him, so that He entered a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. He taught them many things in parables and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell beside the path, and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and soon it sprang up, because it did not have deep soil. But when the sun rose, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seed fell on good ground, and it yielded grain that sprang up and increased by thirty, sixty, or a hundred times as much.”
Then He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When He was alone, those who were around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. He said to them, “To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything is said in parables, so that
‘seeing they may see, and not perceive,
and hearing they may hear and not understand;
lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’ ”
Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are those beside the path, where the word is sown. But when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word which is sown in their hearts. Others, likewise, are seed sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness, but have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time. Afterward, when affliction or persecution rises for the word’s sake, immediately they fall away. And others are seed sown among thorns, the ones who hear the word. But the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Still others are seed sown on good ground, those who hear the word, and receive it, and bear fruit: thirty, sixty, and some a hundred times as much.”
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
Wed. evening Aug. 12
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
He Leadeth Me
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward 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.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 119:81-104
𝙍: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.
My soul languishes for Your salvation,
but I hope in Your word.
My eyes fail from reading Your word,
saying, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet have I not forgotten Your statutes.
How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
The proud have dug pits for me;
which is not according to Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
they persecute me wrongfully; help me!
They have almost destroyed me on earth,
but I did not forsake Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
𝙍: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.
Forever, O LORD, Your word
is established in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You have established the earth, and it stands.
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
for all things are Your servants.
If Your law had not been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
𝙍: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.
I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have given me life.
I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I will consider Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
𝙍: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.
Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
because I keep Your precepts.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
that I may keep Your word.
𝙍: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.
I have not departed from Your judgments,
for You have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
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: Revive me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness
Psalm prayer
Lord Christ, as we sit at your feet, teach us your living way; for you are our Word and Wisdom, one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 43
When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men said to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely. The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go into Egypt to sojourn there.’ But Baruch the son of Neriah sets you against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death and carry us away captives into Babylon.”
So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD to dwell in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all nations wherever they had been driven to dwell in the land of Judah, even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they came into the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD. Thus they entered as far as Tahpanhes.
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying: Take some large stones in your hand and hide them in the clay in the brick kiln which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, and say to them, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. When he comes, he shall ravage the land of Egypt and deliver whoever is meant for death to death, and whoever is meant for captivity to captivity, and whoever is meant for the sword to the sword. I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt and he shall burn them and carry them away captives. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall depart from there in peace. He shall also break the images of Heliopolis that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 3:20-35
Then they entered a house, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat bread. When His family heard of it, they went out to seize Him, for they said, “He is beside Himself.”
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
So He called them to Him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rises up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then he will plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they speak. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal condemnation.”
For they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Then His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him. The crowd sat around Him and said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”
He answered, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
Then He looked around at those who sat around Him and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother, and My sister, and My mother.”
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
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
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.