Opening response

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

Your saints bless you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise forever sound.
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

Expand Thy Wings, Celestial Dove

Charles Wesley

Expand thy wings, celestial Dove,
And, brooding over my nature's night,
Call forth the ray of heavenly love;
Let there in my dark soul be light;
And fill the illustrated abyss
With glorious beams of endless bliss.

“Let there be light,” again command,
And light there in our hearts shall be,
We then through faith shall understand
Thy great mysterious majesty;
And, by the shining of thy grace,
Behold in Christ thy glorious face.

Father of everlasting grace,
Be mindful of thy changeless word;
We worship toward that holy place
In which thou dost thy name record,
Dost make thy gracious nature known,
That living temple of thy Son.

Thou dost with sweet complacence see
The temple filled with light divine;
And art thou not well pleased with me,
Who, turning to that heavenly shrine,
Through Jesus to thy throne apply,
Through Jesus for acceptance cry?

With all who for redemption groan,
Father, in Jesus’ name I pray,
And still we cry and wrestle on,
Till mercy take our sins away:
Hear from thy dwelling place in heaven,
And now pronounce our sins forgiven.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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

Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 37

𝙍: The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD.

Do not fret over those who do evil;
do not envy those who do wrong.
For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender plants.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday sun. 𝙍

Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when men prosper in their ways,
when they carry out wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and abandon wrath;
do not fret—it can only bring harm.
For the evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and delight in abundant prosperity. 𝙍

The wicked scheme against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them,
but the Lord laughs,
seeing that their day is coming.

The wicked have drawn the sword
and bent the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

Better is the little of the righteous
than the abundance of many who are wicked.
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous. 𝙍

The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their inheritance will last forever.
In the time of evil they will not be ashamed,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

But the wicked and enemies of the LORD
will perish like the glory of the fields.
They will vanish;
like smoke they will fade away.

The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous are gracious and giving.
Surely those He blesses will inherit the land,
but the cursed will be destroyed. 𝙍

The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD
who takes delight in his journey.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
for the LORD is holding his hand.

I once was young and now am old,
yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
They are ever generous and quick to lend,
and their children are a blessing. 𝙍

Turn away from evil and do good,
so that you will abide forever.
For the LORD loves justice
and will not forsake His saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever. 𝙍

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.

Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
and seek to slay them,
the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned under judgment. 𝙍

Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
and He will raise you up to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off,
you will see it.

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
yet he passed away and was no more;
though I searched, he could not be found.

Consider the blameless and observe the upright,
for posterity awaits the man of peace. 𝙍

But the transgressors will all be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The LORD helps and delivers them;
He rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in Him.

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: The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD.

Psalm prayer

Blessed and holy God,
ever merciful and forgiving,
may we turn from what is evil
and do what is good in your sight,
for you have saved us by the cross of your Son,
our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Daniel 5:13-31

So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.

Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation. But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him. As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor. Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.

But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes.

But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways. Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

Now this is the inscription that was written:

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

And this is the interpretation of the message:

MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.

PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Revelation 7:1-4; 9-17

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel…

After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”

And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”

“Sir,” I answered, “you know.”

So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason,

they are before the throne of God
and serve Him day and night in His temple;
|and the One seated on the throne
will spread His tabernacle over them.
‘Never again will they hunger,
and never will they thirst;
nor will the sun beat down upon them,
nor any scorching heat.’
For the Lamb in the center of the throne
will be their shepherd.
‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’
and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.

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: You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.

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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying

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

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Father,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven, 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 has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.