Wed. evening Nov. 19
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
All your saints shall bless you.
They shall speak 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
Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death
Come, and by Thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath
The new heaven and earth's Creator
In our deepest darkness rise
Scattering all the night of nature
Pouring eyesight on our eyes
Still we wait for Thy appearing
Life and joy Thy beams impart
Chasing all our fears, and hearing
Every poor benighted heart
Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race
Come, Thou universal Savior
Come, and bring the gospel grace
Save us in Thy great compassion
O Thou mild pacific Prince
Give the knowledge of salvation
Give the pardon of our sins
By thine all-sufficient merit
Every burdened soul release
Every weary wandering spirit
Guide into Thy perfect peace
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 73
𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had almost slipped.
For I was envious of the boastful
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pangs in their death,
but their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men are,
nor are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes bulge with fatness;
they have more than a heart could wish.
𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
they speak loftily.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue parades through the earth.
Therefore his people return here,
and waters of abundance are drunk by them.
They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease,
they increase in riches.
Surely I have kept my heart clean in vain,
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been plagued,
and chastened every morning.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.
When I thought how to understand this,
it was troublesome in my sight,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their end.
Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when awakened,
You will despise their image.
When my heart was embittered,
and I was pierced in my heart,
I was foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have held me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
that I may declare all Your works.
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: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.
Psalm prayer
Holy God, may we find wisdom in your presence and set our hope not on uncertain riches, but on the love that holds us to the end; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Daniel 9:1-19
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which were specified by the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said,
“Alas, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping His covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commandments. We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our officials, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
“O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, who are near and who are far off, through all the countries wherever You have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, to our officials, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Indeed, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even by departing that they might not obey Your voice.
“Therefore the curse has been poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. He has confirmed His words, which He had spoken against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done such as has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, great calamity has come on us. Yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God so that we might turn from our iniquities and give attention to Your truth. Therefore, the LORD has kept the disaster in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He does, but we have not obeyed His voice.
“Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, even to this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I beseech You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.
“Now therefore, O God, hear the prayer of Your servant and his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and look at our desolations and the city which is called by Your name, for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not defer, for Your own sake, O my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 11:15-19
The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
“The kingdoms of the world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever.”
And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
who is and was and who is to come,
because You have taken Your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations were angry,
and Your wrath has come,
and the time has come for the dead to be judged,
and to reward Your servants the prophets
and the saints and those who fear Your name,
small and great,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there came lightning, noises, thundering, an earthquake, and great hail.
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 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
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil, and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life: grant that we, having this hope, may purify ourselves even as he is pure; that when he shall appear in power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven, 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
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.