Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
creator of light and darkness,
to you be glory and praise forever.
As evening falls, you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
May your word be a lantern to our feet
and a light upon our path
that we may behold your coming among us.
Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
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

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his loving devotion for 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 has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his kind deeds.

Psalm 16

𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing.”
As for the saints in the land,
they are the excellence
in whom all my delight resides.
Sorrows will multiply
to those who chase other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood,
or speak their names with my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places;
surely my inheritance is delightful.
I will bless the LORD who counsels me;
even at night my conscience instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me.
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

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 LORD is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm prayer

Give to us, Lord Christ,
the fullness of grace,
your presence and your very self,
for you are our portion and our delight,
now and forever.

Psalm 17

𝙍: Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand.

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it comes from lips free of deceit.
May my vindication come from Your presence;
may Your eyes see what is right.

You have tried my heart;
You have visited me in the night.
You have tested me and found no evil;
I have resolved not to sin with my mouth. 𝙍

As for the deeds of men—
by the word of Your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held to Your paths;
my feet have not slipped. 𝙍

I call on You, O God,
for You will answer me.
Incline Your ear to me;
hear my words.
Show the wonders of Your loving devotion,
You who save by Your right hand
those who seek refuge from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings
from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me. 𝙍

They have closed their callous hearts;
their mouths speak with arrogance.
They have tracked us down, and now surround us;
their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,
like a lion greedy for prey,
like a young lion lurking in ambush. 𝙍

Arise, O LORD, confront them!
Bring them to their knees;
deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,
from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life.
May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons,
so they leave their abundance to their children.

As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

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: Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand.

Psalm prayer

Generous Lord,
deliver us from all envious thoughts,
and when we are tempted by the desire for wealth,
let us see your face;
for your abundance is enough to clothe our lack;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 29:1-14

Woe to you, O Ariel,
the city of Ariel where David camped!
Year upon year
let your festivals recur.
And I will constrain Ariel,
and there will be mourning and lamentation;
she will be like an altar hearth before Me.
I will camp in a circle around you;
I will besiege you with towers
and set up siege works against you.
You will be brought low,
you will speak from the ground,
and out of the dust
your words will be muffled.
Your voice will be like a spirit from the ground;
your speech will whisper out of the dust.

But your many foes will be like fine dust,
the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff.
Then suddenly, in an instant,
you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts
with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.
All the many nations
going out to battle against Ariel—
even all who war against her,
laying siege and attacking her—
will be like a dream,
like a vision in the night,
as when a hungry man dreams he is eating,
then awakens still hungry;
as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking,
then awakens faint and parched.
So will it be for all the many nations
who go to battle against Mount Zion.

Stop and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be sightless;
be drunk, but not with wine;
stagger, but not from strong drink.
For the LORD has poured out on you
a spirit of deep sleep.
He has shut your eyes, O prophets;
He has covered your heads, O seers.

And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.”

Therefore the Lord said:

“These people draw near to Me with their mouths
and honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
Therefore I will again confound these people
with wonder upon wonder.
The wisdom of the wise will vanish,
and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 13:24-43

Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

He who has ears, let him hear.

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 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

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him 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, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.