Wed. evening May 27
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
Sweet Hour of Prayer
Words: William W. Walford (1772-1850)
Music: William B. Bradbury (1816-1868)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#440)
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
that calls me from a world of care,
and bids me at my Father's throne
make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
my soul has often found relief,
and oft escaped the tempter's snare
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
the joys I feel, the bliss I share
of those whose anxious spirits burn
with strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
where God my Savior shows his face,
and gladly take my station there,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
thy wings shall my petition bear
to him whose truth and faithfulness
engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face,
believe his word, and trust his grace,
I'll cast on him my every care,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
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 136
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
for His mercy endures forever.
Oh give thanks to the God of gods,
for His mercy endures forever.
Oh give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who alone does great wonders,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who made the great lights,
for His mercy endures forever;
the sun to rule by day,
for His mercy endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule by night,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for His mercy endures forever;
and brought Israel out from among them,
for His mercy endures forever;
with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for His mercy endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for His mercy endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who led His people through the wilderness,
for His mercy endures forever;
to Him who struck down great kings,
for His mercy endures forever;
and slew mighty kings,
for His mercy endures forever;
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for His mercy endures forever;
and Og, king of Bashan,
for His mercy endures forever;
and gave their land as a heritage,
for His mercy endures forever;
a heritage to Israel His servant,
for His mercy endures forever.
It is He who remembered us in our low estate,
for His mercy endures forever;
and has rescued us from our enemies,
for His mercy endures forever;
who gives food to all flesh,
for His mercy endures forever.
Oh give thanks to the God of heaven,
for His mercy endures 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.
Psalm prayer
Remember us, God, and shape our history, form our inward eyes to see the shadow of the life-giving cross in the turbulence of our time; for his sake who died for all, Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 3
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth. Job said:
“Let the day perish in which I was born
and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’
As for that day, let it be darkness;
let God above not regard it;
and let not light shine upon it.
Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it;
let a cloud settle on it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
As for that night, let darkness capture it;
let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
let it not come into the number of the months.
Yes, as for that night, let it be barren!
Let no joyful cry come into it!
Let them curse it who curse any day,
those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Let its morning stars be dark;
let it look for light, but have none;
let it not see the rays of dawn,
because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
nor hide trouble from my eyes.
“Why did I not die at birth?
Why did I not expire when I came out of the womb?
Why did her knees receive me?
And why her breasts that I should nurse?
For now I would be lying down and would be at peace;
I would have slept; then there would be rest for me,
with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built ruins for themselves,
or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,
like infants who never saw light?
There the wicked will have stopped causing trouble,
and there the exhausted will rest.
Captives will relax together;
they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
The small and great, they are there,
and the servant is free from his master.
“Why is light given to the miserable,
and life unto the bitter in soul,
who look for death, but it is not there;
and they search for it more than for hidden treasures;
who rejoice exceedingly,
and they are glad when they find the grave?
And why is light given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
For my sighing comes before I eat,
and my groaning pours forth like the waters.
For the thing which I greatly feared has happened to me,
and that which I dreaded has come to me.
I am not at peace; I have no quiet,
I cannot rest, and turmoil has come.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 2:1-16
Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judges, for when you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge do the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who commit such things. Do you think, O man, who judges those who do such things, and who does the same thing, that you will escape the judgment of God? Do you despise the riches of His goodness, tolerance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
But because of your hardness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself on the day of wrath when the righteous judgment of God will be revealed, and He “will render to every man according to his deeds.” To those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality will be eternal life. But for those who are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be indignation and wrath. There will be tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man who does evil, to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace will be to every man who does good work —to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile, for there is no partiality with God.
As many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and as many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law, for the hearers of the law are not justified before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, while their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them, in the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ.
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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O Lord, from whom all good things come: grant to us your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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.