Sat. evening Jun. 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
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 45
𝙍: Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
My heart is overflowing with a goodly theme;
I recite my special song to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a skillful scribe.
You are fairer than the sons of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty One,
with your glory and your majesty.
In your majesty ride prosperously
because of truth, meekness, and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds.
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
𝙍: Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.
The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness more than your companions.
All your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
Out of the ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.
Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
𝙍: Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your own people and your father’s house,
and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
The daughter of Tyre will be there with a gift;
the richest of the people will seek your favor.
The royal daughter is all glorious within her chamber;
her clothing is plaited gold.
She shall be brought to the king in embroidered robes;
the virgins, her companions who follow her,
shall be brought to you.
With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
they shall enter the king’s palace.
In the place of ancestors shall be your sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
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: Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
Psalm prayer
Lord our God, bring your bride, your holy Church, with joy to the marriage feast of heaven, and unite us with your anointed Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth trembles,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains shake with its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice; the earth melted.
The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
who brings desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
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
God of Jacob, when the earth shakes and the nations are in uproar, speak, and let the storm be still; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
2 Chronicles 36:11-23
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by an oath by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. Even the officials over the priests and the people increased in their unfaithfulness in all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them over and over again by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and His dwelling place. But they continued to jest regarding the messengers of God, despising His word and making fun of His prophets until the wrath of the LORD came up against His people, until there was no remedy. So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans from Babylon, who killed their young men with the sword at the house of their sanctuary. He did not spare a young man or virgin, old or aged. God gave all of them into his hand. Even all the vessels of the house of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, the king, and his officials, all of this was taken to Babylon. So they burned down the house of God, tore down the wall of Jerusalem, burned down all the palaces with fire, and destroyed all the precious items.
Then he carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who survived the sword, and they were slaves to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia ruled, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also declared in a written edict:
“Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:
“The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has commanded me to build for Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 8:31-39
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes, who is risen, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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:
Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the church
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
Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are worth nothing: send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake, 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.