Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Wednesday
Wednesday, 3 July 2024
Thomas the Apostle

Preparation

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

The Blessing of Light (page 110) may replace the Preparation at Evening Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

A prayer of thanksgiving (page 110),

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
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:
AllBlessed be God for ever.

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of God’s Descending

1I love you, O Lord my strength. ♦
The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer.

2In my distress I called upon the Lord ♦
and cried out to my God for help.

3He heard my voice in his temple ♦
and my cry came to his ears.

4He parted the heavens and came down ♦
and thick darkness was under his feet.

5He rode upon the cherubim and flew; ♦
he came flying on the wings of the wind.

6He made darkness his covering round about him, ♦
dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.

7From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds ♦
burst hailstones and coals of fire.

8The Lord also thundered out of heaven; ♦
the Most High uttered his voice
with hailstones and coals of fire.

9For you will save a lowly people ♦
and bring down the high looks of the proud.

10You also shall light my candle; ♦
the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.

11As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is tried in the fire; ♦
he is a shield to all who trust in him.

Psalm 18.1, 6, 7 ,10-14, 28, 29, 31

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

This opening prayer may be said

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 for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 139

Refrain: Search me out, O God, and know my heart.

1 O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; ♦
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You mark out my journeys and my resting place ♦
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 For there is not a word on my tongue, ♦
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You encompass me behind and before ♦
and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, ♦
so high that I cannot attain it. R

6 Where can I go then from your spirit? ♦
Or where can I flee from your presence?

7 If I climb up to heaven, you are there; ♦
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

8 If I take the wings of the morning ♦
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

9 Even there your hand shall lead me, ♦
your right hand hold me fast.

10 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me ♦
and the light around me turn to night,’

11 Even darkness is no darkness with you;
the night is as clear as the day; ♦
darkness and light to you are both alike. R

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; ♦
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13 I thank you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; ♦
marvellous are your works, my soul knows well.

14 My frame was not hidden from you, ♦
when I was made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my form, as yet unfinished; ♦
already in your book were all my members written,

16 As day by day they were fashioned ♦
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How deep are your counsels to me, O God! ♦
How great is the sum of them!

18 If I count them, they are more in number than the sand, ♦
and at the end, I am still in your presence. R

19 O that you would slay the wicked, O God, ♦
that the bloodthirsty might depart from me!

20 They speak against you with wicked intent; ♦
your enemies take up your name for evil.

21 Do I not oppose those, O Lord, who oppose you? ♦
Do I not abhor those who rise up against you?

22 I hate them with a perfect hatred; ♦
they have become my own enemies also.

23 Search me out, O God, and know my heart; ♦
try me and examine my thoughts.

24 See if there is any way of wickedness in me ♦
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Refrain: Search me out, O God, and know my heart.

Creator God,
may every breath we take be for your glory,
may every footstep show you as our way,
that, trusting in your presence in this world,
we may, beyond this life, still be with you
where you are alive and reign
for ever and ever.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Job 42.1-6

Then Job answered the Lord:
‘I know that you can do all things,
   and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
   things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
“Hear, and I will speak;
   I will question you, and you declare to me.”
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
   but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
   and repent in dust and ashes.’

Canticle

The following, or another suitable canticle, may be said or sung

Refrain:

AllChrist was believed in throughout the world
and taken up in glory. Alleluia.

1Christ Jesus was revealed in the flesh ♦
and vindicated in the spirit.

2He was seen by angels ♦
and proclaimed among the nations.

3Believed in throughout the world, ♦
he was taken up in glory.

4This will be made manifest at the proper time ♦
by the blessed and only Sovereign,

5Who alone has immortality, ♦
and dwells in unapproachable light.

1 Timothy 3.16; 6.15, 16

AllTo the King of kings and Lord of lords ♦
be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.

AllChrist was believed in throughout the world
and taken up in glory. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

1 Peter 1.3-12

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Lord, you will guide me with your counsel
and afterwards receive me with glory.
AllLord, you will guide me with your counsel
and afterwards receive me with glory.
For I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
AllAnd afterwards receive me with glory.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllLord, you will guide me with your counsel
and afterwards receive me with glory.

from Psalm 73

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or the Nunc dimittis (The Song of Simeon) (page 613) may be said

Refrain:

AllOn the foundation stones of the heavenly city
are written the names of the apostles of the Lamb. Alleluia.

1My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

2From this day all generations will call me blessed; ♦
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.

3He has mercy on those who fear him, ♦
from generation to generation.

4He has shown strength with his arm ♦
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

5Casting down the mighty from their thrones ♦
and lifting up the lowly.

6He has filled the hungry with good things ♦
and sent the rich away empty.

7He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, ♦
to remember his promise of mercy,

8The promise made to our ancestors, ♦
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1.46-55

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllOn the foundation stones of the heavenly city
are written the names of the apostles of the Lamb. Alleluia.

Prayers

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ 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

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Almighty and eternal God,
who, for the firmer foundation of our faith,
allowed your holy apostle Thomas
      to doubt the resurrection of your Son
till word and sight convinced him:
grant to us, who have not seen, that we also may believe
and so confess Christ as our Lord and our God;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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 for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

All 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.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.