OPENING SENTENCES
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
CONFESSION OF SIN
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Evening Examen: When, today, did I sense being drawn away from God? When, today, did I feel most touched by the presence of God?
O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.
EVENING PSALM
Psalm 9
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart; *
I will tell of all your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in you; *
I will sing to your Name, O Most High.
When my enemies are driven back, *
they will stumble and perish at your presence.
For you have maintained my right and my cause; *
you sit upon your throne judging right.
You have rebuked the ungodly and destroyed the wicked; *
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
As for the enemy, they are finished, in perpetual ruin, *
their cities plowed under, the memory of them perished;
But the LORD is enthroned for ever; *
he has set up this throne for judgment.
It is he who rules the world with righteousness; *
he judges the peoples with equity.
The LORD will be a refuge for the oppressed, *
a refuge in time of trouble.
Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, *
for you never forsake those who seek you, O LORD.
Sing praise to the LORD who dwells in Zion; *
proclaim to the peoples the things he has done.
The Avenger of blood will remember them; *
he will not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Have pity on me, O LORD; *
see the misery I suffer from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gate of death;
So that I may tell of all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation *
in the gates of the city of Zion.
The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, *
and in the snare they set is their own foot caught.
The LORD is known by his acts of justice; *
the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands.
The wicked shall be given over to the grave, *
and also all the people that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten, *
and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
Rise up, O LORD, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; *
let them be judged before you.
Put fear upon them, O LORD; *
let the ungodly know they are but mortal.
Lord God, righteous judge, hear the cries of your oppressed people. Rescue them from their oppressors, and save them from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Glory 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.
EVENING SONG
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Bifrost Arts
EVENING LESSONS
Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23
Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land! The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah. Ah, you who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger in the evening to be inflamed by wine, whose feasts consist of lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine, but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands!
Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood, who drag sin along as with cart ropes, who say, “Let him make haste, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfillment, that we may know it!” Ah, you who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes, and shrewd in your own sight! Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant at mixing drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of their rights!
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.
So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
In the evening, pray for:
peace
individuals and their needs
Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!
The Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.