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 89:19-52
You spoke once in vision and said to your faithful people: *
"I have set the crown upon a warrior
and have exalted one chosen out of the people.
I have found David my servant; *
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
My hand will hold him fast *
and my arm will make him strong.
No enemy shall deceive him, *
nor any wicked man bring him down.
I will crush his foes before him *
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and love shall be with him, *
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
I shall make his dominion extend *
from the Great Sea to the River.
He will say to me, 'You are my Father, *
my God, and the rock of my salvation.'
I will make him my firstborn *
and higher than the kings of the earth.
I will keep my love for him for ever, *
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his line for ever *
and his throne as the days of heaven."
"If his children forsake my law *
and do not walk according to my judgments;
If they break my statutes *
and do not keep my commandments;
I will punish their transgressions with a rod *
and their iniquities with the lash;
But I will not take my love from him, *
nor let my faithfulness prove false.
I will not break my covenant, *
nor change what has gone out of my lips.
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness: *
'I will not lie to David.
His line shall endure for ever *
and his throne as the sun before me;
It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon, *
the abiding witness in the sky.'"
But you have cast off and rejected your anointed; *
you have become enraged at him.
You have broken your covenant with your servant, *
defiled his crown, and hurled it to the ground.
You have breached all his walls *
and laid his strongholds in ruins.
All who pass by despoil him; *
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
You have exalted the right hand of his foes *
and made all his enemies rejoice.
You have turned back the edge of his sword *
and have not sustained him in battle.
You have put an end to his splendor *
and cast his throne to the ground.
You have cut short the days of his youth *
and have covered him with shame.
How long will you hide yourself, O LORD?
will you hide yourself for ever? *
how long will your anger burn like fire?
Remember, LORD, how short life is, *
how frail you have made all flesh.
Who can live and not see death? *
who can save himself from the power of the grave?
Where, Lord, are your loving-kindnesses of old, *
which you promised David in your faithfulness?
Remember, Lord, how your servant is mocked, *
how I carry in my bosom the taunts of many peoples,
The taunts your enemies have hurled, O LORD, *
which they hurled at the heels of your anointed.
Blessed be the LORD for evermore! *
Amen, I say, Amen.
Mighty God, in fulfillment of the promise made to David's descendants you established a lasting covenant through your firstborn Son. You anointed your servant Jesus with holy oil and raised him higher than all kings on earth. Remember your covenant, so that we who are signed with the blood of your Son may sing of your mercies forever; 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
Trinity Song - Sandra McCracken
EVENING LESSONS
Ezekiel 4:1-17
And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege-wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their punishment for the number of the days that you lie there. For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment of the house of Israel. When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year. You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm bared you shall prophesy against it. See, I am putting cords on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it. The food that you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at fixed times you shall eat it. And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink. You shall eat it as a barley-cake, baking it in their sight on human dung. The Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them.” Then I said, “Ah Lord God! I have never defiled myself; from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth.” Then he said to me, “See, I will let you have cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. Lacking bread and water, they will look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
Hebrews 6:1-12
Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And we will do this, if God permits. For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.
Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
In the evening, pray for:
peace
individuals and their needs
Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect for the the Seventh Week of Easter:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. 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.