Evening

The Minister shall begin the Evening Prayer by reading one or more of the following Sentences of Scripture; and then he shall say that which is written after them. But he may, at his discretion, pass at once from the Sentences to the Lord’s Prayer.

Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense; and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

Psalm cxli. 2.

DEARLY beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us, in sundry places, to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought, at all times, humbly to acknowledge our sins before God; yet ought we chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul. Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice, unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying—

A General Confession. To be said by the whole Congregation, after the Minister, all kneeling.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

The Declaration of Absolution, or Remission of Sins. To be made by the Priest alone, standing; the People still kneeling.

ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live, hath given power, and commandment, to his Ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins. He pardoneth and absolveth all those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do at this present; and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy; so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord’s Prayer; the People still kneeling, and repeating it with him.

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, for ever and ever. Amen.

Then likewise he shall say,

Here, all standing up, the Minister shall say,

Psalm 37

¹Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

²For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

⁶He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

⁹For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

¹⁰In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish — like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

²²for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

²⁴though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

²⁶He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.

³³The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.

³⁶But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

³⁸But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Job 3

Then shall be read the First Lesson, according to the Table or Calendar.

¹After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

²And Job said:

³“Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’

⁴Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.

⁵Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶That night — let thick darkness seize it! Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it.

⁸Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.

⁹Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning,

¹⁰because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?

¹²Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

¹³For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,

¹⁴with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves,

¹⁵or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light?

¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,

²¹who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

²²who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

²⁴For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.

²⁵For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.

²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

MY soul doth magnify the Lord, * and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded * the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth * all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me; * and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on them that fear him * throughout all generations. He hath showed strength with his arm; * he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, * and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things; * and the rich he hath sent empty away. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel; * as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

Philippians 2:1-13

Then a Lesson of the New Testament, as it is appointed.

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

¹³for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

LORD, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, * according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen * thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared * before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, * and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Then shall be said the Apostles’ Creed by the Minister and the People, standing. And any Churches may, instead of the words, He descended into hell, use the words, He went into the place of departed spirits, which are considered as words of the same meaning in the Creed.

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen.

And after that, these Prayers following, the people devoutly kneeling; the minister first pronouncing,

Let us pray.

Then shall be said the following Suffrages.

Then shall be said the Collect of the Day, and after that the Collects and Prayers following.

Collect of the Day

Wednesday after the 18th Sunday after Trinity

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

A Collect for Aid against Perils

The Minister may here end the Evening Prayer with such Prayer, or Prayers, taken out of this Book, as he shall think fit.

A Prayer for The President of the United States, and all in Civil Authority

ALMIGHTY God, whose kingdom is everlasting and power infinite; Have mercy upon this whole land; and so rule the hearts of thy servants THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, The Governor of this State, and all others in authority, that they, knowing whose ministers they are, may above all things seek thy honour and glory; and that we and all the People, duly considering whose authority they bear, may faithfully and obediently honour them, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer for the Clergy and People

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift; Send down upon our Bishops, and other Clergy, and upon the Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and, that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer for all Conditions of Men

O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [*especially those for whom our prayers are desired;] that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities; giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

A General Thanksgiving

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men; [*particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.] We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests; Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.