Evening

The Officiant may begin Evening Prayer by reading an opening sentence of Scripture. One of the following, or a sentence from among those provided at the end of the Office (pages 54–56), is customary.

LORD, I have loved the habitation of your house and the place where your honor dwells.

PSALM 26:8

The Officiant says to the People

Dearly beloved, the Scriptures teach us to acknowledge our many sins and offenses, not concealing them from our heavenly Father, but confessing them with humble and obedient hearts that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy. We ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before Almighty God, but especially when we come together in his presence to give thanks for the great benefits we have received at his hands, to declare his most worthy praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things which are necessary for our life and our salvation. Therefore, draw near with me to the throne of heavenly grace.

Silence is kept. All kneeling.

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your 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 apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

A Deacon or layperson remains kneeling and prays

Grant to your faithful people, merciful Lord, pardon and peace; that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All stand.

The following or some other suitable hymn or Psalm may be sung or said.

PHOS HILARON

O gladsome light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, * O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, * we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, * O Son of God, O Giver of Life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.

PSALMS APPOINTED

32, 33, 34

¹Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

²Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

¹Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.

²Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

³Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

⁶By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;

¹⁴from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

²²Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

¹I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

³Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

⁴I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

⁹Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!

¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

²⁰He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

At the end of the Psalms the Gloria Patri (Glory be...) is sung or said

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

One or more Lessons, as appointed, are read, the Reader first saying

A citation giving chapter and verse may be added.

¹“And now, O priests, this command is for you.

²If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

³Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.

⁴So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts.

⁵My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.

⁶True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.

⁷For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

⁸But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,

⁹and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

¹⁰Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

¹¹Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹²May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!

¹³And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

¹⁴But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

¹⁵Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.

¹⁶“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

¹⁷You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

After each Lesson the Reader may say

Or the Reader may say

The following Canticles are normally sung or said after each of the lessons. The Officiant may also use a Canticle drawn from the Supplemental Canticles (pages 79–88) or an appropriate song of praise.

My soul magnifies the Lord, * and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; For he has regarded * the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from now on, * all generations will call me blessed; For he that is mighty has magnified me, * and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on those who fear him, * throughout all generations. He has shown the strength of his arm; * he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, * and has exalted the humble and meek. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent empty away. He, remembering his mercy, has helped his servant Israel, * as he promised to our fathers, Abraham and his seed for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

¹“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,

⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

⁶But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

⁷Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

⁸And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

⁹But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

¹⁰And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

¹¹Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’

¹²But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

¹⁴“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

¹⁹Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’

²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’

²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,

²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?

²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

²⁹For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

³⁰And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, * according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, * which you have prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, * and to be the glory of your people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Officiant and People together, all standing

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.

The People kneel or stand.

Officiant and People

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.

The Officiant then prays one or more of the following Collects, always beginning with the Collect of the Day (usually the Collect of the Sunday or Principal Feast and of any of the weekdays following, or of the Holy Day being observed) found on pages 598–640. It is traditional to pray the Collects for Peace and Aid against Perils daily. Alternatively, one may pray the Collects on a weekly rotation, using the suggestions in italics.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Tuesday after the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in continual godliness, that through your protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly serve you in good works, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

William Tyndale, Priest, Translator of the Bible, and Martyr, 1536

Almighty God, you gave your servant William Tyndale boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A COLLECT FOR AID AGAINST PERILS

Tuesday

Lighten our darkness, we beseech you, O Lord; and by your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Unless the Great Litany or the Eucharist is to follow, one of the following prayers for mission is added. If the Great Litany is used, it follows here, or after a hymn or anthem, and concludes the Office.

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men, women, and children everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Before the close of the Office one or both of the following prayers may be used.

Officiant and People

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable 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 pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

The Officiant says one of these concluding sentences (and the People may be invited to join)

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.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:14