Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Thursday
Thursday, 6 February 2025
The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 [Commemoration]

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 Chosen One

1There shall come forth a shoot from the stock of Jesse, ♦
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, ♦
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

3The spirit of counsel and might, ♦
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

4He shall not judge by what his eyes see, ♦
or decide by what his ears hear,

5But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, ♦
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

6The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, ♦
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.

7The calf, the lion and the fatling together, ♦
with a little child to lead them.

8They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, ♦
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11.1,2,3b-4a,6,9

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 18*

Refrain: The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.

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

2 My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, ♦
my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.

3 I cried to the Lord in my anguish ♦
and I was saved from my enemies. R

4 The cords of death entwined me ♦
and the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the Pit fastened about me ♦
and the snares of death entangled me.

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

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

8 The earth trembled and quaked; ♦
the foundations of the mountains shook;
they reeled because he was angry.

9 Smoke rose from his nostrils
and a consuming fire went out of his mouth; ♦
burning coals blazed forth from him.

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

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

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

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

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

15 He sent out his arrows and scattered them; ♦
he hurled down lightnings and put them to flight.

16 The springs of the ocean were seen,
and the foundations of the world uncovered ♦
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your displeasure. R

17 He reached down from on high and took me; ♦
he drew me out of the mighty waters.

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, ♦
from foes that were too mighty for me.

19 They came upon me in the day of my trouble; ♦
but the Lord was my upholder.

20 He brought me out into a place of liberty; ♦
he rescued me because he delighted in me. R

21 The Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing; ♦
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me,

22 Because I had kept the ways of the Lord ♦
and had not gone wickedly away from my God,

23 For I had an eye to all his laws, ♦
and did not cast out his commandments from me.

24 I was also wholehearted before him ♦
and kept myself from iniquity;

25 Therefore the Lord rewarded me
after my righteous dealing, ♦
and according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. R

26 With the faithful you show yourself faithful; ♦
with the true you show yourself true;

27 With the pure you show yourself pure, ♦
but with the crooked you show yourself perverse.

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

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

30 By your help I shall run at an enemy host; ♦
with the help of my God I can leap over a wall. R

31 As 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.

32 For who is God but the Lord, ♦
and who is the rock except our God?

33 It is God who girds me about with strength ♦
and makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet ♦
so that I tread surely on the heights.

35 He teaches my hands to fight ♦
and my arms to bend a bow of bronze. R

36 You have given me the shield of your salvation; ♦
your right hand upholds me
and your grace has made me great.

37 You enlarge my strides beneath me, ♦
yet my feet do not slide.

38 I will pursue my enemies and overtake them, ♦
nor turn again until I have destroyed them.

39 I will smite them down so they cannot rise; ♦
they shall fall beneath my feet.

40 You have girded me with strength for the battle; ♦
you will cast down my enemies under me;

41 You will make my foes turn their backs upon me ♦
and I shall destroy them that hate me. R

42 They will cry out, but there shall be none to help them; ♦
they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer.

43 I shall beat them as small as the dust on the wind; ♦
I will cast them out as the mire in the streets.

44 You will deliver me from the strife of the peoples; ♦
you will make me the head of the nations.

45 A people I have not known shall serve me;
as soon as they hear me, they shall obey me; ♦
strangers will humble themselves before me.

46 The foreign peoples will lose heart ♦
and come trembling out of their strongholds. R

47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock! ♦
Praised be the God of my salvation,

48 Even the God who vindicates me ♦
and subdues the peoples under me!

49 You that deliver me from my enemies,
you will set me up above my foes; ♦
from the violent you will deliver me;

50 Therefore will I give you thanks, O Lord, among the nations ♦
and sing praises to your name,

51 To the one who gives great victory to his king ♦
and shows faithful love to his anointed,
to David and his seed for ever.

Refrain: The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.

From your royal throne, O God,
you sent your living Word
to pierce the gloom of oppression;
so, in our souls’ night,
come with your saving help
and penetrate our darkness with the
rays of your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

Leviticus 9

On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, ‘Take a bull calf for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And say to the people of Israel, “Take a male goat for a sin-offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt-offering; and an ox and a ram for an offering of well-being to sacrifice before the Lord; and a grain-offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.” ’ They brought what Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting; and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. And Moses said, ‘This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.’ Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Draw near to the altar and sacrifice your sin-offering and your burnt-offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and sacrifice the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the Lord has commanded.’

Aaron drew near to the altar, and slaughtered the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself. The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. But the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver from the sin-offering he turned into smoke on the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses; and the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp.

Then he slaughtered the burnt-offering. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he dashed it against all sides of the altar. And they brought him the burnt-offering piece by piece, and the head, which he turned into smoke on the altar. He washed the entrails and the legs and, with the burnt-offering, turned them into smoke on the altar.

Next he presented the people’s offering. He took the goat of the sin-offering that was for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin-offering like the first one. He presented the burnt-offering, and sacrificed it according to regulation. He presented the grain-offering, and, taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition to the burnt-offering of the morning.

He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of well-being for the people. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, which he dashed against all sides of the altar, and the fat of the ox and of the ram—the broad tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the appendage of the liver. They first laid the fat on the breasts, and the fat was turned into smoke on the altar; and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron raised as an elevation-offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.

Aaron lifted his hands towards the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the offering of well-being. Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Canticle

Great and Wonderful, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 63 (page 621), may be said

Refrain:

AllAll nations shall come and worship you, O Christ,
and share in the feast of your kingdom. Alleluia.

1Great and wonderful are your deeds, ♦
Lord God the Almighty.

2Just and true are your ways, ♦
O ruler of the nations.

3Who shall not revere and praise your name, O Lord? ♦
for you alone are holy.

4All nations shall come and worship in your presence: ♦
for your just dealings have been revealed.

Revelation 15.3, 4

AllTo the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb ♦
be blessing and honour and glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.

AllAll nations shall come and worship you, O Christ,
and share in the feast of your kingdom. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Philippians 2.14-end

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.

Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and co-worker and fellow-soldier, your messenger and minister to my need; for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honour such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.

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

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
AllI have called you by name; you are mine.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.

from Isaiah 43

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or A Song of Christ’s Appearing (page 621) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.

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:

AllYou have filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.

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

¶ Local government, community leaders
¶ All who provide local services
¶ Those who work with young or elderly people
¶ Schools, colleges and universities
¶ Emergency and rescue organizations

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 God,
by whose grace alone we are accepted
      and called to your service:
strengthen us by your Holy Spirit
and make us worthy of our calling;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
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.