Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Friday
Friday, 28 August 2026
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Teacher of the Faith, 430 [Lesser Festival]

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 Entreaty

1Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and in your faithfulness give ear to my supplications; ♦
answer me in your righteousness.

2Enter not into judgement with your servant, ♦
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.

3My spirit faints within me; ♦
my heart within me is desolate.

4I stretch out my hands to you; ♦
my soul gasps for you like a thirsty land.

5O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; ♦
hide not your face from me
lest I be like those who go down to the Pit.

6Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for in you I put my trust; ♦
show me the way I should walk in,
for I lift up my soul to you.

7Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; ♦
let your kindly spirit lead me on a level path.

8Revive me, O Lord, for your name’s sake; ♦
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.

Psalm 143.1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10, 11

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 130

Refrain: My soul waits for the Lord.

1 Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice; ♦
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2 If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss, ♦
O Lord, who could stand?

3 But there is forgiveness with you, ♦
so that you shall be feared. R

4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; ♦
in his word is my hope.

5 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than the night watch for the morning, ♦
more than the night watch for the morning. R

6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, ♦
for with the Lord there is mercy;

7 With him is plenteous redemption ♦
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Refrain: My soul waits for the Lord.

Father, we commend to your faithful love
those who are crying from the depths;
help them to watch and pray
through their time of darkness,
in sure hope of the dawn of your
forgiveness and redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 131

Refrain: O Israel, trust in the Lord.

1 O Lord, my heart is not proud; ♦
my eyes are not raised in haughty looks.

2 I do not occupy myself with great matters, ♦
with things that are too high for me.

3 But I have quieted and stilled my soul,
like a weaned child on its mother’s breast; ♦
so my soul is quieted within me.

4 O Israel, trust in the Lord, ♦
from this time forth for evermore.

Refrain: O Israel, trust in the Lord.

Eternal God,
calm and quieten our souls;
keep us humble and full of wonder
and trusting as we live in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 137

Refrain: O pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

1 By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, ♦
when we remembered Zion.

2 As for our lyres, we hung them up ♦
on the willows that grow in that land.

3 For there our captors asked for a song,
our tormentors called for mirth: ♦
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’ R

4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song ♦
in a strange land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, ♦
let my right hand forget its skill.

6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you, ♦
if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy. R

7 Remember, O Lord, against the people of Edom
the day of Jerusalem, ♦
how they said, ‘Down with it, down with it,
even to the ground.’

8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, ♦
happy the one who repays you
for all you have done to us;

9 Who takes your little ones, ♦
and dashes them against the rock.

Refrain: O pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

God of our pilgrimage,
you sent your Son to our strange land
to bring us home to you;
give us your songs to sing,
that even in our exile
we may be filled with the breath of the Spirit
of 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.

Habakkuk 2.6-end

Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them,
‘Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!’
   How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge?
Will not your own creditors suddenly rise,
   and those who make you tremble wake up?
   Then you will be booty for them.
Because you have plundered many nations,
   all that survive of the peoples shall plunder you—
because of human bloodshed, and violence to the earth,
   to cities and all who live in them.

‘Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses,
   setting your nest on high
   to be safe from the reach of harm!’
You have devised shame for your house
   by cutting off many peoples;
   you have forfeited your life.
The very stones will cry out from the wall,
   and the plaster will respond from the woodwork.

‘Alas for you who build a town by bloodshed,
   and found a city on iniquity!’
Is it not from the Lord of hosts
   that peoples labour only to feed the flames,
   and nations weary themselves for nothing?
But the earth will be filled
   with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
   as the waters cover the sea.

‘Alas for you who make your neighbours drink,
   pouring out your wrath until they are drunk,
   in order to gaze on their nakedness!’
You will be sated with contempt instead of glory.
   Drink, you yourself, and stagger!
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
   will come around to you,
   and shame will come upon your glory!
For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you;
   the destruction of the animals will terrify you—
because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,
   to cities and all who live in them.

What use is an idol
   once its maker has shaped it—
   a cast image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in what has been made,
   though the product is only an idol that cannot speak!
Alas for you who say to the wood, ‘Wake up!’
   to silent stone, ‘Rouse yourself!’
   Can it teach?
See, it is plated with gold and silver,
   and there is no breath in it at all.

But the Lord is in his holy temple;
   let all the earth keep silence before him!

Canticle

A Song of the Justified, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 61 (page 619), may be said

Refrain:

AllOur hope is not in vain,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. Alleluia.

1God reckons as righteous those who believe, ♦
who believe in him who raised Jesus from the dead;

2For Christ was handed over to death for our sins, ♦
and raised to life for our justification.

3Since we are justified by faith, ♦
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

4Through Christ we have gained access
to the grace in which we stand, ♦
and rejoice in our hope of the glory of God.

5We even exult in our sufferings, ♦
for suffering produces endurance,

6And endurance brings hope, ♦
and our hope is not in vain,

7Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts, ♦
through the Holy Spirit, given to us.

8God proves his love for us: ♦
while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

9Since we have been justified by his death, ♦
how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath.

10Therefore, we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ♦
in whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Romans 4.24, 25; 5.1-5, 8, 9, 11

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.

AllOur hope is not in vain,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Mark 7.31-end

Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

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

Forsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
AllBe not far from me, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.

from Psalm 38

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

All Those who keep and teach the commandments
will be considered great in heaven. Alleluia.

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:

All Those who keep and teach the commandments
will be considered great in heaven. Alleluia.

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

¶ The King, members of parliament and the armed forces
¶ Peace and justice in the world
¶ Those who work for reconciliation
¶ All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
¶ Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

Merciful Lord,
who turned Augustine from his sins
      to be a faithful bishop and teacher:
grant that we may follow him in penitence and discipline
till our restless hearts find their rest in you;
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.

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from Church House Publishing.

The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.