THE ORDER FOR

EVENING PRAYER

Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 3, 2020

The Minister shall read aloud one or more of these Sentences of

the Scriptures that follow, or at special seasons the appropriate

Sentences provided in Morning Prayer.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own and my own know me. ~John 10.14

 

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. St. Luke 15.18,19

 

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him: neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he set before us. Daniel 9.9,10

 

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55 6, 7.

The Minister, turning to the people, shall say the Exhortation in the form following. Occasionally the second paragraph may be omitted, or in place of the Exhortation the Minister may say, Let us humbly confess our sins to Almighty God.

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 cloke 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 most 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.

A general Confession to be said of the whole Congregation with 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 them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that 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 Absolution, or Remission of sins, to be pronounced 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 them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel. Wherefore we 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.

 

Here the Lord’s Prayer may be said; the people repeating it with the Minister.

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 them that 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.

 

Minister. O LORD, open thou our lips;

People. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

Minister. O God, make speed to save us;

People. O Lord, make haste to help us.

Here, all standing up, the Minister shall say: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; People. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Minister. Praise ye the Lord;

People. The Lord’s Name be praised.

Then shall follow THE PSALMS. Then THE FIRST LESSON as appointed. And after that shall be sung or said Magnificat (or the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

PSALM 23. Dominus regit me.

THE LORD is my shepherd; / therefore can I lack nothing.

2 He shall feed me in a green pasture, / and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.

3 He shall restore my soul, / and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; / for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

5 THOU shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me; / thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.

6 Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; / and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.

 

The First Lesson is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, in the 2^nd Chapter, beginning at the 42^nd verse. (ACTS 2.42-47 NRSV)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Here endeth the lesson.

MAGNIFICAT. St Luke 1. 46.

MY soul doth magnify • the | Lord : and my spirit hath re- joiced • in | God my | Saviour.

2 For I he hath • re- | garded : the | lowli-ness ' of his | hand-maiden.

3 For be- | hold from | henceforth : all gene- | rations • shall | call me | blessed.

4 For he that is mighty hath | magni- • fied | me : and | holy ' is his | Name.

5 And his mercy is on | them that | fear him : throughout | all ' gene- | rations.

6 He hath shewed | strength • with his | arm : he hath scattered the proud, in the imagi- | nation ' of their | hearts.

7 He hath put down the mighty ' from their | seat : and hath ex- | alted • the | humble • and | meek.

8 He hath filled the | hungry with | good things : and the rich he ' hath sent | empty • a- 1 way.

9 He re- | memb'ring • his | mercy : hath | holpen • his | servant | Israel;

10 As he promised ' to our | forefathers : Abraham ' and his | seed for | ever.

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

The Second Lesson is taken from the 1^st letter of S. Peter in the 2^nd Chapter, beginning at the nineteenth verse. (1 Peter 2. 19-25 NRSV)

For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Here endeth the lesson.

THE SECOND LESSON as appointed. And after that shall be sung or said Nunc Dimittis (or the Song of Simeon).

NUNC DIMITTIS. St Luke 2.29.

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. GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.

The Holy Gospel is written in the 10^th Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John, beginning at the 1^st Verse.

Glory be to thee, O Lord.

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

The Gospel of Christ

Praise be to thee, O Christ.

Then shall be said or sung the Confession of the Faith, called the Apostles’ 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 the Creed these prayers following, all devoutly kneeling, the Minister first pronouncing:

The Lord be with you;

People. And with thy spirit.

Minister. Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

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 them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Then the Priest standing up shall say: O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;

People. And grant us thy salvation.

Priest. O Lord, save the Queen;

People. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

Priest. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness;

People. And make thy chosen people joyful.

Priest. O Lord, save thy people;

People. And bless thine inheritance.

Priest. Give peace in our time, O Lord;

People. And evermore mightily defend us.

Priest. O God, make clean our hearts within us;

People. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

Then shall follow THE COLLECT OF THE DAY, together with any other Collects appointed to be said, and these two prayers in order.

Collect of the Day: O God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do your will, and work in us that which is well-pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Second Collect, for Peace.

O GOD, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

The Third Collect, for Aid against all Perils.

LIGHTEN our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here may follow an Anthem or a Hymn. Here may be said the prayers found at this point in Morning Prayer or selections from the Prayers and Thanksgivings or such other prayers as are contained in this Book or set forth by lawful authority, always ending with the Prayer of St Chrysostom and the Grace.

 

Shepherd Divine Our Wants Relieve. Tune: St. Etheldreda

Other prayers and thanksgivings are offered.

A Prayer of Saint 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

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.