Evening Prayer

Tuesday, December 09, 2025

Advent

The Order for Evening Prayer

At the beginning of Evening Prayer the Minister shall read with a loud voice some one or more of these Sentences of the Scriptures that follow.

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:1

Then the Minister shall say,

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, saying after me:

A general Confession to be said of 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 them, O God, which confess their faults, Restore thou them that are penitent, According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu 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; and 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 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 with an audible voice; the people also kneeling, and repeating it with him.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in 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.

Then likewise he shall say,

O Lord, open thou our lips.

And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Praise ye the Lord.

The Lord's Name be praised.

Here, all standing up, the Priest shall say,

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.

Praise ye the Lord.

The Lord's Name be praised.

Then shall follow the Psalms in order as they are appointed.

The Psalms

Psalm 47

Omnes gentes, plaudite

¹ O CLAP your hands together, all ye people * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

² For the Lord is high, and to be feared * he is the great King upon all the earth.

³ He shall subdue the people under us * and the nations under our feet.

⁴ He shall choose out an heritage for us * even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved.

⁵ God is gone up with a merry noise * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

⁶ O sing praises, sing praises unto our God * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

⁷ For God is the King of all the earth * sing ye praises with understanding.

⁸ God reigneth over the heathen * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

⁹ The princes of the people are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham: for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Psalm 48

Magnus Dominus

¹ GREAT is the Lord, and highly to be praised * in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill.

² The hill of Sion is a fair place, and the joy of the whole earth * upon the north-side lieth the city of the great King; God is well known in her palaces as a sure refuge.

³ For lo, the kings of the earth * are gathered, and gone by together.

⁴ They marvelled to see such things * they were astonished, and suddenly cast down.

⁵ Fear came there upon them, and sorrow * as upon a woman in her travail.

⁶ Thou shalt break the ships of the sea * through the east-wind.

⁷ Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God * God upholdeth the same for ever.

⁸ We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God * in the midst of thy temple.

⁹ O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the world's end * thy right hand is full of righteousness.

¹⁰ Let the mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad * because of thy judgements.

¹¹ Walk about Sion, and go round about her * and tell the towers thereof.

¹² Mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses * that ye may tell them that come after.

¹³ For this God is our God for ever and ever * he shall be our guide unto death.

Psalm 49

Audite haec, omnes

¹ O HEAR ye this, all ye people * ponder it with your ears, all ye that dwell in the world;

² High and low, rich and poor * one with another.

³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom * and my heart shall muse of understanding.

⁴ I will incline mine ear to the parable * and shew my dark speech upon the harp.

⁵ Wherefore should I fear in the days of wickedness * and when the wickedness of my heels compasseth me round about?

⁶ There be some that put their trust in their goods * and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.

⁷ But no man may deliver his brother * nor make agreement unto God for him;

⁸ For it cost more to redeem their souls * so that he must let that alone for ever;

⁹ Yea, though he live long * and see not the grave.

¹⁰ For he seeth that wise men also die, and perish together * as well as the ignorant and foolish, and leave their riches for other.

¹¹ And yet they think that their houses shall continue for ever * and that their dwelling-places shall endure from one generation to another; and call the lands after their own names.

¹² Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour * seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish; this is the way of them.

¹³ This is their foolishness * and their posterity praise their saying.

¹⁴ They lie in the hell like sheep, death gnaweth upon them, and the righteous shall have domination over them in the morning * their beauty shall consume in the sepulchre out of their dwelling.

¹⁵ But God hath delivered my soul from the place of hell * for he shall receive me.

¹⁶ Be not thou afraid, though one be made rich * or if the glory of his house be increased;

¹⁷ For he shall carry nothing away with him when he dieth * neither shall his pomp follow him.

¹⁸ For while he lived, he counted himself an happy man * and so long as thou doest well unto thyself, men will speak good of thee.

¹⁹ He shall follow the generation of his fathers * and shall never see light.

²⁰ Man being in honour hath no understanding * but is compared unto the beasts that perish.

The First Lesson

Isaiah 32

¹ Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.

² And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

³ And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

⁴ The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

⁵ The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

⁶ For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

⁷ The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

⁸ But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

⁹ Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.

¹⁰ Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.

¹¹ Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

¹² They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

¹³ Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

¹⁴ Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

¹⁵ Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

¹⁶ Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

¹⁷ And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

¹⁸ And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;

¹⁹ When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.

²⁰ Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

And after the first Lesson shall be sung or said the Magnificat, as followeth.

Magnificat

The Song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55)

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 shewed 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.

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.

Or else this Psalm, Cantate Domino

Cantate Domino

Psalm 98

O sing unto the Lord a new song : for he hath done marvellous things.

With his own right hand, and with his holy arm : hath he gotten himself the victory.

The Lord declared his salvation : his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel : and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.

Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands : sing, rejoice, and give thanks.

Praise the Lord upon the harp : sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.

With trumpets also and shawms : O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.

Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is : the round world, and they that dwell therein.

Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord : for he is come to judge the earth.

With righteousness shall he judge the world : and the people with equity.

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 Second Lesson

James 2

¹ My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

² For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³ And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴ Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

⁵ Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

⁶ But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

⁷ Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

⁸ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

⁹ But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

¹⁰ For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

¹¹ For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

¹² So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

¹³ For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

¹⁴ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

¹⁷ Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

²² Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

²³ And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

²⁴ Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

²⁵ Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

And after the second Lesson shall be sung or said Nunc dimittis, as followeth.

Nunc Dimittis

The Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32)

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.

Or else this Psalm, Deus Misereatur

Deus Misereatur

Psalm 67

God be merciful unto us, and bless us : and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us;

That thy way may be known upon earth : thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God : yea, let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations rejoice and be glad : for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God : yea, let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase : and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.

God shall bless us : and all the ends of the world shall fear him.

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.

Then shall be sung or said the Apostles' Creed by the Minister and the people, standing.

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 Catholick 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, all devoutly kneeling; the Minister first pronouncing with a loud voice,

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Then the Priest standing up shall say,

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.

And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save the King.

And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.

And make thy chosen people joyful.

O Lord, save thy people.

And bless thine inheritance.

Give peace in our time, O Lord.

Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.

And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

Then shall follow three Collects: The first of the Day; The second for Peace; The third for Grace.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

The Second Collect at Evening Prayer

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 both 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.

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.

2 Corinthians 13:14