OPENING SENTENCES
Worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
CONFESSION OF SIN
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Evening Examen: When did I feel most dissatisfied and restricted today? What events, relationships, or thoughts of the day drew me closer to God?
O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.
EVENING PSALM
Psalm 10
Why do you stand so far off, O LORD, *
and hide yourself in time of trouble?
The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, *
but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
The wicked boast of their heart's desire; *
the covetous curse and revile the LORD.
The wicked are so proud that they care not for God; *
their only thought is, "God does not matter."
Their ways are devious at all times;
your judgments are far above out of their sight; *
they defy all their enemies.
They say in their heart, "I shall not be shaken; *
no harm shall happen to me ever."
Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; *
under their tongue are mischief and wrong.
They lurk in ambush in public squares
and in secret places they murder the innocent; *
they spy out the helpless.
They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert;
they lie in wait to seize upon the lowly; *
they seize the lowly and drag them away in their net.
The innocent are broken and humbled before them; *
the helpless fall before their power.
They say in their heart, "God has forgotten; *
he hides his face; he will never notice."
Rise up, O LORD;
lift up your hand, O God; *
do not forget the afflicted.
Why should the wicked revile God? *
why should they say in their heart, "You do not care"?
Surely, you behold trouble and misery; *
you see it and take it into your own hand.
The helpless commit themselves to you, *
for you are the helper of orphans.
Break the power of the wicked and evil; *
search out their wickedness until you find none.
The LORD is King for ever and ever; *
the ungodly shall perish from his land.
The LORD will hear the desire of the humble; *
you will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;
To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, *
so that mere mortals may strike terror no more.
Faithful Lord, remember your people; do not hide your face from our troubles. Father of orphans, wealth of the poor, give us comfort in times of pain, that we might proclaim the joyous news of freedom in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Glory 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.
EVENING SONG
But for You Who Fear My Name - The Welcome Wagon
EVENING LESSONS
1 Kings 1:38-2:4
So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon. There the priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise.
Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city in an uproar?” While he was still speaking, Jonathan son of the priest Abiathar arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and surely you bring good news.” Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king; the king has sent with him the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they had him ride on the king’s mule; the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you heard. Solomon now sits on the royal throne. Moreover the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ The king bowed in worship on the bed and went on to pray thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne and permitted me to witness it.’” Then all the guests of Adonijah got up trembling and went their own ways. Adonijah, fearing Solomon, got up and went to grasp the horns of the altar. Solomon was informed, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; see, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” So Solomon responded, “If he proves to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” Then King Solomon sent to have him brought down from the altar. He came to do obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go home.”
When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: ‘If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’
Acts 26:24-27:8
While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.” Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; and as they were leaving, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.”
When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to set sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. After we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
In the evening, pray for:
peace
individuals and their needs
Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!
The Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.