The Order for Evening Prayer
Daily throughout the year
Jan 13 2025
((In the week of) The First Sunday after the Epiphany.)

Psalms 69, 70
The First Lesson Isaiah 13
Canticle The Magnificat
The Second Lesson Romans 8,18-30
Canticle Nunc dimittis (St. Luke ii. 29)

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. And then he shall say that which is written after the said Sentences.

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 xv. 18, 19.

When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Ezek. xviii. 27.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Psalm li. 9.

I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Psalm li. 3.

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 cloak 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 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.

The people shall answer here, and at the end of all other prayers, 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, both here, and wheresoever else it is used in Divine Service.

The Lord's Prayer

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.
Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Priest. O God, make speed to save us.
Answer. O Lord, make haste to help us.

Here all standing up, the Priest shall say,

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Priest. Praise ye the Lord.
Answer. The Lord's Name be praised.

Then shall be said or sung the Psalms in order as they be appointed. Then a Lesson of the Old Testament, as is appointed.

Psalm 69

Salvum me fac
SAVE me, O God : for the waters are come in, even unto my soul.
2. I stick fast in the deep mire, where no ground is : I am come into deep waters, so that the floods run over me.
3. I am weary of crying; my throat is dry : my sight faileth me for waiting so long upon my God.
4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head : they that are mine enemies, and would destroy me guiltless, are mighty.
5. I paid them the things that I never took : God, thou knowest my simpleness, and my faults are not hid from thee.
6. Let not them that trust in thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my cause : let not those that seek thee be confounded through me, O Lord God of Israel.
7. And why? for thy sake have I suffered reproof : shame hath covered my face.
8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren : even an alien unto my mother's children.
9. For the zeal of thine house hath even eaten me : and the rebukes of them that rebuked thee are fallen upon me.
10. I wept, and chastened myself with fasting : and that was turned to my reproof.
11. I put on sackcloth also : and they jested upon me.
12. They that sit in the gate speak against me : and the drunkards make songs upon me.
13. But, Lord, I make my prayer unto thee : in an acceptable time.
14. Hear me, O God, in the multitude of thy mercy : even in the truth of thy salvation.
15. Take me out of the mire, that I sink not : O let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
16. Let not the water-flood drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up : and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
17. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving-kindness is comfortable : turn thee unto me according to the multitude of thy mercies.
18. And hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble : O haste thee, and hear me.
19. Draw nigh unto my soul, and save it : O deliver me, because of mine enemies.
20. Thou hast known my reproof, my shame, and my dishonour : mine adversaries are all in thy sight.
21. Thy rebuke hath broken my heart; I am full of heaviness : I looked for some to have pity on me, but there was no man, neither found I any to comfort me.
22. They gave me gall to eat : and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.
23. Let their table be made a snare to take themselves withal : and let the things that should have been for their wealth be unto them an occasion of falling.
24. Let their eyes be blinded, that they see not : and ever bow thou down their backs.
25. Pour out thine indignation upon them : and let thy wrathful displeasure take hold of them.
26. Let their habitation be void : and no man to dwell in their tents.
27. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten : and they talk how they may vex them whom thou hast wounded.
28. Let them fall from one wickedness to another : and not come into thy righteousness.
29. Let them be wiped out of the book of the living : and not be written among the righteous.
30. As for me, when I am poor and in heaviness : thy help, O God, shall lift me up.
31. I will praise the Name of God with a song : and magnify it with thanksgiving.
32. This also shall please the Lord : better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
33. The humble shall consider this, and be glad : seek ye after God, and your soul shall live.
34. For the Lord heareth the poor : and despiseth not his prisoners.
35. Let heaven and earth praise him : the sea, and all that moveth therein.
36. For God will save Sion, and build the cities of Judah : that men may dwell there, and have it in possession.
37. The posterity also of his servants shall inherit it : and they that love his Name shall dwell therein.

Psalm 70

Deus, in adjutorium
HASTE thee, O God, to deliver me : make haste to help me, O Lord.
2. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul : let them be turned backward and put to confusion that wish me evil.
3. Let them for their reward be soon brought to shame : that cry over me, There, there.
4. But let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad in thee : and let all such as delight in thy salvation say alway, The Lord be praised.
5. As for me, I am poor and in misery : haste thee unto me, O God.
6. Thou art my helper and my redeemer : O Lord, make no long tarrying.

Then shall be read distinctly with an audible voice the First Lesson, taken out of the Old Testament, as is appointed in the Calendar, except there be proper Lessons assigned for that day : He that readeth so standing and turning himself, as he may best be heard of all such as are present. And after that, shall be said or sung, in English, the Hymn called Te Deum Laudamus, daily throughout the Year.

The First Lesson: Isaiah 13

13:1 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2   On a bare hill raise a signal;
    cry aloud to them;
  wave the hand for them to enter
    the gates of the nobles.
3   I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
    and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
    my proudly exulting ones.
4   The sound of a tumult is on the mountains
    as of a great multitude!
  The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
    of nations gathering together!
  The Lord of hosts is mustering
    a host for battle.
5   They come from a distant land,
    from the end of the heavens,
  the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
    to destroy the whole land.
6   Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
    as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
7   Therefore all hands will be feeble,
    and every human heart will melt.
8   They will be dismayed:
    pangs and agony will seize them;
    they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
  They will look aghast at one another;
    their faces will be aflame.
9   Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
  to make the land a desolation
    and to destroy its sinners from it.
10   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
    will not give their light;
  the sun will be dark at its rising,
    and the moon will not shed its light.
11   I will punish the world for its evil,
    and the wicked for their iniquity;
  I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
    and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12   I will make people more rare than fine gold,
    and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
13   Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
    and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
  at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    in the day of his fierce anger.
14   And like a hunted gazelle,
    or like sheep with none to gather them,
  each will turn to his own people,
    and each will flee to his own land.
15   Whoever is found will be thrust through,
    and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16   Their infants will be dashed in pieces
    before their eyes;
  their houses will be plundered
    and their wives ravished.
17   Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,
    who have no regard for silver
    and do not delight in gold.
18   Their bows will slaughter the young men;
    they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
    their eyes will not pity children.
19   And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
    the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
  will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
    when God overthrew them.
20   It will never be inhabited
    or lived in for all generations;
  no Arab will pitch his tent there;
    no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21   But wild animals will lie down there,
    and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
  there ostriches will dwell,
    and there wild goats will dance.
22   Hyenas will cry in its towers,
    and jackals in the pleasant palaces;
  its time is close at hand
    and its days will not be prolonged.

(ESV)

Magnificat: St. Luke I.


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 showed 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.

The Second Lesson: Romans 8:18-30

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

(ESV)

Nunc dimittis: St. Luke ii. 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.

Then shall be sung or said the Apostle's 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.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Then the Minister, Clerks, and people shall say the Lord's Prayer with a loud voice.

The Lord's Prayer

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. Amen.

Then the Priest standing up shall say,


O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
Answer. And grant us thy salvation.
Priest. O Lord, save our Rulers.
Answer. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Priest. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.
Answer. And make thy chosen people joyful.
Priest. O Lord, save thy people.
Answer. And bless thine inheritance.
Priest. Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Answer. Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.
Priest. O God, make clean our hearts within us.
Answer. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

Then shall follow three Collects; the first of the day, which shall be the same that is appointed at the Communion; The second for Peace; The third for Grace to live well. And the two last Collects shall never alter, but daily be said at Morning Prayer throughout all the year, as followeth, all kneeling.

THE COLLECT (The First Sunday after the Epiphany.)

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.

In Quires and Places where they sing here followeth the Anthem.

Then these Prayers following are to be read:

A Prayer for the Clergy and People.

Almighty and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels; Send down upon our Bishops, and Curates, and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, 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.

2 Corinthians xiii.

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.

Here endeth the Order of Evening Prayer throughout the Year.



Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Support the running of this site? Buy me a coffee!