Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Contemporary Language

¶ Evening Prayer on Tuesday
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr, 642 [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 Mercy and Truth

1O God, will you not give us life again, ♦
that your people may rejoice in you?

2Show us your mercy, O Lord, ♦
and grant us your salvation.

3Truly, his salvation is near to those who fear him, ♦
that his glory may dwell in our land.

4Mercy and truth are met together, ♦
righteousness and peace have kissed each other;

5Truth shall spring up from the earth ♦
and righteousness look down from heaven.

6Righteousness shall go before him ♦
and direct his steps in the way.

Psalm 85.6, 7, 9-11, 13

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 9

Refrain: You, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart; ♦
I will tell of all your marvellous works.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; ♦
I will make music to your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies are driven back, ♦
they stumble and perish at your presence.

4 For you have maintained my right and my cause; ♦
you sat on your throne giving righteous judgement. R

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; ♦
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6 The enemy was utterly laid waste. ♦
You uprooted their cities;
their very memory has perished.

7 But the Lord shall endure for ever; ♦
he has made fast his throne for judgement.

8 For he shall rule the world with righteousness ♦
and govern the peoples with equity.

9 Then will the Lord be a refuge for the oppressed, ♦
a refuge in the time of trouble.

10 And those who know your name will put their trust in you, ♦
for you, Lord, have never failed those who seek you. R

11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion; ♦
declare among the peoples the things he has done.

12 The avenger of blood has remembered them; ♦
he did not forget the cry of the oppressed.

13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; ♦
consider the trouble I suffer from those who hate me,
you that lift me up from the gates of death;

14 That I may tell all your praises in the gates of the city of Zion ♦
and rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations shall sink into the pit of their making ♦
and in the snare which they set will their own foot be taken.

16 The Lord makes himself known by his acts of justice; ♦
the wicked are snared in the works of their own hands. R

17 They shall return to the land of darkness, ♦
all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten ♦
and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.

19 Arise, O Lord, and let not mortals have the upper hand; ♦
let the nations be judged before your face.

20 Put them in fear, O Lord, ♦
that the nations may know themselves to be but mortal.

Refrain: You, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.

Remember, Lord, all who cry to you
from death’s dark gates;
do not forget those whom the world forgets,
but raise your faithful ones to Zion’s gate,
with your all-conquering Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 10*

Refrain: You, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.

1 Why stand so far off, O Lord? ♦
Why hide yourself in time of trouble?

2 The wicked in their pride persecute the poor; ♦
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

3 The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; ♦
the covetous curse and revile the Lord.

4 The wicked in their arrogance say, ‘God will not avenge it’; ♦
in all their scheming God counts for nothing. R

5 They are stubborn in all their ways,
for your judgements are far above out of their sight; ♦
they scoff at all their adversaries.

6 They say in their heart, ‘I shall not be shaken; ♦
no harm shall ever happen to me.’

7 Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud; ♦
under their tongue lie mischief and wrong.

8 They lurk in the outskirts
and in dark alleys they murder the innocent; ♦
their eyes are ever watching for the helpless.

9 They lie in wait, like a lion in his den;
they lie in wait to seize the poor; ♦
they seize the poor when they get them into their net.

10 The innocent are broken and humbled before them; ♦
the helpless fall before their power.

11 They say in their heart, ‘God has forgotten; ♦
he hides his face away; he will never see it.’ R

12 Arise, O Lord God, and lift up your hand; ♦
forget not the poor.

13 Why should the wicked be scornful of God? ♦
Why should they say in their hearts, ‘You will not avenge it’?

14 Surely, you behold trouble and misery; ♦
you see it and take it into your own hand.

15 The helpless commit themselves to you, ♦
for you are the helper of the orphan.

16 Break the power of the wicked and malicious; ♦
search out their wickedness until you find none. R

17 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever; ♦
the nations shall perish from his land.

18 Lord, you will hear the desire of the poor; ♦
you will incline your ear to the fullness of their heart,

19 To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, ♦
so that people are no longer driven in terror from the land.

Refrain: You, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.

When wickedness triumphs
and the poor are betrayed,
come to your kingdom, strong and holy God,
destroy the masks of evil
and reign in our broken hearts;
through 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.

1 Samuel 10.17-end

Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.” But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, “No! but set a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’

Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, ‘Did the man come here?’ and the Lord said, ‘See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’ Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ And all the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!’

Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellows said, ‘How can this man save us?’ They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.

Canticle

A Song of the Holy City, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 72 (page 630), may be said

Refrain:

AllI saw the holy city
coming down out of heaven from God. Alleluia.

1I saw a new heaven and a new earth, ♦
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
and the sea was no more.

2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, ♦
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, ♦
‘Behold, the dwelling of God is among mortals.

4‘He will dwell with them and they shall be his peoples, ♦
and God himself will be with them.

5‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes, ♦
and death shall be no more.

6‘Neither shall there be mourning,
nor crying, nor pain any more, ♦
for the former things have passed away.’

7And the One who sat upon the throne said, ♦
‘Behold, I make all things new.’

Revelation 21.1-5a

AllTo the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb ♦
be blessing and honour and glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.

AllI saw the holy city
coming down out of heaven from God. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Luke 22.31-38

‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’

He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’

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

Open my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
Lead me in the path of your commandments
Allthat I may see the wonders of your law.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.

from Psalm 119

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or Great and Wonderful (page 629) may be said

Refrain:

All Those who gave up their lives for Christ and followed in the Way
rejoice with God now and for ever. 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 gave up their lives for Christ and followed in the Way
rejoice with God now and for ever. 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

¶ All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
¶ Those in the midst of famine or disaster
¶ Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
¶ Those who are bereaved
¶ All who work in the medical and healing professions

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

Father in heaven,
whose Son Jesus Christ was wonderfully transfigured
before chosen witnesses upon the holy mountain,
and spoke of the exodus he would accomplish at Jerusalem:
give us strength so to hear his voice and bear our cross
that in the world to come we may see him as he is;
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.