Evening Prayer, Rite Two for Wednesday, September 25, 2024

September 25, 2024

Wednesday In The Week Of Proper 20

Psalm 74:15, 16

Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

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.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory and Psalter

Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.
People: O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Alleluia.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,

pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,

O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,

and our eyes behold the vesper light,

we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,

O Son of God, O Giver of life,

and to be glorified through all the worlds.

The Psalm or Psalms Appointed

Psalm 81

Sing with joy to God our strength *

and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *

the merry harp, and the lyre.

Blow the ram's-horn at the new moon, *

and at the full moon, the day of our feast.

For this is a statute for Israel, *

a law of the God of Jacob.

He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph, *

when he came out of the land of Egypt.

I heard an unfamiliar voice saying, *

"I eased his shoulder from the burden;

his hands were set free from bearing the load."

You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *

I answered you from the secret place of thunder

and tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: *

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

There shall be no strange god among you; *

you shall not worship a foreign god.

I am the LORD your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *

"Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."

And yet my people did not hear my voice, *

and Israel would not obey me.

So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *

to follow their own devices.

Oh, that my people would listen to me! *

that Israel would walk in my ways!

I should soon subdue their enemies *

and turn my hand against their foes.

Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, *

and their punishment would last for ever.

But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *

and satisfy him with honey from the rock.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 82

God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *

he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:

"How long will you judge unjustly, *

and show favor to the wicked?

Save the weak and the orphan; *

defend the humble and needy;

Rescue the weak and the poor; *

deliver them from the power of the wicked.

They do not know, neither do they understand;

they go about in darkness; *

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Now I say to you, 'You are gods, *

and all of you children of the Most High;

Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *

and fall like any prince.'"

Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *

for you shall take all nations for your own.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Lessons

2 Kgs 6:1-23

The Miracle of the Ax Head

Now the company of prophets said to Elisha, “As you see, the place where we live under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, and let us collect logs there, one for each of us, and build a place there for us to live.” He answered, “Do so.” Then one of them said, “Please come with your servants.” And he answered, “I will.” So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a log, his ax head fell into the water; he cried out, “Alas, master! It was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick, and threw it in there, and made the iron float. He said, “Pick it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

The Aramean Attack Is Thwarted

Once when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he took counsel with his officers. He said, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Take care not to pass this place, because the Arameans are going down there.” The king of Israel sent word to the place of which the man of God spoke. More than once or twice he warned such a place so that it was on the alert.

The mind of the king of Aram was greatly perturbed because of this; he called his officers and said to them, “Now tell me who among us sides with the king of Israel?” Then one of his officers said, “No one, my lord king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel, who tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.” He said, “Go and find where he is; I will send and seize him.” He was told, “He is in Dothan.” So he sent horses and chariots there and a great army; they came by night, and surrounded the city.

When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, “Alas, master! What shall we do?” He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Then Elisha prayed: “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, please, with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men so that they may see.” The Lord opened their eyes, and they saw that they were inside Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them he said to Elisha, “Father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” He answered, “No! Did you capture with your sword and your bow those whom you want to kill? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink; and let them go to their master.” So he prepared for them a great feast; after they ate and drank, he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. And the Arameans no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.