Evening Prayer | Ordinary Time, Proper 17

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 36

There is a voice of rebellion deep in the heart of the wicked; *
    there is no fear of God before his eyes.
 
He flatters himself in his own eyes *
    that his hateful sin will not be found out.
 
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; *
    he has left off acting wisely and doing good.
 
He thinks up wickedness upon his bed and has set himself in no good way; *
    he does not abhor that which is evil.
 
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, *
    and your faithfulness to the clouds.
 
Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep; *
    you save both man and beast, O LORD.
 
How priceless is your love, O God! *
    your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

They feast upon the abundance of your house; *
    you give them drink from the river of your delights.
 
For with you is the well of life, *
    and in your light we see light.
 
Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
    and your favor to those who are true of heart.

Let not the foot of the proud come near me, *
    nor the hand of the wicked push me aside.
 
See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness! *
    they are cast down and shall not be able to rise.

Lord God, source of light and life, by the light of your truth let the virtuous know your goodness and sinners feel your mercy, so that together they may drink from your river of delight and rejoice now and ever 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

Our Song in the Night by Bifrost Arts Music

EVENING LESSONS

1 KINGS 8:65—9:9

So Solomon held the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a great assembly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt—before the Lord our God, seven days. On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness that the Lord had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.

When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lordsaid to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you have built, and put my name there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’ “If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples. This house will become a heap of ruins; everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lordtheir God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them; therefore the Lord has brought this disaster upon them.’”

JAMES 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works.Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

This week, pray especially for:

• the many suffering from the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey and from the monsoon in South Asia; for those who have lost their homes and possessions; for the rescue and aid workers; for the churches and shelters providing relief and resources
• our students, teachers, and administrators in our city schools as they begin this week
• our community groups and leaders; that they might be places to experience God's friendship with us

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; 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.

Evening Prayer | Ordinary Time, Proper 17

OPENING SENTENCES

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.    Psalm 141:2

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, today, did I sense being drawn away from God? When, today, did I feel lost touch by the presence of God?

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

EVENING PSALM
PSALM 9

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart; *
    I will tell of all your marvelous works.
 
I will be glad and rejoice in you; *
    I will sing to your Name, O Most High.
 
When my enemies are driven back, *
    they will stumble and perish at your presence.
 
For you have maintained my right and my cause; *
    you sit upon your throne judging right.
 
You have rebuked the ungodly and destroyed the wicked; *
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
 
As for the enemy, they are finished, in perpetual ruin, *
    their cities plowed under, the memory of them perished;
 
But the LORD is enthroned for ever; *
    he has set up this throne for judgment.
 
It is he who rules the world with righteousness; *
    he judges the peoples with equity.
 
The LORD will be a refuge for the oppressed, *
    a refuge in time of trouble.
 
Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, *
    for you never forsake those who seek you, O LORD.
 
Sing praise to the LORD who dwells in Zion; *
    proclaim to the peoples the things he has done.
 
The Avenger of blood will remember them; *
    he will not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Have pity on me, O LORD; *
    see the misery I suffer from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gate of death;
 
So that I may tell of all your praises and rejoice in your salvation *
    in the gates of the city of Zion.
 
The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, *
    and in the snare they set is their own foot caught.
 
The LORD is known by his acts of justice; *
    the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands.
 
The wicked shall be given over to the grave, *
    and also all the people that forget God.
 
For the needy shall not always be forgotten, *
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
 
Rise up, O LORD, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; *
    let them be judged before you.
 
Put fear upon them, O LORD; *
    let the ungodly know they are but mortal.

Lord God, righteous judge, hear the cries of your oppressed people. Rescue them from their oppressors, and save them from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion; through 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

Our Song in the Night by Bifrost Arts Music

EVENING LESSONS

2 CHRONICLES 6:32-7:7

“Likewise when foreigners, who are not of your people Israel, come from a distant land because of your great name, and your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, may you hear from heaven your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigners ask of you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built. “If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause. “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near; then if they come to their senses in the land to which they have been taken captive, and repent, and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done wrong; we have acted wickedly’; if they repent with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity, to which they were taken captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear from heaven your dwelling-place their prayer and their pleas, maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to prayer from this place. “Now rise up, O Lord God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your faithful rejoice in your goodness. O Lord God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember your steadfast love for your servant David.”

When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lordfilled the temple. The priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. King Solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry. Opposite them the priests sounded trumpets; and all Israel stood.Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the offerings of well-being because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat parts.

JAMES 2:1-13

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

This week, pray especially for:

• the many suffering from the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey and from the monsoon in South Asia; for those who have lost their homes and possessions; for the rescue and aid workers; for the churches and shelters providing relief and resources
• our students, teachers, and administrators in our city schools as they begin this week
• our community groups and leaders; that they might be places to experience God's friendship with us

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; 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.

Evening Prayer | Ordinary Time, Proper 16

OPENING SENTENCES

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.    Psalm 74:15,16

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: Was there any time today when I felt discouraged? When did I feel most free?

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

EVENING PSALM
PSALM 110

The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, *
    until I make your enemies your footstool."
 
The LORD will send the scepter of your power out of Zion, *
    saying, "Rule over your enemies round about you.
 
Princely state has been yours from the day of your birth; *
    in the beauty of holiness have I begotten you,
    like dew from the womb of the morning."
 
The LORD has sworn and he will not recant: *
    "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
 
The Lord who is at your right hand will smite kings in the day of his wrath; *
    he will rule over the nations.

He will heap high the corpses; *
    he will smash heads over the wide earth.
 
He will drink from the brook beside the road; *
    therefore he will lift high his head.

Almighty God, make known in every place the perfect offering of your Son, the eternal high priest of the new Jerusalem, and so consecrate all nations to be your holy people, that the kingdom of Christ, your anointed one, may come in its fullness; and to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all honor and praise now and forever.

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

How Long? by Bifrost Arts Music

EVENING LESSONS

1 KINGS 7:51—8:21

Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David, saying, ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ My father David had it in mind to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to consider building a house for my name; nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ Now the Lord has upheld the promise that he made; for I have risen in the place of my father David; I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. There I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

ACTS 28:17-31

Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’ Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

This Week, Pray Especially For:

• the many suffering from the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey; for those who have lost their homes and possessions; for the rescue and aid workers; for the churches and shelters providing relief and resources
• our students, teachers, and administrators in our city schools as they prepare for the fall

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; 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.

Evening Prayer | Ordinary Time, Proper 16

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 17

Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD; give heed to my cry; *
    listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

Let my vindication come forth from your presence; *
    let your eyes be fixed on justice.
 
Weigh my heart, summon me by night, *
    melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.
 
I give no offense with my mouth as others do; *
    I have heeded the words of your lips.
 
My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; *
    in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
 
I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; *
    incline your ear to me and hear my words.
 
Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, *
    O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand
    from those who rise up against them.
 
Keep me as the apple of your eye; *
    hide me under the shadow of your wings,
 
From the wicked who assault me, *
    from my deadly enemies who surround me.
 
They have closed their heart to pity, *
    and their mouth speaks proud things.
 
They press me hard, now they surround me, *
    watching how they may cast me to the ground,
 
Like a lion, greedy for its prey, *
    and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
 
Arise, O LORD; confront them and bring them down; *
    deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
 
Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand *
    from those whose portion in life is this world;

Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, *
    who are well supplied with children
    and leave their wealth to their little ones.
 
But at my vindication I shall see your face; *
    when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Lord God, you vindicated your Son when he was unjustly condemned and surrounded by the wicked. Watch over your people as the apple of your eye, and guard our steps until we see your face; through 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

How Long? by Bifrost Arts Music

EVENING LESSONS

1 KINGS 5:1—6:1, 7

Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend to David. Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ Therefore command that cedars from the Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” Hiram sent word to Solomon, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me; I will fulfill all your needs in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the sea from the Lebanon; I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away. And you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household.” So Hiram supplied Solomon’s every need for timber of cedar and cypress. Solomon in turn gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty cors of fine oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and the two of them made a treaty. King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty thousand men. He sent them to the Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they would be a month in the Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. Solomon also had seventy thousand laborers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, besides Solomon’s three thousand three hundred supervisors who were over the work, having charge of the people who did the work. At the king’s command, they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Giblites did the stonecutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

In the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron was heard in the temple while it was being built.

ACTS 28:1-16

After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.

Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

This Week, Pray Especially For:

• the many suffering from the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey; for those who have lost their homes and possessions; for the rescue and aid workers; for the churches and shelters providing relief and resources
• our students, teachers, and administrators in our city schools as they prepare for the fall

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; 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.

Evening Prayer | Ordinary Time, Proper 16

OPENING SENTENCES

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.    Psalm 141:2

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, today, did I sense being drawn away from God? When, today, did I feel lost touch by the presence of God?

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

EVENING PSALM
PSALM 18:21-29

The LORD rewarded me because of my righteous dealing; *
    because my hands were clean he rewarded me;
 
For I have kept the ways of the LORD *
    and have not offended against my God;
 
For all his judgments are before my eyes, *
    and his decrees I have not put away from me;
 
For I have been blameless with him *
    and have kept myself from iniquity;

Therefore the LORD rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, *
    because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
 
With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God; *
     with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
 
With the pure you show yourself pure, *
    but with the crooked you are wily.
 
You will save a lowly people, *
    but you will humble the haughty eyes.
 
You, O LORD, are my lamp; *
    my God, you make my darkness bright.

Lord God, our stronghold and our salvation, give us such strength of love that we may reach out to our neighbor without counting the cost, for the sake of 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

How Long? by Bifrost Arts Music

EVENING LESSONS

1 KINGS 3:16-28

Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” But the other woman said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued before the king. Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought a sword before the king. The king said, “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.” But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.

ACTS 27:27-44

When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift. Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.” After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons in the ship.) After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

This Week, Pray Especially For:

• the many suffering from the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey; for those who have lost their homes and possessions; for the rescue and aid workers; for the churches and shelters providing relief and resources
• our students, teachers, and administrators in our city schools as they prepare for the fall

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; 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.