Magnificat and Concluding Intercessions

O God make speed to save us . O Lord, make haste to help us . O God , make not give us life like your people may choice shows your mercy all Lord and Lord was your salvation is needed That is the Lord may dwell in all mercy and to God Two shots three are from you and Rajas uk ta for him , Righteousness shall be fine , and I went his steps in the way . Glory to the Father to the Soul and to the Holy Spirit That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful. Let us pray with one heart and mind . 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 . Amen . Psalm one hundred and thirty five Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good . Hallelujah, praise the name of the Lord. Give praise you servants of the Lord. You that stand in the house of the Lord , in the courts of the house of our God . Praise the Lord for the Lord is good. Make music to his name or any For it is lovely , for the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself , and Israel for his own possession, for I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods . The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth , in the seas and in all the deeps he brings up the clouds from the ends of the earth . He makes lightning with the rain and brings the winds out of his treasuries . He smote the firstborn of Egypt , the firstborn of man and beast . He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt , upon Pharaoh and all his servants. He smote many nations , and slew mighty kings, Sion, king of the Amorit es, and Og the king of Bashin , and all the kingdoms of Cana an . Ye gave their land as a heritage a heritage for Israel his people . Your name, O Lord, endures for ever, and shall be remembered through all gener ations . For the Lord will vindicate his people , and have compassion on his servants . The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of human hands . They have mouths but cannot speak . Eyes have they but cannot see . They have ears but cannot hear. Neither is there any breath in their mouths . Those who make them shall become like them . And so will all who put their trust in them . Bless the Lord, O house of Israel, O house of Aaron, bless the Lord . Bless the Lord, O house of Levi . You who fear the Lord , bless the Lord. Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Alleluia . Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good . Let us pray . Wise and gracious God, save us from the idols of our hearts, and keep us in your living pres ence, that we may become a people for your praise in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen . The first reading is from the second book of Chronicles, beginning at chapter 18, verse 1 . Now Jehoshaphat had great riches in honor , and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab . After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria . Ahab slaughtered an abundance of sheep and oxen for him, and for the people who were with him. King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead ? He answered him, I am with you, my people are your people, we will be with you in the war . But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, Inquire first for the word of the Lord. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred of them, and said to them, Shall we go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain ? They said, Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king . But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire? The King of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Makiah, son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster. Jehoshaphat said, Let the king not say such a thing . Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, Bring quickly Makaiah son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. Zedekiah son of Kenar made for himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus says the Lord: with these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed. All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph, the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them and speak favorably . But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak . When he had come to the king, the king said to him, Makaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle , or shall I refrain? He answered, Go up and triumph. They will be given into your hand . But the king said to him, How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? Then Mekiah said , I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, These have no master. Let each one go home in peace . The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me , but only disaster . Then Meccah said , Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the hosts of heaven standing to the right and to the left And the Lord said, Who will entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? Then one said one thing, and another said another, until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him. The Lord asked him, How? He replied, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then the Lord said, You are to entice him, and you shall succeed. Go out and do it. So you see the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets . The Lord has decreed disaster for you . Then Zedekiah, son of Chenana, came up to Mekiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you ? Micaiah replied, You will find out on that day when you go into hide in an inner chamber. The king of Israel then ordered, Take Makaiah and return him to Ammon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son, and say, Thus says the king, put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I return in peace Mecaiah said, If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear you peoples, all of you. I saw the hol y city coming down out of her for the food I saw like you will have a land for the first life I went to the first time to the stable And I saw the holy city which I love coming down to heaven from the On my heart a great voice short say whole the God is one of the mortals . He will dwell with them and they shall be And God Himself will be with He will wideht have from them and de ath shall be Ny ash anymore , nor cry , nor pa in . For the former things have closed and the one who saw my th rone side for make all the things My soul The second reading is from the letter of Paul to the Romans, beginning at chapter one, verse eighteen . For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth . For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them . Ever since the creation of the world, his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not honour him as God, or give thanks to him , but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened . Claim ing to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being, or birds, or four-footed animals, or reptiles Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed for ever. A men . For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions . Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craft iness. They are gossips, slanderers, god hat ers, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die , yet they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them . Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your la w . Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your law. Lead me in the path of your commandments . That I may see the wonders of your law. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit . Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your law . Those who keep and teach the commandments will be considered great in heaven. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord , my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. He has looked with favour on his lowly servant . From this day all generations will call me blessed The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. He has mercy on those who fear him . From generation to generation He has shown strength with his arm , and has scattered the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones, and lifting up the low ly . He has filled the hungry with good things , and sent the rich away empty . He has come to the aid of his servant Israel to remember his promise of mercy , the promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children for ever . 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 . Those who keep and teach the commandments will be considered great in heaven . Let us pray . In every age you have raised up holy people to reflect the light of Christ and to teach us the way of holiness . We thank you for those who have been teachers in the school of Christ. Give understanding to those who study the faith that the church has handed on, and clarity to those who communicate the gospel in a changing world . Lord, hear us Lord graciously hear us We thank you for those who have been shepherds of your people . Give a pastoral heart to deacons, priests, and bishops, and the needful gifts to all your people in their ministry . Lord hear us . Lord, graciously hear us . We thank you for those whom you have called to live in community . Establish mutual love among those drawn into fellowship in your service, and bless with Christ's presence all the communities to which we relate . Lord hear us Lord graciously hear us We thank you today for Augustine, whose obedience, despite reservations, enabled him to lead a group of monks from Rome to renew the English Church. Settling in Kent, he became the first Archbishop of Canterbury . As we celebrate his memory and rejoice in his friendship, we ask for your blessing on the Christian communities in Kent, together with the current Archbishop of Canterbury . Lord hear us Lord graciously hear us Hasten Lord the day when people will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in your kingdom, and we shall see your Son in his glory . Almighty God, whose servant Augustine was sent as the apostle of the English people , grant that as he laboured in the Spirit to preach Christ's gospel in this land , so all who hear the good news may strive to make your truth known in all the world. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in, the un ity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever . Amen . As our Saviour taught us, so we pray Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name Your kingdom come , your will be done on earth as in heav en . 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 . 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 . Thanks be to God