Evening Prayer

Monday after Advent II
Monday, December 8, 2025

The Invitatory and Psalter

O God, make speed to save us.

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 forever. 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.

Psalm 21 Domine, in virtute tua

The king rejoices in your strength, O Lord; *

how greatly he exults in your victory!

You have given him his heart’s desire; *

you have not denied him the request of his lips.

For you meet him with blessings of prosperity, *

and set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

He asked you for life, and you gave it to him: *

length of days, for ever and ever.

His honor is great, because of your victory; *

splendor and majesty have you bestowed upon him.

For you will give him everlasting felicity *

and will make him glad with the joy of your presence.

For the king puts his trust in the Lord; *

because of the loving-kindness of the Most High, he will not fall.

Your hand will lay hold upon all your enemies; *

your right hand will seize all those who hate you.

You will make them like a fiery furnace *

at the time of your appearing, O Lord;

You will swallow them up in your wrath, *

and fire shall consume them.

You will destroy their offspring from the land *

and their descendants from among the peoples of the earth.

Though they intend evil against you

and devise wicked schemes, *

yet they shall not prevail.

For you will put them to flight *

and aim your arrows at them.

Be exalted, O Lord, in your might; *

we will sing and praise your power.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Lessons

First Lesson Isaiah 24:1–16a (NRSV)

¹Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,

and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

²And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;

as with the slave, so with his master;

as with the maid, so with her mistress;

as with the buyer, so with the seller;

as with the lender, so with the borrower;

as with the creditor, so with the debtor.

³The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;

for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴The earth dries up and withers,

the world languishes and withers;

the heavens languish together with the earth.

⁵The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants;

for they have transgressed laws,

violated the statutes,

broken the everlasting covenant.

⁶Therefore a curse devours the earth,

and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;

therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,

and few people are left.

⁷The wine dries up,

the vine languishes,

all the merry-hearted sigh.

⁸The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,

the noise of the jubilant has ceased,

the mirth of the lyre is stilled.

⁹No longer do they drink wine with singing;

strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

¹⁰The city of chaos is broken down,

every house is shut up so that no one can enter.

¹¹There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;

all joy has reached its eventide;

the gladness of the earth is banished.

¹²Desolation is left in the city,

the gates are battered into ruins.

¹³For thus it shall be on the earth

and among the nations,

as when an olive tree is beaten,

as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;

they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.

¹⁵Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;

in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹⁶From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,

of glory to the Righteous One.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The Song of Moses Cantemus Domino

Exodus 15:1–6, 11–13, 17–18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted; *

the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *

the Lord has become my Savior.

This is my God and I will praise him, *

the God of my people and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a mighty warrior; *

Yahweh is his Name.

The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea; *

the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.

The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them; *

they sank into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might; *

your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.

Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods? *

who is like you, glorious in holiness,

awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?

You stretched forth your right hand; *

the earth swallowed them up.

With your constant love you led the people you redeemed; *

with your might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling.

You will bring them in and plant them *

on the mount of your possession,

The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord, *

the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.

The Lord shall reign *

for ever and for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Second Lesson 1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 (NRSV)

¹Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. ²For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; ⁴that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, ⁵not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. ⁸Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, ¹¹to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, ¹²so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis

Luke 2:29–32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *

to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *

whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *

and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Prayers

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Our 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.

Save us from the time of trial,

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever. Amen.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,

and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in

the communion of all your saints,

entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,

We entreat you, O Lord.

The Collect of the Day
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(For the ELW Prayer of the Day, see p. 18, Second Sunday of Advent, Year A.)

A Collect for Peace
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

O God, you manifest in your servants the signs of your presence: Send forth upon us the spirit of love, that in companionship with one another your abounding grace may increase among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Other intercessions and thanksgivings may follow. (Include your petitions.)

The General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks

for all your goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for your immeasurable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;

for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,

that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives,

by giving up our selves to your service,

and by walking before you

in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,

be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21

Office text from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, of The Episcopal Church.

Scripture quotations from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, (Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Certain features of the different offices can be modified on the preferences page. You have not yet set your preferences, or the cookie with your preferences has expired. Follow this link to set your preferences.

Evening Prayer is brought to you by the people of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.

Please feel free to bookmark this page and return to pray Evening Prayer as often as possible. If you have a website and would like to link to this or other pages, you can find additional information on our “Linking to Daily Prayer” page.