Friday Evening Devotion

Psalm 51:10-19

Make me a clean heart, O God *

 and renew a right spirit within me.

  Cast me not away from thy presence *

 and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

  O give me the comfort of thy help again *

 and stablish me with thy free Spirit.

  Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked *

 and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

  Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health *

 and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.

  Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord *

 and my mouth shall shew thy praise.

  For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee *

 but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.

  The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit *

 a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.

  O be favourable and gracious unto Sion *

 build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations *

 then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.

(Translation: Coverdale)

A Reading

(Revelation 6:12-7:4)

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

 

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

(Translation: Authorized Version)

A period of silence may follow.

Canticle

Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55

My soul doth magnify the Lord, *

    and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

For he hath regarded *

    the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold from henceforth *

    all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *

    and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him *

    throughout all generations.

He hath showed strength with his arm; *

    he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *

    and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things, *

    and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, *

    as he promised to our forefathers,

    Abraham and his seed 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 for ever. Amen.

Prayers for Ourselves and Neighbors

Everlasting God, I pray for my own needs and those of others:

Silence or add individual intentions here

I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed, in things done and left undone; especially these sins which I have committed today:

Silence or add individual intentions here

For these and all other sins which I cannot now remember, I am truly sorry. I pray God to have mercy upon me. I firmly intend amendment of life, and I humbly beg forgiveness of God and his Church.

+May the Almighty God grant me forgiveness of all my sins, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Holy Trinity, One God, Thou art the bearer of good things, grant unto me a grateful heart that I may go forth with thanksgiving for all thy blessings:

Silence or add individual intentions here

And now, I gather my all prayers in the words Thy Son hath taught us:

Our 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, and the power, and the glory,

    for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Fridays

O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst take away the sting of death: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake up after thy likeness; for thy tender mercies' sake. Amen.

+The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless me and keep me. Amen.