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Wednesday after Second Sunday in Advent

EVENING

12.10.2025

Our Father, whichwho art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done inon earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them thatthose 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.

O Lord, open thou our lips.

And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Praise ye the Lord.

The Lord's Name be praised.

—   ✤   —

Ps. 53.

The foolish body hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Corrupt are they, and become abominable in their wickedness; there is none that doeth good.
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that would understand, and seek after God.
But they are all gone out of the way, they are altogether become abominable; there is also none that doeth good, no not one.
Are not they without understanding, that work wickedness, eating up my people as if they would eat bread? they have not called upon God.
They were afraid where no fear was: for God hath broken the bones of him that besieged thee; thou hast put them to confusion, because God hath despised them.
O that the salvation were given unto Israel out of Sion! O that the Lord would deliver his people out of captivity!
Then should Jacob rejoice, and Israel should be right glad.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Ps. 54.

Save me, O God, for thy Name's sake, and avenge me in thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God, and hearken unto the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me; and tyrants, which have not God before their eyes, seek after my soul.
Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: destroy thou them in thy truth.
An offering of a free heart will I give thee, and praise thy Name, O Lord; because it is so comfortable.
For he hath delivered me out of all my trouble; and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Ps. 55.

Hear my prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from my petition.
Take heed unto me, and hear me, how I mourn in my prayer, and am vexed.
The enemy crieth so, and the ungodly cometh on so fast; for they are minded to do me some mischief; so maliciously are they set against me.
My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me.
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed me.
And I said, O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I flee away, and be at rest.
Lo, then would I get me away far off, and remain in the wilderness.
I would make haste to escape, because of the stormy wind and tempest.
Destroy their tongues, O Lord, and divide them; for I have spied unrighteousness and strife in the city.
Day and night they go about within the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
Wickedness is therein; deceit and guile go not out of their streets.
For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour; for then I could have borne it.
Neither was it mine adversary, that did magnify himself against me; for then peradventure I would have hid myself from him.
But it was even thou, my companion, my guide, and mine own familiar friend.
We took sweet counsel together, and walked in the house of God as friends.
Let death come hastily upon them, and let them go down quick into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me.
In the evening, and morning, and at noonday will I pray, and that instantly; and he shall hear my voice.
It is he that hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; for there were many with me.
Yea, even God, that endureth for ever, shall hear me, and bring them down; for they will not turn, nor fear God.
He laid his hands upon such as be at peace with him, and he brake his covenant.
The words of his mouth were softer than butter, having war in his heart; his words were smoother than oil, and yet be they very swords.
O cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall nourish thee, and shall not suffer the righteous to fall for ever.
And as for them, thou, O God, shalt bring them into the pit of destruction.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days: nevertheless, my trust shall be in thee, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Here beginneth the 34th chapter of Isaiah.
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
Here endeth the first lesson.

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

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 be to the Father,

and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Here beginneth the 3rd chapter of James.
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Here endeth the second lesson.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience, and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.