25th August 2025 Evening Prayer

The Psalter

Psalm 37

Noli æmulari

FRET not thyself because of the ungodly; * neither be thou envious against the evil doers.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, * and be withered even as the green herb.

Put thou thy trust in the LORD, and be doing good; * dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thou in the LORD, * and he shall give thee thy heart's desire.

Commit thy way unto the LORD, and put thy trust in him, * and he shall bring it to pass.

He shall make thy righteousness as clear as the light, * and thy just dealing as the noon-day.

Hold thee still in the LORD, and abide patiently upon him: * but grieve not thyself at him whose way doth prosper, against the man that doeth after evil counsels.

Leave off from wrath, and let go displeasure: * fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.

Wicked doers shall be rooted out; * and they that patiently abide the LORD, those shall inherit the land.

Yet a little while, and the ungodly shall be clean gone: * thou shalt look after his place, and he shall be away.

But the meek-spirited shall possess the earth, * and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace.

The ungodly seeketh counsel against the just, * and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The Lord shall laugh him to scorn; * for he hath seen that his day is coming.

The ungodly have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, * to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be upright in their ways.

Their sword shall go through their own heart, * and their bow shall be broken.

A small thing that the righteous hath, * is better than great riches of the ungodly.

For the arms of the ungodly shall be broken, * and the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

The LORD knoweth the days of the godly; * and their inheritance shall endure for ever.

They shall not be confounded in the perilous time; * and in the days of dearth they shall have enough.

As for the ungodly, they shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall consume as the fat of lambs: * yea, even as the smoke shall they consume away.

The ungodly borroweth, and payeth not again; * but the righteous is merciful and liberal.

Such as are blessed of God, shall possess the land; * and they that are cursed of him, shall be rooted out.

The LORD ordereth a good man's going, * and maketh his way acceptable to himself.

Though he fall, he shall not be cast away; * for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

The First Lesson

Micah4:1-8

4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

The Second Lesson

Rom4:13-

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Let thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.