Vespers (Evening Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
To thee our inmost heart doth cry,
Our voice resounds in melody,
For thee chaste love with longing yearns,
Our humbled soul doth worship thee.
And when dense blackness falls to close
The day in thickest folds of night,
Let not our faith such darkness know,
But by that faith let dark be light.
Allow thou not our souls to rest;
Our sins in rest, we pray thee, bind:
Let pure, refreshing faith be strong
To cool all dreams that heat the mind.
Stripped clean from senses’ danger, let
Our inmost heart dream deep of thee;
Let not our envious foe disturb
Our rest with guile and treachery.
Psalm 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord |
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
When the Lord gave Zion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
“By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great.”
The Lord’s deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain |
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
If the Lord does not build the house,
its builders labour in vain.
If the Lord does not watch over a city,
its workmen guard it in vain.
It is vain for you to rise before the dawn
and go late to your rest,
eating the bread of toil –
to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.
The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom,
the fruit of the womb as a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior –
so are the sons of one’s youth.
Happy the man who fills his quiver thus:
when he disputes with his enemies at the gate,
he will not be the loser.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
| Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead |
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
Let us give thanks to God the Father,
who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance.
He has rescued us from the power of the shadows
and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption
and the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creation,
for in him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
thrones and dominations,
principalities and powers.
All things were created through him and for him:
he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,
and so he is pre-eminent above all.
For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him,
and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself.
Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things,
both on Earth and in the heavens.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
| Short reading |
Ephesians 3:20-21 © |
Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Redeem me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
– Redeem me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Do not cast me away with sinners.
– Redeem me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Redeem me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
I bless you, Lord God almighty, because you have made me worthy to join the martyrs and receive a share in the cup that was drunk by your Anointed One.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.
For he has shown me such favour –
me, his lowly handmaiden.
Now all generations will call me blessed,
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
His name is holy,
his mercy lasts for generation after generation
for those who revere him.
He has put forth his strength:
he has scattered the proud and conceited,
torn princes from their thrones;
but lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
I bless you, Lord God almighty, because you have made me worthy to join the martyrs and receive a share in the cup that was drunk by your Anointed One.
| Prayers and Intercessions |
|
God sent his Son as an example for our lives and as our Saviour. Humbly we pray to him:
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
We give you thanks because you have chosen us to be the first-fruits of your salvation;
you have called us to be a new people to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
May all who profess your holy name be at one in the truth of your teaching,
and on fire with the flame of your love.
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
You are the creator of all things; your Son chose to work with his hands, among men and with men.
Remember the workers who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
Remember also those who devote themselves to the service of their brethren:
may neither failure nor the failings of others distract them from their chosen task.
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
Grant your mercy to our deceased brethren:
do not hand them over to the power of the devil.
– Lord, may your people sing your praises.
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.
Lord of all creation, you gave Saint Polycarp a place in the company of the martyrs.
Grant that, through his intercession, we may, like him, drink from that cup which Christ drank, and so rise to eternal life.
[We make our prayer] through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.
May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
AMEN
