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.
O Christ, the Father’s only Son,
Whose death for all redemption won,
Before the worlds, of God Most High,
Begotten all ineffably.
The Father’s Light and Splendour thou,
Their endless Hope to thee that bow;
Accept the prayers and praise today
That through the world thy servants pay.
Salvation’s Author, call to mind
Thou took’st the form of humankind,
When of the Virgin undefiled
Thou in man’s flesh becam’st a Child.
Thus testifies the present day
Through every year in long array,
That thou, salvation’s source alone,
Proceedest from the Father’s throne.
All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 44 (45)
The wedding of the King |
You are the fairest of the children of men, and graciousness is poured upon your lips.
My heart cries out on a joyful theme:
I will tell my poem to the king,
my tongue like the pen of the swiftest scribe.
You have been given more than human beauty,
and grace is poured out upon your lips,
so that God has blessed you for ever.
Strap your sword to your side, mighty one,
in all your greatness and splendour.
In your splendour go forth, mount your chariot,
on behalf of truth, kindness and justice.
Let your right hand show your marvels,
let your arrows be sharp against the hearts of the king’s enemies
– the peoples will fall before you.
Your throne is firm, O God, from age to age,
your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice.
You love uprightness, hate injustice
– for God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of gladness, above all your companions.
Myrrh and aloes and cassia anoint your garments.
From ivory palaces the sound of harps delights you.
In your retinue go the daughters of kings.
At your right hand, the queen is adorned with gold of Ophir.
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.
You are the fairest of the children of men, and graciousness is poured upon your lips.
Psalm 44 (45)
The King's bride |
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming: go out and meet him.
Listen, my daughter, and understand;
turn your ears to what I have to say.
Forget your people, forget your father’s house,
and the king will desire you for your beauty.
He is your lord, so worship him.
The daughters of Tyre will bring you gifts;
the richest of your subjects will beg you to look on them.
How great is the king’s daughter, within the palace!
She is clothed in woven gold.
She will be taken to the king in coloured garments,
her maidens will escort her to your presence.
In gladness and rejoicing they are brought
and led to the house of the king.
Instead of your fathers you will have sons:
you will make them rulers over all the world.
I will remember your name
from generation to generation.
And so your people will do you honour
for ever and 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.
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming: go out and meet him.
God planned to bring all things together under Christ when the fulness of time had come.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the earth.
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.
God planned to bring all things together under Christ when the fulness of time had come.
| Short reading |
1 John 1:5-7 © |
God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
The Word was made flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.
– The Word was made flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.
And dwelt amongst us. Alleluia, alleluia.
– The Word was made flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Word was made flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
Let us rejoice in the Lord and let our spirits be glad, because the eternal salvation has appeared in the world. Alleluia.
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.
Let us rejoice in the Lord and let our spirits be glad, because the eternal salvation has appeared in the world. Alleluia.
| Prayers and Intercessions |
|
At the coming of Christ, God’s holy people put out shoots and burst into flower. Let us celebrate, then, and express our gratitude to our Saviour:
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
Christ, our life, you are the head and the Church is your body:
may it grow from a firm foundation of love.
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
We worship you in two natures, human and divine:
grant that we, being human, may share in your divinity.
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
By your incarnation you became our mediator:
grant holy lives to ministers of the Church, so that they may share more deeply in your task.
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
By your coming you set the world straight and made it new:
lead all peoples to share in your salvation.
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
By your birth you shattered the bonds of death:
free the dead from all that binds them.
– Let the world rejoice at your birth.
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.
Almighty God,
your Son’s manhood, born of the Virgin,
was a new creation, untainted by our sinful condition.
Renew us, then, in Christ
and cleanse us from all trace of sin.
[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
