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.
Sole hope of all the world and Lord,
Bestower of the great reward,
Receive the prayers thy servants raise
Mixed with meet psalms and chants of praise.
And though our conscience doth proclaim
Our deep transgressions and our shame,
Cleanse us, O God, we humbly plead,
From sins of thought and word and deed.
Our sins remember thou no more;
Forgive: thou art of mighty pow’r:
So take upon thee, Lord, our care
That pure in heart we make our prayer.
Therefore accept, O Lord, this tide
Of fast which thou hast sanctified,
That we may reach by mystic ways
The sacraments of Easter days.
Psalm 29 (30)
Thanksgiving for rescue from death |
Lord, I cried to you for help and you have healed me: I will thank you for ever.
Lord, I will give you all praise, for you have rescued me
and not let my foes triumph over me.
My Lord God, I cried to you
and you healed me.
Lord, you led my soul out from the underworld,
gave me life so that I would not sink into the abyss.
Sing to the Lord, his holy ones,
and proclaim the truth of his holiness.
His anger lasts a moment,
but his favour for a lifetime.
At night there are tears,
but in the morning, joy.
Once I was secure. I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
Lord, by your
favour you had given me strength, set me high;
but then you turned your face from me
and I was shaken.
I cried to you, Lord,
and prayed to my God.
“What use is my life,
when I sink into decay?
Will dust proclaim you,
or make known your faithfulness?”
The Lord heard and took pity on me.
The Lord became my helper.
You have turned my weeping into dancing,
torn off my sackcloth and clothed me in joy,
It is my glory to sing to you and never cease:
Lord, my God, I will proclaim your goodness 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.
Lord, I cried to you for help and you have healed me: I will thank you for ever.
Psalm 31 (32)
The joy of the forgiven |
Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt.
Blessed is he whose sins are forgiven,
whose transgressions are hidden away.
Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no blame,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silent,
my bones grew old
as I groaned all day long.
While your hand lay heavy on me,
by day and by night,
my strength was dried up as if by summer heat.
I made my sin known to you,
and I did not hide my faults.
I said “I will bear witness against myself before the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
This is why every saint will pray to you in due time,
and even in the great flood he will not be touched.
You are my refuge, you will preserve me from trouble,
you will surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will give you understanding and teach you the path you are to follow;
I will keep watch over you.
Do not be like the horse and the mule,
without understanding:
if you approach them with bit or bridle,
they will not come near.
Many are the sufferings of the wicked,
but the Lord’s mercy will protect those who trust in him.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you just.
Shout for joy, you upright of heart.
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.
Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt.
The Lord has given him power and honour and empire, and all peoples will serve him.
We thank you,
Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.
The nations were angered,
but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,
the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants,
and those who feared your name, both great and small.
Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Anointed,
for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down,
who accused them day and night in the sight of God.
But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb
and through their own witness.
They did not cling to life,
even in the face of death.
Therefore rejoice, heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
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 has given him power and honour and empire, and all peoples will serve him.
| Short reading |
Hebrews 13:12-15 © |
Jesus suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people with his own blood. Let us go to him, then, ‘outside the camp’, and share his degradation. For there is no eternal city for us in this life but we look for one in the life to come. Through him, let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, a verbal sacrifice that is offered every time we acknowledge his name.
I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’ – ‘I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am.’
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.
‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’ – ‘I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am.’
| Prayers and Intercessions |
|
Christ the Lord gave us a new commandment, that we should love one another. Let us ask him, then:
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
Good master, teach us to love you by loving our brethren,
be good to you by being good to them.
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
On the cross you begged your Father to forgive your executioners:
let us love our enemies and pray for those who attack us.
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
Through the mystery of your body and blood, increase our love, our strength, our steadfastness;
strengthen the weak, console the unhappy, fill the dying with hope.
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
You are the light of the world, through water you gave sight to a man who was born blind;
through water and the Word, enlighten those who are to be baptized.
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
Fill the dead full of your love through eternity,
and count us among those you have chosen.
– Lord, increase the love of your people.
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.
Stand by your people, Lord,
who place all their trust in your mercy.
Wash away the stain of our sins,
make us live in your presence our whole life long,
and bring us to the inheritance you have promised.
[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
