Vespers (Evening Prayer)
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
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.
When God had filled the earth with life
And blessed it, to increase,
Then cattle dwelt with creeping things,
And lion with lamb, at peace.
He gave them vast, untrodden lands,
With plants to be their food;
Then God saw all that he had made
And found it very good.
Praise God the Father of all life,
His Son and Spirit blest,
By whom creation lives and moves,
In whom it comes to rest.
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 Judgement
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 | 1 Peter 1:6-9 © |
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This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour. You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.
The Lord fed us with finest wheat.
– The Lord fed us with finest wheat.
He filled us with honey from the rock.
– The Lord fed us with finest wheat.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord fed us with finest wheat.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Lord brought down the mighty from their seats, and raised up the lowly.
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.
The Lord brought down the mighty from their seats, and raised up the lowly.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
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Let us make our prayer to the God of our salvation because all our hope rests in him.
– Father, our trust is in you.
Father, you established a covenant with men:
we trust in you, for you are faithful to your word.
– Father, our trust is in you.
Send workers into the harvest,
and bring the world to the knowledge and love of you.
– Father, our trust is in you.
May the unity of the Church be formed by love and understanding;
gather us together through the gifts of your Holy Spirit.
– Father, our trust is in you.
Help men to create a community where justice and peace may flourish:
be with us lest we labour in vain.
– Father, our trust is in you.
Be mindful of the dead, especially those we have known;
have mercy on those who have given us their help.
– Father, our trust is in you.
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 God,
you give the moon to illumine the night,
and to dispel the darkness you bring in the light of day:
grant that during this night
we may elude the grasp of Satan
and in the morning rise to give you praise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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