Vespers (Evening Prayer)
INTRODUCTION
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.
Hymn
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
And furnished for so great a guest!
Yea, let us each his heart prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace our souls must fade,
And wither like a flower decayed.
Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
Whose Advent sets thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
Behold, the Lord will come on the clouds of heaven with great strength. Alleluia.
The Lord has said to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
while I make your enemies your footstool.”
From Zion the Lord will give you a sceptre,
and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength,
among the sacred splendours.
Before the dawn, I begot you from the womb.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech.”
The Lord is at your right hand,
and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.
He will drink from the stream as he goes –
he will hold his head high.
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 Lord will come on the clouds of heaven with great strength. Alleluia.
Psalm 113B (115)
Praise of the true God
The Lord will come and will not disappoint us. Wait for him if he seems to delay, for he will surely come, alleluia.
Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your own name give the glory,
because of your kindness and faithfulness.
Why should the nations say:
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens,
and what he wills, he does.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths but do not speak,
they have eyes but do not see.
They have ears but do not hear,
they have nostrils but do not smell.
They have hands but they do not feel,
they have feet but they do not walk;
no voice comes from their throats.
Their makers will be like them,
and all who put their trust in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
All who fear the Lord trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
The Lord has remembered us and he will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron –
he will bless all who fear the Lord.
May the Lord add to your numbers
and to those of your children.
May the Lord bless you,
the Lord who made heaven and earth.
The heavens are the Lord’s,
but the earth he has given to men.
It is not the dead who will praise you, O Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence;
but we, who live, will bless the Lord,
now 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.
The Lord will come and will not disappoint us. Wait for him if he seems to delay, for he will surely come, alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king: he will come and make us whole.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
because his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all his servants,
and you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty:
let us rejoice and exult and give him glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his spouse has made herself ready.
Alleluia.
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 is our judge, the Lord is our king: he will come and make us whole.
Short Reading
Philippians 4:4-5
©
I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.
Short Responsory
Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
And grant us your salvation.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. (Year C)
Or: Blessed are you, Mary, because you had faith: the Lord’s promise to you will be fulfilled, 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.
Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. (Year C)
Or: Blessed are you, Mary, because you had faith: the Lord’s promise to you will be fulfilled, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
The voice of John crying in the wilderness is echoed tonight in the voice of the Church:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For your coming to us in grace this Advent:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For the work we must do in creating a more just world:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For the understanding we shall need this week for our families and friends:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For our death, for our judgement, for eternal life with you:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
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 and merciful God,
let neither our daily work nor the cares of this life
prevent us from hastening to meet your Son.
Enlighten us with your wisdom
and lead us into his company.
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.
