Vespers (Evening Prayer)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 3rd Sunday of Advent)
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 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
Rejoice greatly, Jerusalem, for your Saviour will come to you. Alleluia.
Praise, servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the Lord’s name be blessed,
now and for ever.
From the sun’s rising to its setting,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high over all peoples,
his glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,
who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?
He raises the weak from the ground,
the poor from the dunghill,
raises them among the princes,
the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a household,
makes her the happy mother of children.
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.
Rejoice greatly, Jerusalem, for your Saviour will come to you. Alleluia.
Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
I, the Lord, am coming to deliver you: I am already near and my saving act will not be delayed.
Still I trusted, even when I said
“I am greatly afflicted,”
when I said in my terror,
“all men are liars.”
How shall I repay the Lord
for all he has done for me?
I will take up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
O Lord, I am your servant,
your maidservant’s son.
You have torn apart my chains:
I will make you a sacrifice of praise,
I will call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
within your walls, Jerusalem.
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, the Lord, am coming to deliver you: I am already near and my saving act will not be delayed.
Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
Send, Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the Rock in the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Sion.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,
did not try to cling to his equality with God;
but emptied himself, took on the form of a slave,
and became like a man:
not in appearance only,
for he humbled himself by accepting death,
even death on a cross.
For this, God has raised him high,
and given him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend,
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will proclaim
“Jesus Christ is Lord,”
to the glory of God the Father.
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.
Send, Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the Rock in the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Sion.
Short Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
©
May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless, spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has called you and he will not fail you.
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
When all the people asked John, ‘What must we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ (Year C)
Or: Before me there was no God nor will there be after me. Every knee shall bend before me and every tongue shall acknowledge me.
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.
When all the people asked John, ‘What must we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ (Year C)
Or: Before me there was no God nor will there be after me. Every knee shall bend before me and every tongue shall acknowledge me.
Prayers and intercessions
The Son of God is coming with great power: all mankind shall see his face and be reborn.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us wisdom, fresh understanding and new vision.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us good news, and power which will transform our lives.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us truth, showing us the way to our Father.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
Born of a woman, you will open in our flesh the way to eternal life and joy.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
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.
Grant, almighty God,
that looking forward in faith to the feast of our Lord’s birth,
we may feel all the happiness our Saviour brings
and celebrate his coming with unfailing joy.
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.
