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
See, the Lord will come. He will sit with princes and he will mount the glorious throne.
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.
See, the Lord will come. He will sit with princes and he will mount the glorious throne.
Psalm 110 (111)
Great are the works of the Lord
The mountains will bring forth joy and the hills justice; for the Lord, the light of the world, comes in strength.
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart
in the council of the upright and the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be studied by all who delight in them.
His works are splendour and majesty,
his righteousness lasts for ever and ever.
He gives us a record of the wonders he has worked,
the Lord, the kind and compassionate.
He gives food to those who fear him:
for all ages he will remember his covenant.
He has shown to his people the power of his deeds,
he has given them the inheritance of the nations.
Steadfastness and justice
are the works of the Lord.
All his precepts are to be trusted,
they stand firm for ever and ever:
they were laid down in faithfulness and justice.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has set up his covenant for ever.
Holy is his name, and much to be feared.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
To those who fear him comes true understanding,
and his praise endures for ever and 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 mountains will bring forth joy and the hills justice; for the Lord, the light of the world, comes in strength.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Let us live justly and honestly while we are awaiting, in hope, the coming of the Lord.
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.
Let us live justly and honestly while we are awaiting, in hope, the coming of the Lord.
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
John answered. ‘Someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn.’ (Year C)
Or: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect another?’ ‘Tell John what you hear and see: the blind see again, the lame walk, and the good news is preached to those who are poor in spirit.’ 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.
John answered. ‘Someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn.’ (Year C)
Or: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect another?’ ‘Tell John what you hear and see: the blind see again, the lame walk, and the good news is preached to those who are poor in spirit.’ Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
We pray to our Lord, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
– Come, and remain with us, Lord.
Gabriel announced your coming to the Virgin Mary:
Son of the most High, come to claim your kingdom.
– Come, and remain with us, Lord.
John the Baptist rejoiced to see your day:
come, bring us your salvation.
– Come, and remain with us, Lord.
Simeon acknowledged you, Light of the World:
bring your light to all men of goodwill.
– Come, and remain with us, Lord.
We look for you as watchmen look for the dawn:
you are the sun that will wake the dead to new life.
– Come, and remain with us, 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.
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.
