Vespers (Evening Prayer)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 4th Sunday of Lent)
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.
Hymn
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 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city
Let us enter God’s house with rejoicing.
They filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon you.
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 enter God’s house with rejoicing.
Psalm 129 (130)
Out of the depths
Sleepers, awake: rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears listen out
for the voice of my pleading.
If you took notice of our transgressions, Lord –
Lord, who would be left?
But with you is forgiveness,
and for this we revere you.
I rely on you, Lord,
my spirit relies on your promise;
my soul hopes in the Lord,
more than the watchman for daybreak.
More than the watchman for daybreak,
let Israel hope in the Lord:
for with the Lord there is kindness
and abundant redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all its transgressions.
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.
Sleepers, awake: rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
God loved us so much that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life in Christ.
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.
God loved us so much that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life in Christ.
Short Reading
2 Corinthians 6:1-4
©
We beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation. We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God.
Short Responsory
Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
Listen, Christ, to the prayers of those who cry to you.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. (Year C)
Or: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
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.
I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. (Year C)
Or: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us proclaim the greatness of God and pray to him, for he cares for all men.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
God of all truth, grant every good gift to the college of bishops
and preserve in the faith of the apostles the people you have entrusted to them.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
May all who share in the one bread of life be filled with your love;
may they be united more closely in the body of your Son.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
Help us to put aside our selfish ways;
let us put on Christ, the new man.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
May sinners share in the blessings of Christ’s atonement;
may they find repentance and forgiveness.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
Let the dead praise your goodness in the peace of heaven;
there we hope to glorify your name for ever.
– Give salvation, Lord, to those you have redeemed.
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, in your surpassing wisdom
you reconcile man to yourself through your Word.
Grant that your Christian people may come with eager faith and ready will
to celebrate the Easter festival.
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.
