All Hallows Vespers for Wednesday Evening (June 24, 2020)
A lamp or candle may be lit.
You, O Lord, are my lamp;
my God, you make my darkness bright.
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with
you
and also with you.
This, or a seasonal
prayer of thanksgiving, is said
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and
night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your
presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever.
Other candles may be lit as Phos Hilaron – A Song of
the Light – is sung.
PHOS HILARON
O Light whose splendor thrills and gladdens
with radiance brighter than the sun,
pure gleam of God's unending glory,
O Jesus, blest Anointed One;
as twilight hovers near at sunset,
and lamps are lit, and children nod,
in evening hymns we lift our voices
to Father, Spirit, Son: one God.
In all life's brilliant, timeless moments,
let faithful voices sing your praise,
O Son of God, our Life-bestower,
whose glory lightens
endless days.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
PSALM
141
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
1.
Lord, I am calling:
hasten
to help me.
Listen
to me as I cry to you.
Let
my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
2.
Lord, set a guard at my mouth,
keep
watch at the gate of my lips.
Let
my heart not turn to things that are wrong,
to
sharing the evil deeds done by the sinful.
No,
I will never taste their delights.
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
3.
The good may reprove me,
in
kindness chastise me,
but
the wicked shall never anoint my head.
Ev’ry
day I counter their malice with prayer.
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
4
To you, Lord, my God, my eyes are turned:
in
you I take refuge;
do
not forsake me.
Keep
me from the traps they have set for me,
from
the snares of those who do evil.
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my
hands like an evening offering.
5
Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,
all
praise to the life-giving Spirit.
As
it was, is now and shall always be
for ages unending. Amen.
O
Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O
God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever.
Amen.
The
Word of God
Psalmody
This psalm or some other suitable psalm (click
here) is sung.
PSALM 23
The Lord my God my shepherd is;
how could I want or need?
In pastures green, by streams serene,
he safely does me lead.
To
wholeness he restores my soul
and does in mercy bless,
and helps me take for his Name’s sake
the paths of righteousness.
and does in mercy bless,
and helps me take for his Name’s sake
the paths of righteousness.
Yes,
even when I must pass
through the valley of death’s shade,
I will not fear, for you are here,
to comfort and to aid.
through the valley of death’s shade,
I will not fear, for you are here,
to comfort and to aid.
You
have in grace my table spread
secure in all alarms,
and filled my cup, and raised me up
in everlasting arms.
secure in all alarms,
and filled my cup, and raised me up
in everlasting arms.
Then
surely I can trust your love
for all the days to come,
that I may tell your praise,
and dwell for ever in your arms,
for all the days to come,
that I may tell your praise,
and dwell for ever in your arms,
Silence is kept.
O
God, our sovereign and shepherd,
who
brought again your Son Jesus Christ
from
the valley of death,
comfort
us with your protecting presence
and
your angels of goodness and love,
that
we also may come home
and
dwell with him in your house for ever.
The Dignus es (The
Song to the Lamb) or some other suitable New Testament canticle (click here) is
sung
HOW WORTHY IS THE LAMB
How worthy is the Lamb,
who was slain,
to receive power
to receive power and divinity,
and wisdom and strength
and honour.
To him belong glory and power
for ever and ever,
glory and power
for ever. Amen.
For ever more.
Scripture Reading
A Reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans
For the
promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his
descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of
the law who are to be the heirs,
faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings
wrath; but where
there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on
faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his
descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share
the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many
nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the
dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the
father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your
descendants be.’ He
did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as
good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the
barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No
distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in
his faith as he gave glory to God, being
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as
righteousness.’ Now
the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be
reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our
trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Your word is a lamp
to my feet
and a light to my path.
and a light to my path.
His Faith Was Reckoned to Him as Righteousness
“Therefore his
faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the
words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours
also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord
from the dead….”
We should draw great comfort from Paul’s words. Those who put
their trust in God who raised Jesus from the dead, will have their faith
reckoned to them as righteousness as Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as
righteousness. In other words, our faith in God will be regarded as righteousness.
There are two different kinds of righteousness—righteous before
our fellow human beings and righteousness before God. In these words Paul is
referring to righteousness before God. Because of our faith in him, God chooses
to see us in a different light.
Earlier in the letter Paul writes that “no one is righteous,
not even one….” What he is saying is that we have no righteousness of our own.
Citing a passage from the Old Testament, he explains why. None of us has
understanding. None of us seeks God. We all have turned aside from God. None of
us show kindness. None of us fear God.
Paul goes on to say the Jews believe that they could become
righteous by obeying the Law, obeying not just the Ten Commandments but also
all the requirements of the Jewish ritual law. But the Law only shows how much
we fall short.
If you think about what Paul is saying, you are faced with
a conundrum. How do we make the step from no righteous of our own to faith in
God that is reckoned to us as righteousness?
God who is working in us to will and do what is pleasing to
him enables us to make this step. He plants the seed of faith in us, germinates
it, waters it, and causes it to grow. How well it grows and what fruit it bears
is in our own hands.
God enables us to weed the soil in which it is growing and
prune it back when it needs pruning. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us.
God also provides us with means of grace to invigorate,
strengthen, and confirm our faith. Through prayer; through reading and hearing
the Word of God, through singing hymn, psalms, and spiritual songs; through sharing
the Lord’s Supper, and through performing acts of mercy the power of God works
in us.
The faith in God that is reckoned to us as righteousness then
is a gift from God’s hand. It is a gift that shows the graciousness of the Giver,
his steadfast loving kindness to his creation. It is a gift that warrants one
response, that of thanksgiving and praise expressed in a life of obedience and
service.
AS JACOB WITH TRAVEL WAS WEARY ONE DAY
1 As Jacob with travel was weary one day,
at night on a stone for a pillow he lay;
he saw in a vision a ladder so high,
that its foot was on earth and its top in the sky:
Refrain:
Alleluia
to Jesus, who died on the tree
and hath raised up a ladder of mercy for me,
and hath raised up a ladder of mercy for me.
2 This ladder is long, it is strong and well-made,
has stood hundreds of years and is not yet decayed;
many millions have
climbed it and reached Zion's hill,
and thousands by faith now are climbing it still: Refrain
3 Come, let us
ascend! All may climb it who will,
for the angels of
Jacob are guarding it still;
and remember, each step that by faith we pass o'er,
some prophet and martyr hath trod it before: Refrain
Gospel Canticle
The Magnificat (The
Song of Mary) is sung. It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the
beginning of the Magnificat.
MAGNIFICAT
My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.
Through me great
deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.
God's mighty
arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.
Soon will the
poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.
All glory be to
God, Creator blest,
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.
Prayers
Thanksgivings may be said for the day.
Intercessions are offered.
That this evening may be holy, good and
peaceful:
we entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in the
paths of peace and goodwill:
we
entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our
sins and offences:
we
entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace in your Church and
for the whole world:
we
entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy
Spirit,
in communion with the ever-blessed Virgin
Mary and with all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to
Christ:
we entreat you, O Lord.
Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we
pray,
to the mercy and protection of God.
Open prayer may be
offered and silence is kept.
The following is
said.
Lighten our darkness,
Lord, we pray,
and in your great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this
night,
for the love of your only Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Gathering
our prayers and praises into one,
Let us
pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
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.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Conclusion
The service ends
with one of the following, or another blessing or ending.
The Blessing
The Lord bless us,
and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.
[Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.]
1 God, who made the earth and heaven,
Darkness and light:
You the day for work have given,
For rest the night.
May your angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet your mercy send us,
Holy dreams and hopes attend us,
All through the night.
2 And when morn again shall call us
To run life's way,
May we still whate'er befall us,
Your will obey.
From the pow'r of evil hide us,
In the narrow pathway guide us,
Never be your smile denied us
All through the day.
Darkness and light:
You the day for work have given,
For rest the night.
May your angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet your mercy send us,
Holy dreams and hopes attend us,
All through the night.
2 And when morn again shall call us
To run life's way,
May we still whate'er befall us,
Your will obey.
From the pow'r of evil hide us,
In the narrow pathway guide us,
Never be your smile denied us
All through the day.
All holy Son,
Holy Spirit freely given,
Blest Three in One:
Grant us grace we now implore you,
Till we lay our crowns before you
And in worthier strains adore you
While ages run. Allelu Amen.
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