All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (October 19, 2022)
THE BLESSING OF THE LIGHT
A lamp or candle may be lit. The Lord is my light and my salvation:
my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you
and also with you.
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 the following is sung.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael John Trotta’s choral arrangement of “O Gracious Light.”
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times
to be praised,
You are worthy at all times
to be praise,
You are worthy at all times,
worthy to be praised,
praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, Giver of light,
you are worthy to be glorified
through all the worlds.
O gracious Light,
O gracious Light,
pure brightness
of the everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
O gracious Light, gracious Light,
pure brightness
of the everliving Father in heaven.
Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
Holy and blessed!
Holy and blessed!
As Psalm 141 — A Song of the Evening Sacrifice, is sung, incense may be burned.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Peter Inwood’s setting of Psalm 141, “O Lord, Let My Prayer Rise Before You Like Incense.”
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.
This opening prayer is said.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
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
Open this link in a new tab to hear Songs in His Presence’ setting of Psalm 121: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, “Our Help Is from the Lord.”
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian;
the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Silence is kept.
Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defense
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CANTICLE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Philip Moore’s choral arrangement of “The Song of Christ’s Glory.”
Christ Jesus was in the form of God:
but he did not cling to equality with God.
He emptied himself taking the form of a servant:
and was born in the likeness of men.
Being found in human form he humbled himself:
and became obedient unto death even
death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him:
and bestowed on him the name above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow:
in heaven and on earth and under the earth;
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord:
to the glory of God the Father.
Glory to the Father and to the Son:
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now:
and shall be for ever.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Silence may be kept.
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 17:20-37 The Coming of the Kingdom
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”
“Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.
Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
I thought of today’s reading, Luke 17:20-37 when not too long ago I read a post on the internet, in which it was reported that the participants in a political rally displayed a religious fervor in their responses to an address given by the politician who was promoting himself at the rally, raising their hands as if they were at a church service or revival. At the same rally some individual or group was also distributing pamphlets which claimed that the politician holding the rally was the “Son of Man.” These words from today’s reading came to mind:
“The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.…”
In answering the Pharisee’s question our Lord is very clear that the return of the Son of Man, as he sometimes called himself would be sudden and unexpected and would take everybody by surprise. Before his return people would make all kinds of false claims like the one those distributing the pamphlets at the rally were making. His instructions to his disciples and whoever was listening to him was “…don’t go out and follow them.”
What is also important is what our Lord says earlier in today’s reading.
“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
In the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Jews believed that, when the Messiah came, he would reestablish the ancient kingdom of Israel, restore its boundaries, and drive out all foreign invaders. They imagined that he would be a great king like David, from whom they believed he would descend, or like Solomon, David’s son, the last king of a united Israel. It would be a political-religious state.
The closest example of this kind of state is the caliphate, “the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 CE) of the Prophet Muhammad.” In various countries around the world, including the United States, there are movements to establish a political-religious state. It is the aim of Daesh in the Middle East and other parts of the world, the Hindutva movement in India, and the Christian Nationalist movement in the United States.
Our Lord is not talking about that kind of state. Take careful note of what he tells the Pharisee.
“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
The Kingdom of God is not visible. It does not manifest itself in the form of political-religious institutions but is present in the innermost thoughts and feelings of true disciples of our Lord.
It is also already among those to whom our Lord is talking. “How can that be?” They must have wondered.
Jesus was able to say that the kingdom was already among them because he himself was among them. Jesus did more than represent the kingdom, serve as its ambassador. He was its Lord and King. God himself enrobed in human flesh, reconciling humanity to himself, God himself teaching his people face to face and making them his disciples in fulfilment of prophesy.
Whoever has Jesus enthroned and reigning as Lord and King in their innermost being is in the Kingdom of God
Where the Kingdom of God is present in the innermost thoughts and feelings of the true disciple, it will in turn affect their behavior and the community in which they live and work. However, it cannot be institutionalized.
The kingdom of God is only present where the Holy Spirit is present. It will not be present where a turning in repentance from sin and in faith to Jesus Christ is absent, and with such a change of heart an accompanying transformation of the individual’s life.
The Kingdom of God cannot be imposed in the way Taliban’s version of Sharia Law is imposed in Afghanistan. The Kingdom of God is not a set of rules with which people must comply or be punished severely.
Jesus was also able to say that the kingdom was among them because God’s grace was working in them and in their lives.
We become a part of the kingdom and the kingdom becomes a part of us when God’s grace enables us to believe in Jesus and live our lives guided by his message and his teachings. We emulate Jesus in thought, word, and deed. We show others the same kind of compassion and mercy as he showed others and as he urged his disciples to show them. We live lives of love following his example.
True followers of Jesus take to heart the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 146.
“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.” (Psalm 146: 3-5 NLT)
They put their trust in the Son whom the Father gave out of his love for the world so that all who believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. They put their confidence in him and his words and live their lives according to what he did and what he said. They recognize that they cannot transform the world in their own strength, but God’s grace can transform them and through them touch other people’s lives and in turn transform them and with them the world.
As our Lord put it, “What is impossible for people is possible with God” (Luke 18: 27 NLT). We can take his word for it.
Our Lord teaches us to seek first the Kingdom of God. And where is the Kingdom of God to be found. It is not found in a place as Jesus tells us in today’s reading. The kingdom is found in one Person, in Jesus himself, in Jesus the Nazarene, the son of Mary, the Son of God, in his character, in his work, in his message, in his teachings and example. When we truly become his disciples, we will also truly become citizens of the kingdom.
Silence is kept.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Lucien Deiss' setting of the Magnificat, " My Soul Proclaims the Greatess of the Lord."
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
And from this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty handed.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Silence may be kept.
PRAYERS
(Let us offer our prayers to the source of all love and all life, saying, “Lord, hear our prayer.”)
Merciful Lord, we pray for all who call themselves Christians: that we may be faithful disciples of your Son Jesus Christ.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for N our pastor, for all pastors and elders, and for all who serve Christ in his Church: that they may remain faithful to their calling and rightly proclaim the word of truth.
Silence may be kept.
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 17:20-37 The Coming of the Kingdom
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”
“Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.
Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
What Did Jesus Say about the Kingdom of God and His Return?
I thought of today’s reading, Luke 17:20-37 when not too long ago I read a post on the internet, in which it was reported that the participants in a political rally displayed a religious fervor in their responses to an address given by the politician who was promoting himself at the rally, raising their hands as if they were at a church service or revival. At the same rally some individual or group was also distributing pamphlets which claimed that the politician holding the rally was the “Son of Man.” These words from today’s reading came to mind:
“The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.…”
In answering the Pharisee’s question our Lord is very clear that the return of the Son of Man, as he sometimes called himself would be sudden and unexpected and would take everybody by surprise. Before his return people would make all kinds of false claims like the one those distributing the pamphlets at the rally were making. His instructions to his disciples and whoever was listening to him was “…don’t go out and follow them.”
What is also important is what our Lord says earlier in today’s reading.
“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
In the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Jews believed that, when the Messiah came, he would reestablish the ancient kingdom of Israel, restore its boundaries, and drive out all foreign invaders. They imagined that he would be a great king like David, from whom they believed he would descend, or like Solomon, David’s son, the last king of a united Israel. It would be a political-religious state.
The closest example of this kind of state is the caliphate, “the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 CE) of the Prophet Muhammad.” In various countries around the world, including the United States, there are movements to establish a political-religious state. It is the aim of Daesh in the Middle East and other parts of the world, the Hindutva movement in India, and the Christian Nationalist movement in the United States.
Our Lord is not talking about that kind of state. Take careful note of what he tells the Pharisee.
“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
The Kingdom of God is not visible. It does not manifest itself in the form of political-religious institutions but is present in the innermost thoughts and feelings of true disciples of our Lord.
It is also already among those to whom our Lord is talking. “How can that be?” They must have wondered.
Jesus was able to say that the kingdom was already among them because he himself was among them. Jesus did more than represent the kingdom, serve as its ambassador. He was its Lord and King. God himself enrobed in human flesh, reconciling humanity to himself, God himself teaching his people face to face and making them his disciples in fulfilment of prophesy.
Whoever has Jesus enthroned and reigning as Lord and King in their innermost being is in the Kingdom of God
Where the Kingdom of God is present in the innermost thoughts and feelings of the true disciple, it will in turn affect their behavior and the community in which they live and work. However, it cannot be institutionalized.
The kingdom of God is only present where the Holy Spirit is present. It will not be present where a turning in repentance from sin and in faith to Jesus Christ is absent, and with such a change of heart an accompanying transformation of the individual’s life.
The Kingdom of God cannot be imposed in the way Taliban’s version of Sharia Law is imposed in Afghanistan. The Kingdom of God is not a set of rules with which people must comply or be punished severely.
Jesus was also able to say that the kingdom was among them because God’s grace was working in them and in their lives.
We become a part of the kingdom and the kingdom becomes a part of us when God’s grace enables us to believe in Jesus and live our lives guided by his message and his teachings. We emulate Jesus in thought, word, and deed. We show others the same kind of compassion and mercy as he showed others and as he urged his disciples to show them. We live lives of love following his example.
True followers of Jesus take to heart the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 146.
“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.” (Psalm 146: 3-5 NLT)
They put their trust in the Son whom the Father gave out of his love for the world so that all who believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. They put their confidence in him and his words and live their lives according to what he did and what he said. They recognize that they cannot transform the world in their own strength, but God’s grace can transform them and through them touch other people’s lives and in turn transform them and with them the world.
As our Lord put it, “What is impossible for people is possible with God” (Luke 18: 27 NLT). We can take his word for it.
Our Lord teaches us to seek first the Kingdom of God. And where is the Kingdom of God to be found. It is not found in a place as Jesus tells us in today’s reading. The kingdom is found in one Person, in Jesus himself, in Jesus the Nazarene, the son of Mary, the Son of God, in his character, in his work, in his message, in his teachings and example. When we truly become his disciples, we will also truly become citizens of the kingdom.
Silence is kept.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Lucien Deiss' setting of the Magnificat, " My Soul Proclaims the Greatess of the Lord."
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
And from this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty handed.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Silence may be kept.
PRAYERS
(Let us offer our prayers to the source of all love and all life, saying, “Lord, hear our prayer.”)
Merciful Lord, we pray for all who call themselves Christians: that we may be faithful disciples of your Son Jesus Christ.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for N our pastor, for all pastors and elders, and for all who serve Christ in his Church: that they may remain faithful to their calling and rightly proclaim the word of truth.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for the leaders of the nations, and all in authority: that your people may lead quiet and peaceable lives.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our community and those who live here, the poor and the rich, the elderly and the young, men and women: that you will show your loving kindness to all.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are in trouble or need that you will deliver them from their distress.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for _______________________.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We give thanks for all the saints who have found favor in your sight from earliest times, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and those whose names are known to you alone: and we pray that we too may be counted among your faithful witnesses.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
THE COLLECT
Mighty God,
strong, loving and wise,
help us to depend upon your goodness
and to place our trust in your Son;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Savior taught his disciples,
we pray:
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.
CLOSING SONG
Open this link in a new tab to hear the hymn, “O Love, How Deep, How Broad,” attributed to Thomas á Kempis and translated by Benjamin Webb.
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals' sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.
3 For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp He knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
6 For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
THE CONCLUSION
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all now and for ever. Amen.
We pray for the leaders of the nations, and all in authority: that your people may lead quiet and peaceable lives.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our community and those who live here, the poor and the rich, the elderly and the young, men and women: that you will show your loving kindness to all.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are in trouble or need that you will deliver them from their distress.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for _______________________.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We give thanks for all the saints who have found favor in your sight from earliest times, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and those whose names are known to you alone: and we pray that we too may be counted among your faithful witnesses.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
THE COLLECT
Mighty God,
strong, loving and wise,
help us to depend upon your goodness
and to place our trust in your Son;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Savior taught his disciples,
we pray:
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.
CLOSING SONG
Open this link in a new tab to hear the hymn, “O Love, How Deep, How Broad,” attributed to Thomas á Kempis and translated by Benjamin Webb.
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals' sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.
3 For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp He knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
6 For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
THE CONCLUSION
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all now and for ever. Amen.
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