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Evening Prayer (Evensong) in Traditional Language

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Please note: Daily Prayer provided by the official Church of England web site, © The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2002-2004.

    Evening Prayer from
    The Book of Common Prayer
    Wednesday, 17 April 2024
  The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
  Introduction
   
  The minister may use a seasonal sentence before using one or more of the penitential sentences.
   
  The minister introduces the service
     
    Dearly beloved [brethren],
    the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge
       and confess our manifold sins and wickedness;
     
    [and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before
       the face of almighty God our heavenly Father;
    but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and
       obedient heart;
    to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same
       by his infinite goodness and mercy.
    And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge
       our sins before God;
    yet ought we most chiefly so to do,
    when we assemble and meet together
    to render thanks for the great benefits that we have
       received at his hands,
    to set forth his most worthy praise,
    to hear his most holy word,
    and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary,
    as well for the body as the soul.]
     
    Wherefore I pray and beseech you,
    as many as are here present,
    to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice,
    unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying [after me]:
     
    (or)
     
    Beloved, we are come together in the presence of almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and shew forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all men such things as their well-being doth require.
     
    Wherefore let us kneel in silence, and remember God's presence with us now.
   
All
   Almighty and most merciful Father,
    we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
    We have followed too much the devices and desires
       of our own hearts.
    We have offended against thy holy laws.
    We have left undone those things
       which we ought to have done;
    and we have done those things
         which we ought not to have done;
    and there is no health in us.
    But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
    Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
    Restore thou them that are penitent;
    according to thy promises declared unto mankind
       in Christ Jesu our Lord.
    And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
    that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
    to the glory of thy holy name.
  Amen.
   
  A priest says
     
    Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    who desireth not the death of a sinner,
    but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;
    and hath given power, and commandment, to his ministers
    to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent,
    the absolution and remission of their sins:
    he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent
       and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel.
    Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance,
       and his Holy Spirit,
    that those things may please him which we do at this present;
    and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy;
    so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
   
  or other ministers may say
     
    Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord,
    to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
    that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
    and serve thee with a quiet mind;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
   
All
   Our Father, which art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name;
    thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done,
    in earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our trespasses,
  as we forgive them that 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.
  Evening Prayer
     
    The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
     
    These responses are used
     
    O Lord, open thou our lips
All
   and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
     
    O God, make speed to save us.
All
   O Lord, make haste to help us.
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
    and to the Holy Ghost;
All
   as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
    world without end. Amen.
     
    Praise ye the Lord.
All
   The Lord's name be praised.
     
  Psalmody  
   

Psalm 89

  
 

  
1
 My song shall be alway of the loving kindness of the Lord *
 with my mouth will I ever be shewing thy truth from one generation to another.
  
 
  
2
 For I have said, Mercy shall be set up for ever *
 thy truth shalt thou stablish in the heavens.
  
 
  
3
 I have made a covenant with my chosen *
 I have sworn unto David my servant;
  
 
  
4
 Thy seed will I stablish for ever *
 and set up thy throne from one generation to another.
  
 
  
5
 O Lord, the very heavens shall praise thy wondrous works *
 and thy truth in the congregation of the saints.
  
 
  
6
 For who is he among the clouds *
 that shall be compared unto the Lord?
  
 
  
7
 And what is he among the gods *
 that shall be like unto the Lord?
  
 
  
8
 God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints *
 and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.
  
 
  
9
 O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee *
 thy truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side.
  
 
  
10
 Thou rulest the raging of the sea *
 thou stillest the waves thereof when they arise.
  
 
  
11
 Thou hast subdued Egypt, and destroyed it *
 thou hast scattered thine enemies abroad with thy mighty arm.
  
 
  
12
 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine *
 thou hast laid the foundation of the round world, and all that therein is.
  
 
  
13
 Thou hast made the north and the south *
 Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy Name.
  
 
  
14
 Thou hast a mighty arm *
 strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
  
 
  
15
 Righteousness and equity are the habitation of thy seat *
 mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
  
 
  
16
 Blessed is the people, O Lord, that can rejoice in thee *
 they shall walk in the light of thy countenance.
  
 
  
17
 Their delight shall be daily in thy Name *
 and in thy righteousness shall they make their boast.
  
 
  
18
 For thou art the glory of their strength *
 and in thy loving-kindness thou shalt lift up our horns.
  
 
  
19
 For the Lord is our defence *
 the Holy One of Israel is our King.
  
 
  
20
 Thou spakest sometime in visions unto thy saints, and saidst *
 I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
  
 
  
21
 I have found David my servant *
 with my holy oil have I anointed him.
  
 
  
22
 My hand shall hold him fast *
 and my arm shall strengthen him.
  
 
  
23
 The enemy shall not be able to do him violence *
 the son of wickedness shall not hurt him.
  
 
  
24
 I will smite down his foes before his face *
 and plague them that hate him.
  
 
  
25
 My truth also and my mercy shall be with him *
 and in my Name shall his horn be exalted.
  
 
  
26
 I will set his dominion also in the sea *
 and his right hand in the floods.
  
 
  
27
 He shall call me, Thou art my Father *
 my God, and my strong salvation.
  
 
  
28
 And I will make him my first-born *
 higher than the kings of the earth.
  
 
  
29
 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore *
 and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
  
 
  
30
 His seed also will I make to endure for ever *
 and his throne as the days of heaven.
  
 
  
31
 But if his children forsake my law *
 and walk not in my judgements;
  
 
  
32
 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments *
 I will visit their offences with the rod, and their sin with scourges.
  
 
  
33
 Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him *
 nor suffer my truth to fail.
  
 
  
34
 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips *
 I have sworn once by my holiness, that I will not fail David.
  
 
  
35
 His seed shall endure for ever *
 and his seat is like as the sun before me.
  
 
  
36
 He shall stand fast for evermore as the moon *
 and as the faithful witness in heaven.
  
 
  
37
 But thou hast abhorred and forsaken thine Anointed *
 and art displeased at him.
  
 
  
38
 Thou hast broken the covenant of thy servant *
 and cast his crown to the ground.
  
 
  
39
 Thou hast overthrown all his hedges *
 and broken down his strong holds.
  
 
  
40
 All they that go by spoil him *
 and he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
  
 
  
41
 Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies *
 and made all his adversaries to rejoice.
  
 
  
42
 Thou hast taken away the edge of his sword *
 and givest him not victory in the battle.
  
 
  
43
 Thou hast put out his glory *
 and cast his throne down to the ground.
  
 
  
44
 The days of his youth hast thou shortened *
 and covered him with dishonour.
  
 
  
45
 Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself, for ever *
 and shall thy wrath burn like fire?
  
 
  
46
 O remember how short my time is *
 wherefore hast thou made all men for nought?
  
 
  
47
 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death *
 and shall he deliver his soul from the hand of hell?
  
 
  
48
 Lord, where are thy old loving-kindnesses *
 which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
  
 
  
49
 Remember, Lord, the rebuke that thy servants have *
 and how I do bear in my bosom the rebukes of many people;
  
 
  
50
 Wherewith thine enemies have blasphemed thee, and slandered the footsteps of thine Anointed *
 Praised be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
  
 
     
    At the end of each psalm these words are said or sung
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
    and to the Holy Ghost;
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
    world without end. Amen.
     
    Old Testament Reading  
 
   

First Reading: Deuteronomy 6

 

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
 (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers.
 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.
 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?
 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

       
  Magnificat  
     
    Either the Magnificat (as follows) or Cantate Domino (Psalm 98) is said or sung.
     
1
   My soul doth magnify the Lord :
    and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
     
2
   For he hath regarded :
    the lowliness of his handmaiden.
     
3
   For behold, from henceforth :
    all generations shall call me blessed.
     
4
   For he that is mighty hath magnified me :
    and holy is his Name.
     
5
   And his mercy is on them that fear him :
    throughout all generations.
     
6
   He hath shewed strength with his arm :
    he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
     
7
   He hath put down the mighty from their seat :
    and hath exalted the humble and meek.
     
8
   He hath filled the hungry with good things :
    and the rich he hath sent empty away.
     
9
   He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel :
    as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
   
Luke 1.46-55
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
    and to the Holy Ghost;
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
    world without end. Amen.
     
  New Testament Reading  
 
   

Second Reading: Ephesians 2.1-10

 

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

     
  Nunc dimittis  
     
    Either the Nunc dimittis (as follows) or Deus misereatur (Psalm 67) is said or sung.
     
1
   Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace :
    according to thy word.
     
2
   For mine eyes have seen :
    thy salvation;
     
3
   Which thou hast prepared :
    before the face of all people;
     
4
   To be a light to lighten the Gentiles :
    and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
   
Luke 2.29-32
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
    and to the Holy Ghost;
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
    world without end. Amen.
     
  The Apostles' Creed  
     
All
   I believe in God the Father almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth:
    and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
    who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
    born of the Virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, dead, and buried.
    He descended into hell;
    the third day he rose again from the dead;
    he ascended into heaven,
    and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
    from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
    I believe in the Holy Ghost;
    the holy catholic Church;
    the communion of saints;
    the forgiveness of sins;
    the resurrection of the body,
    and the life everlasting.
    Amen.
     
  Prayers  
     
    The Lord be with you.
All
   And with thy spirit.
     
    Let us pray.
     
    Lord, have mercy upon us.
All
   Christ, have mercy upon us.
    Lord, have mercy upon us.
     
All
   Our Father, which art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name;
    thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done,
    in earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our trespasses,
    as we forgive them that trespass against us.
    And lead us not into temptation;
    but deliver us from evil. Amen.
     
    O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
All
   And grant us thy salvation.
     
    O Lord, save the King.
All
   And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
     
    Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
All
   And make thy chosen people joyful.
     
    O Lord, save thy people.
All
   And bless thine inheritance.
     
    Give peace in our time, O Lord.
All
   Because there is none other that fighteth for us,
    but only thou, O God.
     
    O God, make clean our hearts within us.
All
   And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
     
    Three Collects are said.
     
  The Collect of the Day  
     
    Almighty God, who has given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life; Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
     
     
  The Collect for Peace  
     
    O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels,
         and all just works do proceed;
    give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give;
    that both, our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments,
    and also that, by thee,
    we being defended from the fear of our enemies
    may pass our time in rest and quietness;
    through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
All
   Amen.
     
  The Collect for Aid against all Perils  
     
    Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord;
    and by thy great mercy defend us
         from all perils and dangers of this night;
    for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
All
   Amen.
     
    The order for the end of the service may include:
     
    hymns or anthems
       a sermon
    further prayers (which may include prayers from here)
     
    This prayer may be used to conclude the service
     
    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    and the love of God,
    and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,
    be with us all evermore.
All
   Amen.
     
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