O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.
Reveal among us the light of your presence
Allthat we may behold your
power and glory.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
creator of light and darkness,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
As evening falls, you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
May your word be a lantern to our feet
and a light upon our path
that we may behold your coming among us.
Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
A Song of Mercy and Truth (page 559), the following or another suitable hymn
Creator of the stars of night,
thy people’s everlasting light,
O Jesu, Saviour of us all,
regard thy servants when they call.
Thou, grieving at the bitter cry
of all creation doomed to die,
didst come to save a ruined race
with healing gifts of heavenly grace.
Thou camest, Bridegroom of the bride,
as drew the world to evening-tide,
proceeding from a virgin shrine,
the Son of Man, yet Lord divine.
At thy great name, exalted now,
all knees must bend, all hearts must bow,
and things in heaven and earth shall own
that thou art Lord and King alone.
To thee, O holy One, we pray
our judge in that tremendous day,
preserve us, while we dwell below,
from every onslaught of the foe.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
whose advent sets thy people free,
whom with the Father we adore,
and Spirit blest, for evermore.
Latin, tr: J M Neale
(Tune: LM)
This opening prayer may be 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.
AllAmen.
The appointed psalmody is said.
Refrain: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
1 The Lord is king and has put on glorious apparel; ♦
the Lord has put on his glory
and girded himself with strength.
2 He has made the whole world so sure ♦
that it cannot be moved.
3 Your throne has been established from of old; ♦
you are from everlasting. R
4 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice; ♦
the floods lift up their pounding waves.
5 Mightier than the thunder of many waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea, ♦
the Lord on high is mightier.
6 Your testimonies are very sure; ♦
holiness adorns your house, O Lord, for ever.
Refrain: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
Christ our King,
you put on the apparel of our nature
and raised us to your glory;
reign from your royal throne
above the chaos of this world,
that all may see the victory you have won
and trust in your salvation;
for your glory’s sake.
Refrain: Righteous are you, O Lord, and true are your judgements.
1 Lord God to whom vengeance belongs, ♦
O God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out in majesty.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; ♦
give the arrogant their just deserts.
3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, ♦
how long shall the wicked triumph?
4 How long shall the evildoers boast ♦
and pour out such impudent words? R
5 They crush your people, O Lord, ♦
and afflict your heritage.
6 They murder the widow and the stranger; ♦
the orphans they put to death.
7 And yet they say, ‘The Lord will not see; ♦
neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.’ R
8 Consider, most stupid of people; ♦
you fools, when will you understand?
9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? ♦
He that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10 He who corrects the nations, shall he not punish? ♦
He who teaches the peoples, does he lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows every human thought, ♦
that they are but a breath. R
12 Blessed are those whom you chasten, O Lord, ♦
whom you instruct from your law;
13 That you may give them rest in days of adversity, ♦
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not fail his people, ♦
neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15 For justice shall return to the righteous, ♦
and all that are true of heart shall follow it. R
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? ♦
Who will take my part against the evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not helped me, ♦
my soul would soon have been put to silence.
18 And when I said, ‘My foot has slipped’, ♦
your loving mercy, O Lord, upheld me.
19 In the multitude of cares that troubled my heart, ♦
your comforts have refreshed my soul. R
20 Will you have anything to do with the throne of wickedness, ♦
which fashions evil through its law?
21 They gather together against the life of the righteous ♦
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold ♦
and my God the rock of my trust.
23 He will turn against them their own wickedness
and silence them through their own malice; ♦
the Lord our God will put them to silence.
Refrain: Righteous are you, O Lord, and true are your judgements.
Lord God, judge of all,
before whom no secrets are hidden,
let your justice shine out
and your righteousness sweep wickedness from its throne,
that we may live free from fear and stumbling;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
AllGlory 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.
If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.
Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’
But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.’
And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
he says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’
Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
‘Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’
Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favour I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out’,
to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
A Song of the Spirit, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 57 (page 614) or number 72 (page 630), may be said
Refrain:
AllSurely I am coming soon.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Alleluia.
1‘Behold, I am
coming soon’, says the Lord,
‘and bringing my reward with me, ♦
to give to everyone according to their deeds.
2‘I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the first and the last, ♦
the beginning and the end.’
3Blessed are those who
do God’s commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life, ♦
and may enter into the city through the gates.
4‘I, Jesus, have
sent my angel to you, ♦
with this testimony for all the churches.
5‘I am the root
and the offspring of David, ♦
I am the bright morning star.’
6‘Come!’
say the Spirit and the Bride; ♦
‘Come!’ let each hearer reply.
7Come forward, you who
are thirsty, ♦
let those who desire take the water of life as a gift.
Revelation 22.12-14, 16, 17
AllTo the One who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb ♦
be blessing and honour and glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.
AllSurely I am coming soon.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
My soul is waiting for you, O Lord:
in your word is my hope.
AllMy soul is waiting for
you, O Lord:
in your word is my hope.
There is forgiveness with you,
so that you shall be feared.
AllIn your word is my hope.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllMy soul is waiting for
you, O Lord:
in your word is my hope.
from Psalm 130
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said, or The Song of Christ's Glory (page 619) may be said
Refrain:
All
Those who gave up their lives for Christ and followed in the Way
rejoice with God now and for ever. Alleluia.
1My soul proclaims the
greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
2From this day all generations
will call me blessed; ♦
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.
3He has mercy on those
who fear him, ♦
from generation to generation.
4He has shown strength
with his arm ♦
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,
5Casting down the mighty
from their thrones ♦
and lifting up the lowly.
6He has filled the hungry
with good things ♦
and sent the rich away empty.
7He has come to the aid
of his servant Israel, ♦
to remember his promise of mercy,
8The promise made to our
ancestors, ♦
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Luke 1.46-55
AllGlory 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.
Refrain:
All
Those who gave up their lives for Christ and followed in the Way
rejoice with God now and for ever. Alleluia.
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs
Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365
¶ The Church, that she may be ready for the
coming of Christ
¶ The leaders of the Church
¶ The nations, that they may be subject to the
rule of God
¶ Those who are working for justice in the world
¶ The broken, that they may find God’s
healing
A form of prayer found on page 377 may be used.
These responses may be used
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
(or)
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Awaiting his coming in glory,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
AllOur Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
(or)
Awaiting his coming in glory,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur 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.
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
©
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from
Church House Publishing.
The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.