Wednesday, February 11

The Vespers Office To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 5 and 8 p.m

The Call to Prayer

Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;* give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,* his favor for a lifetime.

Psalm 30:4–5

The Request for Presence

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; . . . For I am but a sojourner with you,* a wayfarer, as all my forebears were.

Psalm 39:13–14

The Greeting

O God, when you went forth before your people* when you marched through the wilderness, The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Sinai* at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance;* you refreshed the land when it was weary. The Lord gave the word;* great was the company of women who bore the tidings.

Psalm 68:7ff

The Hymn

O for a thousand tongues to sing my dear Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace! My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim And spread through all the earth abroad the honors of your Name. Jesus! The Name that charms our fears and bids our sorrows cease; ’Tis music in the sinners’ ears, ’tis life and health and peace. He speaks; and, listening to his voice, new life the dead receive, The mournful broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe. Hear him, you deaf, you voiceless ones, your loosened tongues employ; You blind, behold, your Savior comes; and leap, you lame, for joy! Glory to God and praise and love be now and ever given By saints below and saints above, the Church in earth and heaven.

Charles Wesley

The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons

Weeping may spend the night,* but joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:6

The Vespers Psalm

Blessed Be the LORD

Blessed be the LORD!* he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler;* the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the Name of the LORD,* the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:6–8

The Refrain

Weeping may spend the night,* but joy comes in the morning.

The Gloria

Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and 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 yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept my prayers; and because in my weakness I can do nothing good without you, give me the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments I may please you in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. †

The Concluding Prayer of the Church

Hear, O Lord, your servants, offering evening praises to your Name. Through the silent hours of the night deign to watch over us, whom You have protected in all dangers of the day. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anglo-Saxon, Traditional