Saturday, April 25

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

The Call to Prayer

I will call upon the LORD,* and so shall I be saved from my enemies.

Psalm 18:3

The Request for Presence

I have said to the LORD, “You are my God;* Listen, O LORD, to my supplication.”

Psalm 140:6

The Greeting

But you, O Lord my GOD, oh, deal with me according to your Name;* for your tender mercy’s sake, deliver me. For I am poor and needy,* and my heart is wounded within me.

Psalm 109:20–21

The Hymn

Trials must and will befall: But with humble faith to see Love inscribed upon them all: This is happiness to me. Trials make the promise sweet; Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to his feet, Lay me low, and keep me there. Did I meet no trials here, No chastisement by the way, Might I not with reason fear I should be a castaway?

Unknown

The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons

For the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. The LORD has heard my supplication;* the LORD accepts my prayer.

Psalm 6:8–9

The Vespers Psalm

The God of Gods Will Reveal Himself in Zion

How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts!* My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;* by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Happy are they who dwell in your house!* they will always be praising you. Happy are the people whose strength is in you!* whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way. Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs,* for the early rains have covered it with pools of water. They will climb from height to height,* and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

Psalm 84:1–6

The Refrain

For the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. The LORD has heard my supplication;* the LORD accepts my prayer.

The Cry of the Church

Be, Lord, my helper and forsake me not. Do not despise me, O God, my savior.

THE SHORT BREVIARY

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, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that I, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen. †

Concluding Prayers of the Church

Almighty God, who has promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in your Son’s Name: I beseech you mercifully to incline your ear to me who have made my prayers and supplications to you; and grant that those things which I have faithfully asked according to your will, I may effectually obtain, to the relief of my necessity, and to the setting forth of your glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. † May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in eternal peace. Amen.