Choral Evensong will be livestreamed and available on our YouTube channel from 6.25pm Sunday 3rd May at: https://www.youtube.com/live/KqXhp_FCvcQ
PRELUDE:
Introit: Je vous salue Marie (Traditional French)
Je vous salue, Marie pleine de grâce; le Seigneur est avec vous.
Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes et Jésus, le fruit de vos
entrailles, est béni. Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous
pauvres pécheurs, maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort. Amen.
Alleluia.
I salute you Mary, full of grace: Our Lord is with you. You are
blessed among all women and Jesus, the fruit of your womb, is
blessed. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Alleluia.
CONFESSION
Dearly beloved brethren, 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:
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.
ABSOLUTION
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.
PRECCES AND RESPONSES Smith
O Lord, open thou our lips.
And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
O God, make speed to save us;
O Lord, make haste to help us.
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.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
OFFICE HYMN NEH 100 The day draws on with golden light (Resurrexit) (sing vv. 1, 2, 7 & 8)
1 The day draws on with golden light,
Glad songs go echoing through the height,
The broad earth lifts an answering cheer,
And hell makes moan with wailing fear.
2 For lo, he comes, the mighty King,
To take from death his power and sting,
To trample down his gloomy reign,
And break the weary prisoner’s chain.
7 Maker of all, to thee we pray,
Fulfil in us thy joy today;
When death assails, grant, Lord, that we
May share thy Paschal victory.
8 To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give,
All glory to the Father be
And Spirit blest, eternally. Amen.
PSALM: 122 (Parry, double in E)
1 I was glad when they said unto me, * We will go into the house
of the Lord.
2 Our feet shall stand in thy gates, * O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city * that is at unity in itself.
4 For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, * to
testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
5 For there is the seat of judgment, * even the seat of the house
of David.
6 O pray for the peace of Jerusalem; * they shall prosper that
love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, * and plenteousness within thy
palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, * I will wish thee
prosperity.
9 Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God, * I will seek to
do thee good.
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.
FIRST READING Zechariah Chapter 4
The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep. He said to me, ‘What do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ He said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’
Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.
‘These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.’
MAGNIFICAT: Brewer in D
My soul doth magnify the Lord
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his hand-maiden.
For behold, from henceforth :
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me :
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him :
throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm :
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat :
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things :
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel :
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
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
SECOND READING: Revelation 21: 1-14.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
NUNC DIMITTIS: Brewer in D
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace :
according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation;
Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles:
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
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
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.
VERSICLES AND RESPONSES Smith
The Lord be with you;
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
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, show thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, save the King.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.
And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people.
And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us,
But only thou, O God
O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
COLLECT OF THE DAY
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: Amen.
COLLECT AGAINST ALL PERILS
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of the night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
ANTHEM: Cherubic Hymn No 2, (Kurt Sander)
Let us, who mystically represent the cherubim and sing the
thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving trinity, lay aside all worldly
cares, Amen.
THE PRAYERS
A PRAYER FOR THE KING'S MAJESTY
O Lord of our fathers, who rulest the nations of the earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to bless our Sovereign Lord, King Charles, his ministers and parliaments, and all who are set in authority throughout his dominions and the world; that they may order all things in wisdom and righteousness, to the honour of thy Holy Name and the good of all thy people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
A PRAYER OF ST JOHN CHYSOSTOM
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
HYMN NEH 104 At the Lamb's high feast we sing (Salzburg) (omit verse 2)
1 At the Lamb's high feast we sing
praise to our victorious King,
who hath washed us in the tide
flowing from his piercèd side;
praise we him, whose love divine
gives the guests his blood for wine,
gives his body for the feast,
Love the victim, Love the priest.
3 Mighty Victim from on high,
Powers of hell beneath thee lie;
Death is broken in the fight,
Thou hast brought us life and light.
Now thy banner thou dost wave,
Conquering Satan and the grave.
See the prince of darkness quelled;
Heaven's bright gates are open held.
4 Paschal triumph, Paschal joy,
Only sin can this destroy;
From sin's death do thou set free,
Souls re-born, dear Lord, in thee.
Hymns of glory, songs of praise,
Father, unto thee we raise.
Risen Lord, all praise to thee,
Ever with the Spirit be.
BLESSING
Voluntary: