What is Evensong?

Evensong is a combination of two of the seven offices (services) that made up the daily round of monastic prayer. These were the evening offices of Vespers and Compline which consisted of responses, psalms, canticles, readings and prayers. The liturgy of Evensong was first written down in 1549 in Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer. Several revisions to the book were made over subsequent years with the definitive version published in 1662. Widely known for the beauty and richness of its language, including Miles Coverdale’s translation of the psalms, the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer remains the official prayer book of the Church of England.

The service of Evensong is renowned for its choral music. Several sections of the liturgy are sung by the choir though there are various ways in which everyone can participate. For example, it is an ancient custom in the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis as the choir sings the first two lines of the Gloria (‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost’) to make the sign of the cross and to bow one’s head in honour of God the Holy Trinity.

Ever since its foundation this church has been a house of prayer. The first recorded priest of St Mary’s Whitkirk was Paulinus who was the priest here in 1185 AD. The worship we share today gives a powerful sense of connecting the present with the past and of being part of a great, and continuing, tradition. Thank you for being part of this act of worship as we join our prayers and praises with those that have been offered here at St Mary’s for over eight hundred years.

Music

Preces and Responses
Ferial

Anglican Chant
Henry Thomas Smart (1813-1879)

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
Evening Service in B flat
by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

The Anthem
‘God that madest earth and heaven’
arranged by David Thorne (b. 1950)

The Service of Choral Evensong

Our worship begins at the sound of the bell, please stand as the sacred ministers enter, during which the introit hymn is sung.

Hymn

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
The King of creation;
O my soul, praise him,
For he is thy health and salvation:
All ye who hear,
Now to his temple draw near,
Joining in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things
So wondrously reigneth,
Shieldeth thee gently from harm,
Or when fainting sustaineth:
Hast thou not seen
How thy heart’s wishes have been
Granted in what he ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
Thy work and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy
Shall daily attend thee:
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If to the end he befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that
Is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath,
Come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen
Sound from his people again:
Gladly for ay we adore him.

Words: Joachim Neander (1650-1680)
translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Music: from ‘Praxis Pietatis Melica (1668)
Hymn Tune: LOBE DEN HERREN

Please remain standing.

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 cloke 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:

General Confession

Please kneel or sit.

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.

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.

Amen.

Preces

The Preces (short petitions) are sung alternately by the cantor and the choir.

O Lord, open thou our lips.

And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Please stand.

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.

Psalmody

Please remain standing.

The psalms are sacred poems from the Old Testament dating back over three thousand years. The music for the psalm is known as Anglican chant, a short repeating tune.

Psalm 108

O God my heart is ready, my heart is ready:
I will sing and give praise with the best member that I have.

Awake thou lute and harp:
I myself will awake right early.

I will give thanks unto thee O Lord among the people:
I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

For thy mercy is greater than the heavens:
And thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Set up thyself O God above the heavens:
And thy glory above all the earth.

That thy belovèd may be delivered:
Let thy right hand save them and hear thou me.

God hath spoken in his holiness:
‘I will rejoice therefore and divide Sichem
and mete out the valley of Succoth.

‘Gilead is mine and Manasses is mine:
‘Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;

‘Moab is my wash-pot
over Edom will I cast out my shoe:
‘Upon Philistia will I triumph.’

Who will lead me into the strong city:
And who will bring me into Edom?

Hast not thou forsaken us O God:
and wilt not thou O God go forth with our hosts?

O help us against the enemy:
For vain is the help of man.

Through God we shall do great acts:
And it is he that shall tread down our enemies.

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 Lesson

Isaiah 11.10—end of 12

Please sit.

At the end the reader says:

Here endeth the First Lesson.

Magnificat

Please stand.

The Magnificat is the song of praise Mary sang after learning that she would give birth to Jesus, as recounted in Luke’s gospel (1.46).

My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And my spirit hath rejoicèd in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded:
the lowliness of his hand-maiden.
For behold from henceforth:
All generations shall call me blessèd.
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 shewèd strength with his arm:
He hath scatterèd 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 fillèd the hungry with good things:
And the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy
hath holpen his servant Israel:
As he promisèd 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.

New Testament Lesson

2 Corinthians 1.1-22

Please sit.

At the end the reader says:

Here endeth the Second Lesson.

Nunc Dimittis

Please stand.

The Nunc Dimittis is also known as the Song of Simeon. Luke’s gospel (2.29) tells us that old Simeon, a devout Jew, had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the promised Saviour. When Jesus was presented to him at the temple in Jerusalem, he at once recognised the Messiah and uttered these words of farewell.

Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace:
according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation;
Which thou hast preparèd 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

Please remain standing.

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 Catholick Church;
The Communion of Saints;
The Forgiveness of sins;
The Resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.

The Lesser Litany and the Responses

These prayers bind together themes of praise, mercy and the desire for God’s protection as night draws in. The Lesser Litany and Responses are sung alternately by the cantor and the choir.

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Please kneel or sit.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save the Queen.

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.

The Collect of the Day

O God, whose never-failing providence
ordereth all things both in heaven and earth;
We humbly beseech thee
to put away from us all hurtful things,
and to give us those things which be profitable for us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

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.

Amen.

The Anthem

Please sit.

‘God that madest earth and heaven’

God that madest earth and heaven,
Darkness and light;
Who the day for toil hast given,
For rest the night.
May thine angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet thy mercy send us,
Holy dreams and hopes attend us
This live-long night.

Guard us waking, guard us sleeping
And when we die,
May we in thy mighty keeping
All peaceful lie;
When the last death call shall wake us,
Do not then, our God, forsake us,
But to reign in glory take us
With thee on high.

Words: verse 1 – Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Words: verse 2 – Richard Whately (1787-1863)
Music: Welsh traditional melody
arranged by David Thorne (b. 1950)

The Sermon

Hymn

Please stand.

City of God, how broad and far
Outspread thy walls sublime!
Thy free and loyal people are
Of ev’ry age and clime.

One holy Church, one mighty throng,
One steadfast, high intent;
One working band, one harvest-song,
One King omnipotent.

How purely hath thy speech come down
From earth’s primaeval youth!
How grandly hath thine empire grown,
Of freedom, love and truth!

How gleam thy watch-fires through the night
With never-fainting ray!
How rise thy tow’rs, serene and bright,
To meet the dawning day!

In vain the surge’s angry shock,
In vain the drifting sands;
Unharmed upon th’eternal Rock
Th’eternal City stands.

Words: Samuel Johnson (1822-1882) alt.
Music: melody adapted from Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)
Hymn Tune: RICHMOND

The Prayers

Please kneel or sit.

Hymn

During this hymn a collection, our financial offering in support of the work of the church both at St. Mary’s and across our diocese, is taken.

Please stand.

Saviour, again to thy dear name we raise
With one accord our parting hymn of praise;
We stand to bless thee ere our worship cease;
Then, lowly kneeling, wait thy word of peace.

Grant us thy peace upon our homeward way;
With thee began, with thee shall end, the day:
Guard thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
That in this house have called upon thy name.

Grant us thy peace, Lord, through the coming night;
Turn thou for us its darkness into light;
From harm and danger keep thy children free,
For dark and light are both alike to thee.

Grant us thy peace throughout our earthly life,
Our balm in sorrow, and our stay in strife;
Then, when thy voice shall bid our conflict cease,
Call us, O Lord, to thine eternal peace.

Words: John Ellerton (1826-1893)
Music: Edward John Hopkins (1818-1901)
Hymn Tune: ELLERS

The Blessing or The Grace

Thank you for being part of this evening’s act of worship.

The date of the next Choral Evensong is Sunday 4 September at 6.00 pm.

Please follow the instructions of the stewards as you leave the building and remember to clean your hands.