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 Myles 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.

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

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

Words: Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908) based on 1 Timothy 1.17
Music: Welsh traditional hymn melody (1839)
Hymn Tune: SAINT DENIO

Sentences of the Scriptures

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.

The 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.

Amen.

If no priest be present the following prayer is said.

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 72 verses 1-11

Give the King thy judgements O God:
And thy righteousness unto the King’s son.

Then shall he judge thy people according unto right:
And defend the poor.

The mountains also shall bring peace:
And the little hills righteousness unto the people.

He shall keep the simple folk by their right:
Defend the children of the poor and punish the wrong doer.

They shall fear thee, as long as the sun and moon endureth:
From one generation to another.

He shall come down like the rain into a fleece of wool:
Even as the drops that water the earth.

In his time shall the righteous flourish:
Yea and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

His dominion shall be also from the one sea to the other:
And from the flood unto the world’s end.

They that dwell in the wilderness shall kneel before him:
His enemies shall lick the dust.

The kings of Tharsis and of the isles shall give presents:
The kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts.

All kings shall fall down before him:
All nations shall do him service.

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.

Music: John Stainer (1840-1901)
from a melody by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Old Testament Lesson

Please sit.

The First Lesson is from the Book of Exodus.

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face, but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out, and when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining, and Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus 34.29-end

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 rejoiced 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 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.

New Testament Lesson

Please sit.

The Second Lesson is from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are human hearts.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are qualified of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our qualification is from God,who has made us qualified to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, chiselled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses’s face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory! Indeed, what once had glory has in this respect lost its glory because of the greater glory, for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory!

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with complete frankness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, the same veil is still there; it is not unveiled since in Christ it is set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3

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 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

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 the 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 heav’n,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
In earth as it is in heav’n.
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 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.

The Collect of the Day

Father in heav’n,
whose Son Jesus Christ was wonderfully transfigured
before chosen witnesses upon the holy mountain,
and spoke of the exodus he would accomplish at Jerusalem:
give us strength so to hear his voice and bear our cross
that in the world to come we may see him as he is;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

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.

Choir Anthem

Please sit.

‘The heavens declare’

The heav’ns declare the creator’s glory.
Their sound forth tells his wondrous name.

The earth doth praise him, the oceans proclaim him;
Receive, O man, their God-like word!

Who holds the numberless stars in the heavens?
Who leadeth forth the flaming sun?

He comes resplendent, rejoicing afar off,
With joy a hero’s course to run,
With joy a hero’s course to run.

Words: Die Ehre Gottes
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

The Sermon

Hymn

Please stand.

Bright the vision that delighted
Once the sight of Judah’s seer;
Sweet the countless tongues united
To entrance the prophet’s ear.

Round the Lord in glory seated
Cherubim and seraphim
Filled his temple and repeated
Each to each the alternate hymn:

‘Lord, thy glory fills the heaven;
Earth is with its fullness stored;
Unto thee be glory given,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord.’

Heav’n is still with glory ringing,
Earth takes up the angels’ cry,
‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ singing,
‘Lord of hosts, the Lord most high.’

With his seraph train before him,
With his holy Church below,
Thus unite we to adore him,
Bid we thus our anthem flow:

‘Lord, thy glory fills the heaven;
Earth is with its fullness stored;
Unto thee be glory given,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord.’ 

Words: Richard Mant (1776-1848)
Music: Richard Redhead (1820-1901)
Hymn Tune: LAUS DEO (REDHEAD)

The Prayers

Please kneel or sit.

Hymn

Please stand.

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.

You can place cash or giving envelopes in the collection plates as they are passed around. If you would prefer, or if you miss the plate, you can also give by tapping your contactless card or device on the giving plate by the door as you leave, or on our donations page.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; 
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art, 
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night, 
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light. 

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word, 
Be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord, 
Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son, 
Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one. 

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight, 
Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might, 
Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tow’r, 
O raise thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r. 

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, 
Be thou mine inheritance now and always, 
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart, 
O Sov’reign of heaven, my treasure thou art. 

High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun, 
O grant me its joys after vict’ry is won, 
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, 
Still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.  

Words: Irish (c. 8^th century)
Translated by Mary Byrne (1880-1931) and Eleanor Hull (1860-1935)
Music: Irish traditional melody
Hymn Tune: SLANE

The Blessing or The Grace

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

The next Choral Evensong at St Mary’s is on Sunday 3 September at 6.00 pm. All are welcome.