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 and thirty 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

The Lord will come and not be slow, 
His footsteps cannot err; 
Before him righteousness shall go, 
His royal harbinger. 

Truth from the earth, like to a flow’r, 
Shall bud and blossom then; 
And justice, from her heav’nly bow’r, 
Look down on mortal men. 

The nations all whom thou hast made 
Shall come, and all shall frame 
To bow them low before thee, Lord, 
And glorify thy name. 

For great thou art, and wonders great 
By thy strong hand are done: 
Thou in thy everlasting seat 
Remainest God alone.

Words: John Milton (1608-1674)
based on Psalms 82, 85 and 86
 Music: William Jones (1726-1800)
 Hymn Tune: SAINT STEPHEN

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 25 verses 1- 9

Unto thee, O Lord, will I lift up my soul;
My God I have put my trust in thee:
O let me not be confounded,
Neither let mine enemies triumph over me.

For all they that hope in thee shall not be ashamed:
But such as transgress without a cause shall be put to confusion.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord:
And teach me thy paths.

Lead me forth in thy truth and learn me:
For thou art the God of my salvation;
in thee hath been my hope all the day long.

Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercies
and thy loving kindnesses:
Which have been ever of old.

O remember not the sins and offences of my youth:
But according to thy mercy
think upon me, O Lord, for thy goodness.

Gracious and righteous is the Lord:
Therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

Them that are meek shall he guide in judgement:
And such as are gentle, them shall he learn his way.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth:
Unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

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 Foster (1827-1915)

Old Testament Lesson

Please sit.

The First Lesson is from the Book of the prophet Isaiah.

The vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth,
    for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its owner
    and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does not know;
    my people do not understand.

Woe, sinful nation,
    people laden with iniquity,
offspring who do evil,
    children who act corruptly,
who have forsaken the Lord,
    who have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    who are utterly estranged!

Why do you seek further beatings?
    Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is injured,
    and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
only bruises and sores
    and bleeding wounds;
they have not been drained or bound up
    or softened with oil.

Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    aliens devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
And daughter Zion is left
    like a booth in a vineyard,
like a shelter in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.
If the Lord of hosts
    had not left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls
    or of lambs or of goats.

When you come to appear before me,
    who asked this from your hand?
    Trample my courts no more!
Bringing offerings is futile;
    incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation—
    I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
Your new moons and your appointed festivals
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
When you stretch out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove your evil deeds
    from before my eyes;
cease to do evil;
    learn to do good;
seek justice;
    rescue the oppressed;
defend the orphan;
    plead for the widow.

Come now, let us argue it out,
    says the Lord:
If your sins are like scarlet,
    will they become like snow?
If they are red like crimson,
    will they become like wool?
If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land,
but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be devoured by the sword,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 1.1-20

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 shewèd 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.

Music: Giovanni Ilorio (16th century)

New Testament Lesson

Please sit.

The Second Lesson is from Matthew’s gospel.

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet.

“Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’
but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Matthew 21.1-13

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.

Music: Thomas Morley (1557-1602)

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

Almighty God, give us grace
that we may cast away the works of darkness,
and put upon us the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which thy Son Jesus Christ
came to visit us in great humility;
that in the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty
to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal,
through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and 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.

‘Herefordshire Carol’

This is the truth sent from above,
The truth of God, the God of love,
Therefore don’t turn me from your door,
But hearken all both rich and poor.

The first thing which I do relate
Is that God did man create;
The next thing which to you I’ll tell
Woman was made with man to dwell.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes,
Till God the Lord did interpose;
And so a promise soon did run
That he would redeem us by his Son.

And at that season of the year
Our blest Redeemer did appear;
He here did live, and here did preach,
And many thousands he did teach.

Thus he in love to us behaved,
To show us how we must be saved;
And if you want to know the way,
Be pleased to hear what he did say.

Words: & Music: English traditional carol
arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

The Sermon

Hymn

Please stand.

The advent of our King
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must hymns of welcome sing
In strains of holy joy.

The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant’s form puts on,
To set his servants free.

Daughter of Sion, rise
To meet thy lowly King;
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace he comes to bring.

As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And his true members all unite
With him in heav’n to reign.

All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity. 

Words: Charles Coffin (1676-1749)
translated by John Chandler (1806-1876) alt.
Music: from ‘Harmonischer Liederschatz’
adapted by William Henry Havergal (1793-1870)
Hymn Tune: FRANCONIA

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.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

O come, thou key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to the tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient time didst give the Law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Words: from the ‘Great O Antiphons’ (12th century)
translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)
Music: adapted by Thomas Helmore (1811-1890)
from a French Missal
Hymn Tune: VENI EMMANUEL

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 7 January 2024 at 6.00 pm. All are welcome.