The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers

Order of Evening Service, or Vespers

¶A Hymn of Invocation of the Holy Ghost or another Hymn may be sung.

¶Then shall be sung or said responsively the Versicle with the Gloria Patri, as here followeth, all standing to the end of the Psalm.

Minister. O Lord, open Thou my lips.

Congregation. And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise.

Minister. Make haste, O God, to deliver me.

Congregation. Make haste to help me, O Lord.

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. Hallelujah!

¶During the Passion season the Hallelujah shall be omitted.

The Psalm.

¶Then shall be sung or said one or more Psalms. At the end of the Psalm the Gloria Patri shall be chanted. An Antiphon may be used with each Psalm.

The Lesson.

¶The Scripture Lessons shall then be read. After each Lesson may be chanted or said:

Minister. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Congregation. Thanks be to God.

¶After the Lessons a Responsory may be sung, or a hymn.

¶Then may follow a Sermon, after which the Offerings may be gathered.

¶Then shall be sung

The Hymn.

¶Then, all standing, may be sung or said this Versicle.

¶But on Festival days, a special Versicle may be used.

Versicle: Let my prayers be set forth before Thee as incense:

Congregation: And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

¶

The Canticle.

¶Then shall be sung the

Magnificat.

St. Luke, i.

My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior.

For He hath regarded: the low estate of His handmaiden.

For, behold, from henceforth: all generations shall call me blessed.

For He that is mighty hath done to me great things: and holy is His name.

And His mercy is on them that fear Him: from generation to generation.

He hath showed strength with His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats: and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich He hath sent empty away.

He hath holpen His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy: as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed, forever.

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.

Or the

Nunc Dimittis.

St. Luke ii.

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace: according to Thy word:

For mine eyes nave seen Thy salvation: which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles: and 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.

¶An Antiphon may be sung with the Canticle.

The Prayer.

¶Then shall be said the Prayers here following, or the Suffrages, the Litany or other prayers.

Minister. Lord, have mercy upon us.

Congregation. Lord, have mercy upon us.

Minister. Christ, have mercy upon us.

Congregation. Christ, have mercy upon us.

Minister. Lord, have mercy upon us.

Congregation. Lord, have mercy upon us.

¶Then all shall say:

Our Father, who art in heaven: Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¶Salutation.

The Lord be with you.

¶Congregation:

And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

¶Then shall be said the Collect for the day: the Collect for the Sunday is said throughout the week following until Friday, but on Saturday the Collect for the following Sunday is said. Then may be said any other Collects and after that this Collect for Peace. A Versicle may be used with the Collect.

Versicle. The Lord will give strength unto His people.

Answer. The Lord will bless His people with peace.

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 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 Savior. Amen.

¶Then may be sung or said the

Benedicamus.

Minister. Bless we the Lord.

Congregation. Thanks be to God!

¶The service may end with the Benedicamus or a closing hymn may be sung; after which may be said:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.

Amen.

At the close of the service silent prayer should be offered.

¶At the close of the service silent prayer should be offered.

The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers is from Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book.

VESPERS

The Alleluia shall be omitted in Lent.

STAND

MO Lord, open my lips.

CAnd my mouth shall declare your praise.

MHasten to save me, O God.

CO Lord, come quickly to help me.

M Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Cas it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

(Alleluia.)

Psalm

One or more psalms may be sung or said. At the end of each psalm the congregation shall sing or say the Gloria Patri.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

BE SEATED

Lesson

One or more scripture lessons shall then be read. After each lesson shall be sung or said the response.

M O Lord, have mercy on us.

CThanks be to God.

After the Lesson a RESPONSORY or a HYMN may be sung.

A SERMON may then follow.

An OFFERING may then be received and placed on the altar.

HYMN

STAND

Canticle

A Versicle shall be used with the Canticle.

M Let my prayer rise before you as incense,Cand the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!Psalm 141:2

Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

or

Nunc Dimittis

Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Prayers

M Lord, have mercy on us.

C Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

LORD’S PRAYER

c

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

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 the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

or

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

But deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

MThe Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

M Let us pray.

Then shall be said the PRAYER OF THE DAY. The prayer ends:

…through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

C Amen.

Other Prayers may then be said, and after them this PRAYER FOR PEACE.

MMay the Lord give strength to his people!

C May the Lord bless his people with peace! (Psalm 29:11)

MO God, all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works come from you. Give your servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments. Defend us from the fear of our enemies, that we may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.

C Amen.

MLet us praise the Lord.

CThanks be to God.

MThe grace of the Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.(2 Corinthians 13:14)

CAmen.

+

This version of Vespers is modified from Vespers in Common Service Book (1917, 1918) with some elements from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941)

This modification © Paul C. Stratman and www.acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com.

This modification of Vespers from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for permission for any commercial use.

Scriptures are from the English Standard Version.