A Service of Evening Prayer

O God make speed to save us;

O Lord make haste to help us.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Cambridge Singers,directed by John Rutter, sing this ancient lucenary (or lamp-lighting) hymn Poshilaron. Outside the canticles and hymn fragments of the New Testament Phos hilaron is the oldest known Christian hymn.

O GLADSOME LIGHT, O GRACE

1 O gladsome Light, O Grace
of God the Father’s face,
The eternal splendour wearing;
celestial, holy, blest,
our Saviour Jesus Christ,
joyful in Thine appearing.

2 Now, ere day fadeth quite,
we see the evening light,
our wonted hymn outpouring;
Father of might unknown,
Thee, His incarnate Son,
and Holy Ghost adoring.

3 To Thee of right belongs
all praise of holy songs,
O Son of God, Lifegiver;
Thee, therefore, O Most High,
the world doth glorify,
and shall exalt for ever.

Open this link to hear the Choir of Lincoln Cathedral sing Psalm 80 "Hear, OThou Shepherd of Israel, Thou That Leadest Joseph Like a Sheep."

PSALM 80

HEAR, O thou Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep: shew thyself also, thou that sittest upon the cherubims.

2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses: stir up thy strength, and come, and help us.

3 Turn us again, O God: shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.

4 O Lord God of hosts: how long wilt thou be angry with thy people that prayeth?

5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears: and givest them plenteousness of tears to drink.

6 Thou hast made us a very strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

7 Turn us again, thou God of hosts: shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.

8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

9 Thou madest room for it: and when it had taken root it filled the land.

10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it: and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedar-trees.

11 She stretched out her branches unto the sea: and her boughs unto the river.

12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedge: that all they that go by pluck off her grapes?

13 The wild boar out of the wood doth root it up: and the wild beasts of the field devour it.

14 Turn thee again, thou God of hosts, look down from heaven: behold, and visit this vine;

15 And the place of the vineyard that thy right hand hath planted: and the branch that thou madest so strong for thyself.

16 It is burnt with fire, and cut down: and they shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand: and upon the son of man, whom thou madest so strong for thine own self.

18 And so will not we go back from thee: O let us live, and we shall call upon thy Name.

19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts: shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.

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.

A Reading from the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the eleventh verse.

And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path.

I must have heard dozens of sermons on this gospel passage. Frequently the preacher has concluded the sermon with a challenge. This challenge has often been framed in terms of what has become known as the three “Ts”—time, talents, and treasure. The bottom line was how are using what God has given you. Are you putting it to use in the service of God? Or are you hiding it away, burying it, like the servant who was given one pound?

The challenge always brought a stirring of uneasiness in the congregation. I suspect the guilty consciences of the congregation’s members were pricking them. They were thinking of all the ways that they had not used their time, talents, and treasure in God’s service. But I suspect that these pangs of conscience did not last very long once they stepped out of the church building into the bright sunlight of a Sunday morning. Mine didn’t.

When I took early retirement, I tried to make a bargain with God. “If you take good care me,” I told God, “I’ll do a better job of serving you.” I didn’t get an audible reply from God but I knew God’s answer right away. “I don’t make bargains.” “I’ll provide for you as I see fit.” “But what I have given you, whether little or much, I expect you to use it in my service.”  

We may think it was rather unfair and harsh of the master to take away the one pound from the servant who buried it and gave it to the servant to whom he had given the ten pounds. But it was the master’s money, his to do with what he pleased. He had given the one pound to the servant in order that the servant invest it and make a profit for him. Instead the servant had wrapped it in a napkin and hidden it away.

Just as the servants were required to give an account of what they did with the money he had given them upon his return so will we be required to give an account of what we did with what God has given us when Jesus returns. Jesus will not be just looking at the time clock—when we punched in for him and when we punched out. He will not just be checking off on a list what talents we used and those we didn’t. He won’t be going through our checkbook and spreadsheets. He’ll be asking for an account of how we used everything God gave us—everything!

The good news is it’s not to late to turn over a new leaf and make better use of everything God has given us in his service. A late start is far better than to leave that pound wrapped in a napkin and buried in the backyard or some other spot. God is a gracious God. If the testimony of Scripture is anything to go on, Jesus would rather commend us for what we had done with all God has given us than take it away and give it to another. He’d rather commend us for being faithful even in a little.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Choir of Gloucester Cathedral sing the Gloucester Service setting of the Magnificat, written and composed by Herbert Howells.

MAGNIFICAT

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.

[Prayers for ourselves and others may be said.]

Concluding Prayers

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

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

Open this link to hear the Cambridge Singers sing “Be Thou My Vision,” as arranged by John Rutter. Thelma Owens is the harpist.

BE THOU MY VISION

1 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.

2 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.

3 Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight,
be thou my whole armor, be thou my true might,
Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tower,
O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

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

5 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.

Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of thy brightness we may know thee, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:

Thanks be to God!

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:

through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.