First Evensong of the First Sunday after Trinity

Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense;

and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. Psalm 141. 2

O Lord, open thou our lips.

And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

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.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter, sing the ancient lucenary hymn, Phos hilaron.

PHOS HILARON

1 Hail! gladd'ning Light, of his pure glory poured,
who is th' Immortal Father, heavenly, blest,
holiest of holies, Jesus Christ, our Lord!

2 Now we are come to the sun's hour of rest,
the lights of evening round us shine,
we hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divine.

3 Worthiest art thou at all times to be sung with undefiléd tongue,
Son of our God, giver of life alone;
therefore in all the world thy glories, Lord, they own. Amen

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Choir of Guildford Cathedral sing Psalm 33, Rejoice in the Lord , O Ye Righteous.

PSALM 33

REJOICE in the Lord, O ye righteous: for it becometh well the just to be thankful.

2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing praises unto him with the lute, and instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing praises lustily unto him with a good courage.

4 For the word of the Lord is true: and all his works are faithful.

5 He loveth righteousness and judgement: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made: and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together, as it were upon an heap: and layeth up the deep, as in a treasure-house.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: stand in awe of him, all ye that dwell in the world.

9 For he spake, and it was done: he commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: and maketh the devices of the people to be of none effect, and casteth out the counsels of princes.

11 The counsel of the Lord shall endure for ever: and the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation.

12 Blessed are the people, whose God is the Lord Jehovah: and blessed are the folk, that he hath chosen to him to be his inheritance.

13 The Lord looked down from heaven, and beheld all the children of men: from the habitation of his dwelling he considereth all them that dwell on the earth.

14 He fashioneth all the hearts of them: and understandeth all their works.

15 There is no king that can be saved by the multitude of an host: neither is any mighty man delivered by much strength

.

16 A horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man: neither shall he deliver any man by his great strength.

17 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him: and upon them that put their trust in his mercy;

18 To deliver their soul from death: and to feed them in the time of dearth.

19 Our soul hath patiently tarried for the Lord: for he is our help and our shield.

20 For our heart shall rejoice in him: because we have hoped in his holy Name.

21 Let thy merciful kindness, O Lord, be upon us: like as we do put our trust in thee.

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.

Open this link to hear the Choir of Wakefield Cathedral sing the Gloria in Excelsis from the Communion Service in F.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

GLORY be to God on high, and in earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesu Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Here beginneth the Twelfth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke

One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up  and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question; now tell me,  Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know whence it was. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Here endeth the Lesson.

I’m Going to Live as a Narnian

Since Jesus walked the earth, men have challenged his authority. Some men have gone as far as to deny his very existence. “Jesus is a myth,” they say. “There was no such person.” Their arguments are not credible because there is too much contemporary evidence for Jesus’ existence.

Others dismiss him as a deluded itinerant preacher who believed that he was God, whom the Jewish religious authorities arrested for blasphemy, and whom the Roman governor Pontius Pilate ordered crucified as a troublemaker. The Jewish population was prone to riot and Pilate did not want a black mark on his record. To these men Christians are as deluded as the one whom they now call Lord.

One response to this last assertion is the response of Puddlegum the Marsh Wiggle to the Lady of the Green Kirtle, the Queen of the Underland. If you have read C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair in his Narnia Chronicles, you may be familiar with this passage.

"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."

Christians may be deluded but their delusion licks the real world of these men hollow.

I particularly like these words, “I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”

“I’m on Aslan’s side….” “I’m going to live as a Narnian….”

I’m on Christ’s side. I’m going to live as a follower of Christ.

Years ago I made that decision while praying the Daily Offices at my family’s summer home outside of New Concord, Kentucky. Since that time the Holy Spirit has witnessed to my spirit that Jesus was indeed real, that he was all that he claimed to be. The authority by which he did what he did was God’s authority. We can trust what he said.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Southwell Minister Choir sing the Magnificat from the Westminster Service, 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.

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 Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray

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.

O Lord, show thy mercy upon us.

And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save the State.

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.

For it is thou, Lord, only, that makest us dwell in safety.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.

And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

O GOD, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

OGOD, 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 Saviour. Amen.

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.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Choir of  King’s College, Cambridge sing Ralph Vaughan William’s setting of the sixteenth century Anglican poet-priest George Herbert’s “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing.”

1 Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King.
The heavens are not too high,
his praise may thither fly:
the earth is not too low,
his praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King.

2 Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King.
The church with psalms must shout,
no door can keep them out;
but, above all, the heart
must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King.

ALMIGHTY God, whose kingdom is everlasting and power infinite; Have mercy upon this whole land; and so rule the hearts of thy servants, the President of the United States, the Governor of this State, and all others in authority, that they, knowing whose ministers they are, may above all things seek thy honour and glory; and that we and all the People, duly considering whose authority they bear, may faithfully and obediently honour them, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift; Send down upon our Bishops, and other Clergy, and upon the Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and, that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst preside in the Council of the blessed Apostles, and hast promised, through thy Son Jesus Christ, to be with thy Church to the end of the world; We beseech thee to be with the Council of thy Church about to assemble in thy Name and Presence. Save them from all error, ignorance, pride, and prejudice; and of thy great mercy vouchsafe, we beseech thee, so to direct, sanctify, and govern them in their work, by the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, that the comfortable Gospel of Christ may be truly preached, truly received, and truly followed, in all places, to the breaking down the kingdom of sin, Satan, and death; till at length the whole of thy dispersed sheep, being gathered into one fold, shall become partakers of everlasting life; through the merits and death of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

O GOD, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the whole earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to them that are far off and to them that are nigh; Grant that all men everywhere may seek after thee and find thee. Bring the nations into thy fold, pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten thy kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests; Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

Open this link to hear the Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter, sing Bishop Thomas Ken’s evening hymn, “Glory to Thee, My God, This Night.”

1 Glory to thee, my God, this night
for all the blessings of the light;
keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
beneath thy own almighty wings.

2 Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
the ill that I this day have done,
that with the world, myself and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

3 Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
Teach me to die, that so I may
Rise glorious at the aweful day.

4 O may my soul on thee repose,
And with sweet sleep my eyelids close,
Sleep that may me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.

5 Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
praise him all creatures here below,
praise him above, ye heavenly host,
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

THE Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this night and evermore. Amen.