Sunday 5 December 2021
2nd Sunday of Advent
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
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Hymn
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
And furnished for so great a guest!
Yea, let us each his heart prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace our souls must fade,
And wither like a flower decayed.
Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
Whose Advent sets thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
________
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
“He must be king so that he may put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25).
Behold, the Lord will come on the clouds of heaven with great strength. Alleluia.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
The Lord will wield from Sion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.
He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Behold, the Lord will come on the clouds of heaven with great strength. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praise you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.
Or:
Almighty God, bring the kingdom of Christ, your anointed one, to its fullness. May the perfect offering of your Son, eternal priest of the new Jerusalem, be offered in every place to your name and make all nations a holy people for you.
________
Psalm 113B (115)
Praise of the true God
“Turn away from idols and worship the living and true God” (1 Th 1:9).
The Lord will come and will not disappoint us. Wait for him if he seems to delay, for he will surely come, alleluia.
Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name give the glory
for the sake of your love and your truth,
lest the heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’
But our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he wills.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see;
they have ears but they cannot hear;
they have nostrils but they cannot smell.
With their hands they cannot feel;
with their feet they cannot walk.
(No sound comes from their throats.)
Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them.
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
Sons of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
You who fear him, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
He remembers us, and he will bless us;
he will bless the sons of Israel.
(He will bless the sons of Aaron.)
The Lord will bless those who fear him,
the little no less than the great:
to you may the Lord grant increase,
to you and all your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
The heavens belong to the Lord
but the earth he has given to men.
The dead shall not praise the Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence.
But we who live bless the Lord
now and for ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord will come and will not disappoint us. Wait for him if he seems to delay, for he will surely come, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Father, creator and ruler of heaven and earth, you made man in your likeness to subdue the earth and master it, and to recognize the work of your hands in created beauty. Grant that your children, thus surrounded on all sides by signs of your presence, may live continually in Christ, praising you through him and with him.
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Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king: he will come and make us whole.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns,
let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king: he will come and make us whole.
________
Short Reading
Philippians 4:4-5
I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.
________
Short Responsory
Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
And grant us your salvation.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. (Year C)
Or: Blessed are you, Mary, because you had faith: the Lord’s promise to you will be fulfilled, alleluia.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy his name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. (Year C)
Or: Blessed are you, Mary, because you had faith: the Lord’s promise to you will be fulfilled, alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
The voice of John crying in the wilderness is echoed tonight in the voice of the Church:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For your coming to us in grace this Advent:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For the work we must do in creating a more just world:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For the understanding we shall need this week for our families and friends:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
For our death, for our judgement, for eternal life with you:
– Make our hearts ready, O Lord!
________
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.
________
Almighty and merciful God,
let neither our daily work nor the cares of this life
prevent us from hastening to meet your Son.
Enlighten us with your wisdom
and lead us into his company.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.