The Evensong

It began with the Lord's Prayer. This had been the invariable beginning of every office, but the prayer was said softly by the priest only. Then came the opening versicles and responses, taken almost word for word from the old services. Psalms and lessons formed the bulk of the service, as explained above, but they were arranged on a different plan from the old one.

The second Lord's Prayer and concluding versicles and responses were taken straight from the old services. The first collect was that of the week, the second a Vespers prayer, and the third—"Lighten our darkness"—was the collect of Compline.

Three years later the second edition of the Prayer-Book appeared, and the opportunity was taken to prefix the first part of the service. You have only got to read this carefully, and you will see that the style is different from that of the short collects and responses. It is not a translation from old books, but a free composition in the language of the day. The idea was that after a sentence from the Bible to strike the note of the service, the people should be reminded of the purposes of public worship, and should then confess their sins and receive the assurance of God's forgiveness of sinners.

This part is really a penitential introduction to the actual service. At a later period the various prayers after the third collect were composed and placed in their present position. You will now understand several things which may have puzzled you. It has become a common thing to say the first part of the service in a natural voice, and for the organ not to be heard until "O Lord, open Thou our lips"; and for the last prayers also to be said without any intrusion of music.

This is not a fad, but a careful following out of the purpose of the office as shown in its history. Again, the clergy frequently omit some of the first part of the service, and change the last part, substituting other prayers.

We have seen the reason for this. The central part is the actual office, the first part being an introduction and the last a supplement. There is a demand nowadays for more variety in our services. This is best met by exercising freedom in the opening and closing parts and keeping the middle, which is practically all from the Bible , untouched. We shall then not be departing from that service which, in all essentials, the Church has used from the beginning.

Lord's Prayer, Versicles, Responses. As in old services, but made more varied and much longer. As in old services. We begin on a low note of penitence, because we arc not worthy to approach the Most High God in worship until we have washed our feet, so to speak, and received that cleansing from daily defilement which Christ alone can give. As a further preparation we say Christ's own prayer. Next the organ sounds, and we begin the work for which we have come to church, that of praising God. It is indeed wonderful to think that He in the glory of heaven should want our poor human worship, yet Jesus has assured us that this is so.

For "the Father seeketh such to worship Him in spirit and in truth. We answer that we will—"The Lord's Name be praised. We proceed with the psalms. They are precious and holy to us because they formed our Lord's hymn-book, and can never be superseded. As centuries of Church life have proved, they have a message for every mood and need. Yet they come from the Old Testament, not the New, and so we end each with the Christian Doxology to show that we interpret it in a Christian sense.

An Old Testament lesson follows. Note that we are still in the Old Testament. Sometimes we cannot get much help from the lesson and wonder why it is read. Well, the Old Testament shows how God prepared the way for Christ. He never left Himself without witness, but compared with us, who have Christ the Light of the world, the Hebrews of old were walking in twilight. The wonder is not that they failed so often, but that on the whole they succeeded so well.

Each Evensong brings before us God's plan of salvation. We begin with the Old Testament, which looks forward to Christ.

Next comes the Magnificat , which links the two Testaments. It is the splendid song of the Blessed Virgin Mary before Jesus was born, and has been adopted by the Church as the great hymn of the Incarnation, in which God on high stooped so low. Let us always remember this in singing the Magnificat —that we are celebrating God's coming to earth. After this the second lesson is read, from which we learn about Christ's life on earth, or else how His Spirit worked in the first disciples.

With our minds fixed on Christ and all He means to us, we join the aged Simeon in his hymn of praise: We now pause and see how far we have got. After the penitential introduction we began with the Old Testament, went on to watch our Lord's coming, gave thanks for it, learned much—if we have been attentive—of God's ways with men. Now we stand and say the Creed together. This is the Church's summary of the truths we have been learning about. It is the custom to face the same way as we recite the Creed.

This is our belief, for which we will live and, if need be, die. The service draws to an end with the versicles, responses, and prayers. Before we start on this part there is a valuable incident which we are apt to miss. The priest turns and says, "The Lord be with you," and we answer, "And with thy spirit. Priest and people each need the other's goodwill and prayers.

The collect for the week is also found in the Communion Service. It brings the office into relation with the greatest service of all, and recalls our Sunday morning Communion. Can we improve on this service?

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A little, perhaps, but very little. One or two details, especially in connection with the opening and closing prayers, or with the choice of psalms and lessons, might be arranged rather better, but in the main the service is well-nigh perfect. It is solid food for grown men, and one of the greatest gifts which our part of the Church Catholic has to offer its sons. The only respects in which it differs from Evensong are these: The Venite and Te Deum were taken from the long night office beginning at midnight.

The Benedicite came from the daybreak office, Lauds, in which it was ordered for Sunday; the Benedictus was also from Lauds.

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Of the two collects, that for peace was said at Lauds, and that for grace at Prime, the service which followed it immediately. The Benedicite , or Song of the Three Children, comes from a. The First English Prayer-Book ordered its use in Lent, and although this direction is no longer given, the custom remains.

Evensong times

It could even be said that any discussion of modernity's mainstream in music would be incomplete without a serious reflection on the spiritual values, belief, and practice at work in composers' minds. He went on to criticise the ignorance and arrogance of a purely secular approach to music. But he was also clear that the religious instinct and purpose in composing and performing great music is alive and well. I believe it is God's divine spark which kindles the musical imagination now, as it has always done, and reminds us, in an increasingly dehumanised world, of what it means to be human.

The Choristers who are leaving, as those who are staying, and our adult musicians, are animated by that divine spark. We pray for them that it will always be so. Ned, Luca, Xavier, Orlando and George, your contribution to the worship here at the Abbey has helped innumerable people gain a glimpse of heaven and share in the worship of heaven.

Evening Prayer (Anglican) - Wikipedia

You finish your service as a Chorister with our thanks and our blessing. You will remain part of the Abbey and the Abbey will always be part of you. Life is full of moments like this, partings and changes, moments of transition. Anglicanism Church of England Also called: Evening Prayer or vespers the daily evening service of Bible readings and prayers prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. Ecclesiastical Terms archaic another name for vespers.

Secret Garden Evensong

Switch to new thesaurus. Anglican Church , Anglican Communion , Church of England - the national church of England and all other churches in other countries that share its beliefs ; has its see in Canterbury and the sovereign as its temporal head. References in classic literature? Having ordered my dinner and found my room, I threw down my knapsack and then came out again to smoke an ante-prandial pipe, listen to the evensong of the stream, and think great thoughts. Carey remained in on Sunday evening in order to allow Mary Ann to go to church, but she would welcome the opportunity of attending evensong.