Wednesday, September 19
The Vespers Office To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 5 and 8 p.m.


The Call to Prayer
Taste and see that the LORD is good;* happy are they who trust in him!
Psalm 34:8

The Request for Presence
Turn to me and have pity on me . . .* The sorrows of my heart have increased . . .* Look upon my adversity and misery* and forgive me all my sin.
Psalm 25:15–17


The Greeting

It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD,* and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High; To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning* and of your faithfulness in the night season . . .
Psalm 92:1–2

The Hymn

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in Prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer! Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge— Take it to the Lord in prayer! Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he’ll take and shield you, You will find your solace there.
Joseph Scriven

The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons

When I was in trouble, I called to the LORD;* I called to the LORD, and he answered me.
Psalm 120:1

The Vespers Psalm

Our Help Is in the Name of the LORD

If the LORD had not been on our side,* let Israel now say; If the LORD had not been on our side,* when enemies rose up against us; Then would they have swallowed us up alive* in their fierce anger toward us; Then would the waters have overwhelmed us* and the torrent gone over us; Then would the raging waters* have gone right over us. Blessed be the LORD!* he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler;* the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the Name of the LORD,* the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 124

The Refrain

When I was in trouble, I called to the LORD;* I called to the LORD, and he answered me.

The Cry of the Church

Be, Lord, my helper and forsake me not. Do not despise me, O God, my savior.
THE SHORT BREVIARY

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and 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 yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule my heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.†

The Concluding Prayers of the Church

Almighty God, who has promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in your Son’s Name: I beseech you mercifully to incline your ear to me who have made my prayers and supplications to you; and grant that those things which I have faithfully asked according to your will, I may effectually obtain, to the relief of my necessity, and to the setting forth of your glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.† May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in eternal peace. Amen.