Friday, July 26
The Vespers Office To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 5 and 8 p.m.


The Call to Prayer
Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God and worship him upon his holy hill;* for the LORD our God is the Holy One.
Psalm 99:9

The Request for Presence
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,* and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Psalm 43:3


The Greeting

The LORD lives! Blessed is my Rock!* Exalted is the God of my salvation!
Psalm 18:46

The Hymn

Come, Thou Almighty King

Come, Thou Almighty King, Help us Thy name to sing, Help us to praise: Father all-glorious, O'er all victorious, Come, and reign over us, Ancient of days! Come, Thou incarnate Word, Gird on Thy mighty sword, Our prayer attend, Come and Thy people bless, And give Thy Word success: Spirit of holiness, On us descend! Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear, In this glad hour; Thou who almighty art, Now rule in every heart, And never from us depart, Spirit of power! To the great One in Thee, The highest praises be Hence, evermore! His sovereign majesty May we in glory see, And to eternity Love and adore!
Charles Wesley

The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him,* on those who wait upon his love, To pluck their lives from death,* and to feed them in the time of famine.
Psalm 33:18–19

The Vespers Psalm

Offer to God a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

Hear, O my people, and I will speak: “O Israel, I will bear witness against you;* for I am God, your God. I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices;* your offerings are always before me. I will take no bull-calf from your stalls,* nor he-goats out of your pens; For all the beasts of the forest are mine,* the herds in their thousands upon the hills. I know every bird in the sky,* and the creatures of the fields are in my sight. If I were hungry, I would not tell you,* for the whole world is mine and all that is in it. Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,* or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving* and make good your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble;* I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.”
Psalm 50:7–15

The Refrain

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him,* on those who wait upon his love, To pluck their lives from death,* and to feed them in the time of famine.

The Gloria

Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia.* Amen.

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

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know my necessities before I ask and my ignorance in asking: Have compassion on my weakness, and mercifully give me those things which for my unworthiness I dare not, and for my blindness I cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.†

The Concluding Prayer of the Church

Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that I, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of public worship, and grant as well that my Sabbath upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.†