Category: Choral Evensong

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Choral Evensong

Sunday 14th May 2023 – 15:15

Order of Service

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God has been worshipped in this place through the prayers and praises of countless generations. Worship lies at the heart of our life as Christians and we express our theology and belief through our liturgy. It is through these liturgical patterns of words and actions that we are formed and transformed.

Should you wish to translate this order of service into another language, please choose your language in the bottom right. There is a guest wireless network available within the Cathedral for those without a mobile data connection.

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Choral Evensong at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is a tiny fragment of something else: it is part of the worship which is offered to God by people every hour of the day and night, in every corner of the world. When you come to Evensong here, it is as if you are dropping in on a conversation already in progress – a conversation between God and his people. So do not be surprised or concerned if there are some parts that you do not understand straight away.

Evensong is drawn almost entirely from the Bible. Much of the language spoken and sung in this service is that spoken by worshippers more than four hundred years ago. It may sound old-fashioned, but its meaning is not out of date. We invite you to allow the music and words to speak to you in the beauty and peace of this place.

You are invited to say the text in bold in English.

Please stand as the Minister, at the West End of the Cathedral, sings

Let us pray. 

Please remain standing whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls

Please remain standing to sing the

Hymn

1. The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd’s care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noonday walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.

2. When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary, wandering steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

3. Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile,
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.

4. Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still,
Thy rod and staff shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

Joseph Addison (1672–1719)

Henry Carey (d.1743)

Please stand.

The Minister and Choir sing the

Preces & Responses

O Lord, open thou our lips.

And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

William Smith (1603–45)

Please sit as the Choir sings the 

PSALM 74 vv 1–12

Ut quid, Deus?

O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long: why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture?  O think upon thy congregation: whom thou hast purchased, and redeemed of old.  Think upon the tribe of thine inheritance: and mount Sion, wherein thou hast dwelt.  Lift up thy feet, that thou mayest utterly destroy every enemy: which hath done evil in thy sanctuary.  Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy congregations: and set up their banners for tokens.  He that hewed timber afore out of the thick trees: was known to bring it to an excellent work.  But now they break down all the carved work thereof: with axes and hammers.  They have set fire upon thy holy places: and have defiled the dwelling-place of thy Name, even unto the ground.  Yea, they said in their hearts, Let us make havock of them altogether: thus have they burnt up all the houses of God in the land.  We see not our tokens, there is not one prophet more: no, not one is there among us, that understandeth any more.  O God, how long shall the adversary do this dishonour: how long shall the enemy blaspheme thy Name, for ever?  Why withdrawest thou thy hand: why pluckest thou not thy right hand out of thy bosom to consume the enemy?

Please stand for

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.

Please sit for the

Zechariah 8: 1–13

Please stand as the Choir sings 

Magnificat

Service in C; Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

Please sit for the 

John 21: 1–14

Please stand as the Choir sings 

Nunc Dimittis

Service in C; Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

Please remain standing to say the 

Apostles’ Creed

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 catholic Church; the communion of saints: the forgiveness of sins: the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Minister and Choir sing the 

Suffrages & Responses

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Please kneel or sit, according to your custom

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

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. Amen.

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.

And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, guide and defend our rulers.

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.

Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.

And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

The Minister intones the 

O Lord, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

O God, 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 both 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.

William Smith (1603–45)

Please sit as the Choir sings the

Anthem

Beati quorum via integra est qui ambulant in lege Domini.

(Blessed are they that are undefiled in the way and walk in the law of the Lord.)

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

Sermon

Preacher: The Reverend K. M. Poulton, B.A., Prebendary of Swords

The Minister says 

Let us pray.

Please kneel or remain seated for the 

Prayers

At the end, all say

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.

Please stand to sing

Hymn

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1. Thy hand, O God, has guided
Thy flock, from age to age;
The wondrous tale is written,
Full clear, on every page;
Our fathers owned thy goodness,
And we their deeds record;
And both of this bear witness:
One Church, one Faith, one Lord.

2. Thy heralds brought glad tidings
To greatest, as to least;
They bade men rise, and hasten
To share the great King’s feast;
And this was all their teaching,
In every deed and word,
To all alike proclaiming
One Church, one Faith, one Lord.

3. Through many a day of darkness,
Through many a scene of strife,
The faithful few fought bravely
To guard the nation’s life.
Their gospel of redemption,
Sin pardoned, man restored,
Was all in this enfolded:
One Church, one Faith, one Lord.

4. Thy mercy will not fail us,
Nor leave thy work undone;
With thy right hand to help us,
The victory shall be won;
And then, by men and angels,
Thy name shall be adored,
And this shall be their anthem:
One Church, one Faith, one Lord.

Edward Plumptre (1821–91)

Basil Harwood (1859–1949)

Please remain standing for the

Blessing

Please remain at your seat for the duration of the

Organ Voluntary

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