Matins is an early morning worship service, and is the first of the canonical hours. The name comes from the Latin matutinus “pertaining to the morning.” It is one of the canonical hours, which developed as dedicated times, or hours, for prayer and devotion. Matins, sometimes spelled “mattins,” was the longest of the services of the breviary. It consisted chiefly of three sets of psalms and lessons. It was a vigil service, begun several hours before dawn. In the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia, matins was typically at 2 a.m. Thomas Cranmer combined portions of matins, lauds, and prime to form his English Mattins in the 1549 BCP. This service became Morning Prayer.
On this site associated with Saint Patrick, God has been worshipped through the prayers and praises of countless generations. We welcome you here today to share in this worship. Much of today’s service is sung by the Choir, allowing you space to reflect and freedom to participate in a silent, but equally direct, way.
You are invited to say the text in bold in English.
Order of Service
Please stand as the Minister sings
Let us pray.
Please remain standing whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls
Please remain standing to sing
Hymn
1. Lord Jesus, think on me,
And purge away my sin;
From earth-born passions set me free,
And make me pure within.
2. Lord Jesus, think on me,
With many a care opprest;
Let me thy loving servant be,
And taste thy promised rest.
3. Lord Jesus, think on me,
Amid the battle’s strife;
In all my pain and misery
Be thou my health and life.
4. Lord Jesus, think on me,
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point thou the heavenly way.
5. Lord Jesus, think on me,
When flows the tempest high:
When on doth rush the enemy
O Saviour, be thou nigh.
6. Lord Jesus, think on me,
That, when the flood is past,
I may the eternal brightness see,
And share thy joy at last.
Synesius of Cyrene (375–430)
John Stainer (1840–1901)
The Minister welcomes the People and introduces the GENERAL CONFESSION:
Let us kneel, humbly to confess our sins unto almighty God:
Please kneel or sit, according to your custom
Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The ABSOLUTION is pronounced by the Priest, to which the People respond Amen.
The Minister and Choir sing the
Preces and 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.
Thomas Tallis (d.1585)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 63 vv 1–5
Deus, Deus meus.
O God, thou art my God: early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee: in a barren and dry land where no water is. Thus have I looked for thee in the sanctuary: that I might behold thy power and glory. For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself: my lips shall praise thee. As long as I live will I magnify thee on this manner: and lift up my hands in thy Name.
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
First Lesson
Exodus 17: 1–7
Please stand as the Choir sings
The Lamentations of Jeremiah
How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people, how is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night and her tears are on her cheeks; among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her. The ways of Sion do mourn because none come to the solemn assembly: all her gates are desolate and she herself is in bitterness. The Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. All they that go by clap their hands at her. They hiss, and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying: Is this the city that men called the perfection of beauty: the joy of the whole earth? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.
For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water. From on high hath the Lord sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old, he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead. I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him: let him be filled full with reproach. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.
Thomas Tallis (d.1585)
Please sit for the
Second Lesson
John 4: 5–42
Please stand as the Choir sings
Benedictus
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the world began; That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant; To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us, That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people, for the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. 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.
Plainsong
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 AND 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
Collect of the Day
We beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect for Peace
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Thomas Tallis (d.1585)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
ANTHEM
Salvator mundi, salva nos, qui per crucem et sanguinem redemisti nos: auxiliare nobis, te deprecamur, Deus noster.
(O Saviour of the world, save us, who by your cross and blood have redeemed us; and help us, we beseech you, our God.)
Thomas Tallis (d.1585)
Please sit for the
Sermon
Preacher: The Reverend P. A. Harvey, M.A., Prebendary of Stagonil
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
During this hymn a collection of money is made. If you would like to donate securely online, tap the button below.
1. O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fulness over me!
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of thy love:
Leading onward, leading homeward,
To my glorious rest above.
2. O the deep, deep love of Jesus;
Spread his praise from shore to shore;
How he loveth, ever loveth,
Changeth never, nevermore;
How he watches o’er his loved ones,
Died to call them all his own;
How for them he intercedeth,
Watcheth o’er them from the throne.
3. O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Love of every love the best;
’Tis an ocean vast of blessing,
’Tis a haven sweet of rest:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus;
’Tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to thee.
Samuel Francis (1834–1925)
Thomas Williams (1869–1944)
Please remain standing for
The Blessing
Please remain standing as the Choir and Clergy depart.
The Minister and Choir sing
The Dismissal
The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Please remain at your seat for the duration of the