Order of Service
 AN
ORDER FOR
COMPLINE
Stand
The Lord Almighty
grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.
Brethren, be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist,
steadfast in the
faith. 1 Peter 5: 8, 9.
But thou, O Lord,
have mercy upon us.
Thanks
be to God.
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 Spirit;
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.
PSALM
One or more of the
following, or any other suitable psalm:
Psalm 4 Cum invocarem.
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: „
thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble;
have mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye blaspheme mine
honour, „
and have such pleasure in vanity, and seek after lying?
3 Know this also, that the Lord hath chosen
to himself
the man that is godly: „
when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: „
commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still.
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5
Offer the sacrifice of
righteousness „
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There be many that say: „
Who will show us any good?
7 Lord, lift thou up „
the light of thy countenance
upon us.
8 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, „
more than men have, when corn and wine increase.
9 I will lay me down in peace, and take my
rest: „
for it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Glory be to the Father, „
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, „
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 31: 1-6 In te, Domine, speravi.
1 In thee, O Lord, have I put my trust: „
let me never be put to confusion, deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear to me: „
make haste to deliver me.
3 And be thou my strong rock, and house
of defence, „
that thou mayest save me.
4 For thou art my strong rock, and my castle: „
be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name's sake.
5 Draw me out of the net, that they have laid privily for
me, „
for thou art my strength.
6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit, „
for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
Glory be to the Father, „
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, „
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 91 Qui habitat.
1 Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High
„
shall abide under the shadow of
the Almighty.
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2
I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my hope, and my strong hold: „
my God, in him will I trust.
3 For he shall deliver thee from the snare
of the hunter „
and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall defend thee under his wings,
and thou shalt be safe under his feathers: „
his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by
night, „
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 For the pestilence that walketh in
darkness, „
nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day.
7 A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten
thousand at thy right hand, „
but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold „
and see the reward of the
ungodly.
9 For thou, Lord, art my hope: „
thou hast set thine house of
defence very high.
10 There shall no evil happen unto thee, „
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over
thee „
to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee in their hands „
that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: „
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him: „
I will set him up, because he hath known my Name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will hear him: „
yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him,
and bring him to honour.
16 With long life will I satisfy him „
and show him my salvation.
Glory be to the Father, „
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, „
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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Psalm 134 |
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Ecce nunc.
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1 Behold now, praise the
Lord, „
all ye servants of the Lord;
2 Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord,
„
even in the courts of the
house of our God.
3 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary „
and praise the Lord.
4 The Lord that made heaven and earth „
give thee blessing out of
Sion.
Glory be to the Father, „
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, „
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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READING
One of the following,
or some other appropriate passage of
Scripture:
Thou, O Lord, art
in the midst of us, and we are called
by thy Name;
leave us not, O
Lord our God. Jeremiah 14: 9
or
Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly
in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is
light. Matthew 11: 28-30
or
Now the God of
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great
Shepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you
perfect in every good work to do his will, working in
you that which is
well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom
be glory for ever
and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13: 20,21
An address may follow.
Stand
Into thy hands, O
Lord, I commend my spirit.
For
thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of
truth.
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HYMN
Before the ending
of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That thou with
wonted love wouldst keep
Thy watch around
us while we sleep.
O let no evil
dreams be near,
Or phantoms
of the night appear;
Our ghostly enemy
restrain,
Lest aught of sin our bodies stain.
Almighty Father,
hear our cry
Through Jesus
Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy
Ghost and thee
Doth live and
reign eternally. Amen.
The seasonal variations of
verse 3 from the Church Hymnal may be used at the
appropriate times of
the year.
Keep me as the
apple of an eye.
Hide
me under the shadow of thy wings.
Preserve
us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping,
that
awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
NUNC
DIMITTIS Luke 2: 29-32
1 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, „
according to thy word.
2 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, „
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
3 To be a light to lighten the Gentiles „
and to be the glory of thy
people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, „
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, „
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Preserve
us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping,
that
awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
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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 Spirit,
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 Spirit,
the
holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and
the life everlasting. Amen.
Kneel
Let us pray.
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 tres-
passagainstus.Andleadusnotintotemptation,Butdeliverusfromevil.
Amen.
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Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers,
to
be praised and glorified above all for ever;
Let us bless the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let
us praise him and magnify him for ever.
Blessed art thou,
O Lord, in the firmament of heaven
to
be praised and glorified above all for ever.
The Almighty and
most merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
Amen.
CONFESSION
We
confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
That
we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, Through our own
grievous
fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.
Almighty
God, have mercy upon us, Forgive us all our sins, Deliver us
from
all evil, Confirm and strengthen us in
all goodness, And bring us
to
life everlasting; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The priest, when present, pronounces the absolution.
May the Almighty
and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remis-
sion of all your
sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and com-
fort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wilt thou not turn
again and quicken us
that
thy people may rejoice in thee?
O Lord, shew thy
mercy upon us
and
grant us thy salvation.
Vouchsafe, O Lord,
to keep us this night without sin.
O
Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, hear our
prayer
and
let our cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
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One or more of the following:
defend us from all
perils and dangers of this night; for
the love of thy only
Son, our Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Be present, O
merciful God, and protect us through the silent hours of
this night, so
that we, who are wearied by the changes and chances of this
fleeting world,
may repose upon thy eternal changelessness; through
Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Look down, O Lord,
from thy heavenly throne, illuminate the darkness of
this night with
thy celestial brightness, and from the children of light
banish the deeds
of darkness; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
O Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of the Living God, who at
this evening hour
didst rest in the
sepulchre, and didst thereby sanctify the grave to be a bed
of hope to thy people: Make us so to abound in
sorrow for our sins,
which were the
cause of thy passion, that when our bodies lie in the dust,
our souls may live
with thee: who livest and reignest with the Father and
the Holy Spirit,
one God world without end. Amen.
Visit, we beseech
thee, O Lord, this place (or, our homes), and drive away
all the snares
of the enemy; Let thy holy angels
dwell herein (or, therein)
to preserve
us in peace;
and may thy
blessing be upon
us evermore;
through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
We will lay us
down in peace and take our rest.
For
it is thou, Lord, only, that makest us dwell in safety.
The Lord be with
you
and
with thy spirit.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
The Almighty and
merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, bless and
preserve us this night and for evermore. Amen.
This Office, or the part which follows the Apostles' Creed, is
suitable for use at evening
devotions at home.
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THE COLLECTS
Lighten our
darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy
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