When I lie awake trying not to think how many hours of sleep I may be missing, I often wish that our Episcopal Book of Common Prayer had a few pages set aside for the hours before sunrise. Now I've composed such a liturgy for myself. I hope that the texts are calming in their reassurance and soporific in their familiarity, and I hope that I don't have to try it out anytime soon.
[Photo: BCP, a copy of this liturgy, and Brandy.]
Prayer During a Restless Night
“Yours is the day, yours also the night.” Psalm 74.15
or this: "I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind." Psalm 77
or this: “My eyes are open in the night watches, that I may meditate on your promise.” Psalm 119.148
Confession of Sin Book of Common Prayer p. 79
Most merciful God, We confess that we have sinned against you
In thought, word, and deed,
By what we have done,
And by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
Have mercy on us and forgive us,
That we may delight in your will,
And walk in your ways,
To the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
Invitatory and Psalter
In returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength. Isaiah 30.15
Psalm 16.7-11
7 I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;* my heart teaches me, night after night.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;* because he set my right hand I shall not fall.
9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;* my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave,* nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me that path of life;* in your presence there is fullness and joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.* As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, amen.
The Lessons.
A reading from 1 Samuel 3.8-10.
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” and Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hears.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Hymn 24, to be sung or said
The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended, the darkness falls at thy behest;
to thee our morning hymns ascended, thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping while earth rolls onward into light,
through all the world her watch is keeping and rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island the dawn leads on another day,
the voice of prayer is never silent, nor dies the strain of praise away.
So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never, like earth’s proud empires, pass away;
thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever, till all thy creatures own thy sway.
(words: John Ellerton)
A reading from Matthew 6.26-27, 33-34
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to your span of life?
But seek ye first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. Therefore be not anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for that day.
The Apostles’ Creed. Book of Common Prayer, p.96
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living 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.
The Prayers. Include one or more of the following prayers.
from Compline, Book of Common Prayer p. 134.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
For the Aged, Book of Common Prayer p. 830.
Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and, as their strength diminishes, increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For restfulness.
Eternal Father, at sunrise you blessed Jacob who had wrestled through the night: calm our restless minds when the Enemy turns up old regrets and disappointments, or lures us into dark speculations about our futures, that we may return our minds to you and rest with quiet confidence in your love. Amen.
Silence my be kept, and free intercessions and thanksgivings may be offered.
The Lord’s Prayer. Book of Common Prayer, p. 97.
General Thanksgiving Book of Common Prayer, p. 836.
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
Antiphon from Compline, Book of Common Prayer p. 134.
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
The Song of Simeon. Book of Common Prayer, p.
93.
Lord, you now have set your servant free* to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,* whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,* and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.* As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Repeat the Antiphon
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment