Choral Evensong for Ascensiontide Sunday, 16 May 2021
Led by Revd Tim Norwood
Music before the Service: Andante in C for flute
W.A. Mozart (1778) K 315/285e
performed by Abigail Burrows (flute) Adrian Boynton (piano)
Introit
God is gone up with a merry noise
and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
O sing praises unto our God.
O sing praises unto our King.
For God is the King of all earth;
O sing ye praises with understanding.
Amen
William Croft (1678–1727)
adapted from Psalm 47 :5–7
Welcome
Revd Tim Norwood
Hymn: Hail the day that sees him rise
Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia,
to his throne above the skies; Alleluia,
Christ the Lamb, for sinners given, Alleluia,
enters now the highest heaven! Alleluia!
There for him high triumph waits;
lift your heads, eternal gates.
He hath conquered death and sin;
take the King of Glory in.
Lo, the heaven its Lord receives,
yet he loves the earth he leaves;
though returning to his throne,
still he calls mankind his own.
See, he lifts his hands above;
see, he shews the prints of love;
hark, his gracious lips bestow
blessings on his Church below.
Still for us he intercedes,
his prevailing death he pleads;
near himself prepares our place,
he the first-fruits of our race.
Lord, though parted from our sight,
far above the starry height,
grant our hearts may thither rise,
seeking thee above the skies.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
sung to the tune Llanfair by Robert Williams (1782–1818)
Introduction, Confession and Absolution
Revd Tim Norwood
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen
Responses
O Lord, open thou our lips
and our mouth shall shew 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.
Composed by William Smith in the 17th century
Psalm 93
The Lord is king, and hath put on glorious apparel
the Lord hath put on his glory
and girded himself with strength.
He has made the round world so sure
that it cannot be moved.
Ever since the world began, hath thy seat been prepared
thou art from everlasting.
The floods are risen, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice
the floods lift up their pounding waves.
The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly
but yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure;
holiness becometh thine house for ever.
Psalm 150
O praise God in his holiness;
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him in his noble acts;
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him in the sound of the trumpet;
praise him upon the lute and harp.
Praise him in the cymbals and dances;
praise him upon the strings and pipe.
Praise him upon the well-tuned cymbals;
praise him upon the loud cymbals.
Let everything that hath breath
praise the Lord.
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
Daniel 7: 9–14
Read by Revd Dr Margaret Goodall
9 ‘As I looked,
‘thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 ‘Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
NIV®
Magnificat
My soul doth magnify the Lord
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded
the lowliness of His handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things
and the rich He hath sent empty away.
He remembering His mercy hath holpen His servant Israel
as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
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
King’s College Service composed by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange in 2019
Acts 1, 1–11
Read by Adrian Boynton
Jesus Taken up into Heaven
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
6 Then they gathered round him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’
7 He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’
NIV®
Nunc Dimittis
Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace
according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen
thy salvation;
Which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people.
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
King’s College Service composed by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange in 2019
The 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 lie everlasting.
Amen
Responses
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Lord have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that 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, save the Queen.
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 the Holy Spirit from us.
Composed by William Smith in the 17th century,
incorporating The Lord’s Prayer composed by Robert Stone in 1550
Anthem: Ascendit Deus in jubilatione
Ascendit Deus in jubilatione
et Dominus in voce tubae, alleluia!
Dominus in coelo paravit sedem suam, alleluia!
God is gone up with a merry noise
and the Lord with the sound of the trump, alleluia!
The Lord has prepared his seat in heaven, alleluia!
Choral motet composed by Peter Philips (1612)
based on Psalms 46:6 & 102:19
Prayers
Led by Revd Tim Norwood
Hymn: Rejoice! the Lord is King
Rejoice, the Lord is King,
your Lord and King adore;
Rejoice, give thanks and sing,
and triumph evermore:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
Jesus the Saviour reigns,
the God of truth and love.
When he had purged our stains
he took his seat above:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
His kingdom cannot fail;
he rules over earth and heaven;
The keys of death and hell
are to our Jesus given:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
He sits at God’s right hand
till all his foes submit,
and bow to his command,
and fall beneath his feet:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
Rejoice in glorious hope;
Jesus the judge shall come,
and take his servants up
to their eternal home:
We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice;
the trump of God shall sound: rejoice!
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
sung to the tune Gopsal by G.F. Handel (1685–1759)
Address
By Revd Tim Norwood
Hymn: Crown him with many crowns
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne;
hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.
Crown him the Virgin’s Son,
the God incarnate born,
whose arm those crimson trophies won
which now his brow adorn:
Fruit of the mystic Rose,
as of that Rose the Stem;
the Root whence mercy ever flows,
the Babe of Bethlehem.
Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above
in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye
at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a sceptre sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise:
his reign shall know no end,
and round his piercèd feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.
Crown him the Lord of years,
the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime:
all hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me
Thy praise shall never, never fail
throughout eternity.
Matthew Bridges (1800–1894)
sung to the tune Diademata by George Job Elvey (1816–1893)
The Blessing
Revd Tim Norwood
Postlude: Chanson and Finale from ‘Suite Antique’
John Rutter (1979)
performed by Abigail Burrows (flute) Adrian Boynton (piano)