The livestream may be found here.
EVENING PRAYER Vespers
on the eve of the commemoration of William Tyndale, Priest, Trtanslator, and Martyr, 1536
(Lutheran Book of Worship, page 142)
William Tyndale, the translator, humanist, and martyr, was born in Monmouthshire on the border of Wales ca. 1491. He was educated at Oxford, from which he received his M.A. in 1515, and he was ordained in the same year. He then went to Cambridge, the best Greek school in England, and came under the influence of the New Learning and revolutionary methods of the study of Scrip ture. He remained there until 1521. He was for a time a tutor in Gloucestershire and there decided to translate the Bible into English to help revive the Church, which he had found in a state of serous decline. He is reported to have said to a clerical opponent of his plan, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause the boy that driveth the plough shall know more of Scripture than thou doest." Tyn dale approached the Bishop of London, Cuthbert Tunstall, a distinguished scholar, with his plan but was refused patronage. For a time Tyndale was the preacher at St. Dunstan's-in-the-West, but in May 1524 he moved to Germany and never re turned to his native country again. He visited Luther in Wittenberg in 1525.
By 1525 he had completed his translation of the New Testament, from the Greek of Erasmus. The printing of the book began in Cologne, but Tyndale and his secretary William Roy were forced to flee after their discovery by John Co chlaus, a heretic-hunter, and the printing was completed in Worms. The book was widely distributed in England, "sought by the people to read and by the bishops to burn" according to one commentator. Of the eighteen thousand copies printed, only two remain. In 1534 Tyndale brought out a revised edition. He also worked on the translation of the Old Testament and published the Pentateuch and Jonah (1530-1536).
In his translation, Tyndale was able to strike a balance between scholarship, simplicity, and grace. The result was the creation of a masterpiece of vigorous English and a style of Scripture that was to serve as the model for all future Eng lish versions for nearly four hundred years.
Tyndale was forced to live abroad in poverty and danger. In May 1535, he was arrested, tried, and condemned for heresy. He was imprisoned in the castle of Vilvorde, the state prison of the Low Countries, and there on October 6, 1536, he was strangled at the stake and his body burned.
Ironically, while Tyndale was awaiting execution, the situation in England had changed. His most vigorous opponent, Thomas More, himself became a martyr in 1535. In the same year, Miles Coverdale published the first complete English Bible, made up of Tyndale's New Testament and Pentateuch, with the ad dition of Coverdale's own translation of the remainder of the Old Testament and
Apocrypha. Although this Bible was printed on the European continent, it was allowed to circulate freely in England. The "Matthew Bible," another edition of the Tyndale-Coverdale translation, was published with the king's special license in 1537, and in 1540 the second edition of the Great Bible (1539) declared on the title page that it was "appointed to the use of churches" and contained a long pref ace by Archbishop Cranmer encouraging Bible reading by clergy and laity.
Tyndale was included on the calendar in the 1979 Prayer Book, the Luther an Book of Worship, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and the Methodist For All the Saints.
FOR FURTHER READING
Les Bible Philadelphia:
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
the light no darkness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
and the day is almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness,
and illumine your church.
Joyous light of glory:
of the immortal Father;
heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
We have come to the setting of the sun,
and we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit:
You are worthy of being praised
with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life:
The universe proclaims your glory.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ; may his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation; and we, your creatures, glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
The psalmody begins with this prayer for forgiveness and protection:
Let my prayer rise before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord,
and guard the door of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing;
let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers.
But my eyes are turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge. Strip me not of my life.
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.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Ps. 141:1-7
Silence for meditation.
Let the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify you forever and ever.
Amen
Psalm 15
1 Lord,
who may dwell in your | tabernacle?*
Who may abide upon your | holy hill?
2 Whoever
leads a blameless life and does | what is right,*
who speaks the truth | from his heart,
3 there is no
guile upon his tongue; he does no evil | to his friend;*
he does not heap contempt up- | on his neighbor.
4 In his
sight the wicked | is rejected,*
but he
honors those who | fear the Lord.
5 He has
sworn to | do no wrong*
and does not take | back his word.
6 He does not
give his money in | hope of gain,*
nor does he take a bribe a- | gainst the innocent.
7 Whoever |
does these things*
shall never be | overthrown.
Lord Jesus, you first
chose to live among us, and in returning to your Father you made an eternal
home for us. Help us walk blamelessly in your ways and bring us at last to your
holy mountain, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Hymn LBW 234
Almighty
God, Your Word Is Cast
1 Almighty God, your word is cast
like seed into the ground;
now let the dew of heav’n descend
and righteous fruits abound.
2 Let not the sly satanic foe
this holy seed remove,
but give it root in ev’ry heart
to bring forth fruits of love.
3 Let not the world’s deceitful cares
the rising plant destroy,
but let it yield a hundredfold
the fruits of peace and joy.
4 So when the precious seed is sown,
your quick’ning grace bestow,
that all whose souls the truth receive
its saving pow’r may know.
Text:
John Cawood, 1775-1852, alt.
READINGS
After each scriptural reading:
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silence for reflection.
Response
In many and various ways
God spoke to his people of old by the prophets.
But now in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.
The GOSPEL CANTICLE is sung.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm;
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
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
L Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal,
C have mercy and hear us.
C 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.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen
C 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 into hell.
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
L Show us your mercy, O Lord,
C and grant us your salvation.
L Clothe your ministers with righteousness.
C Let your people sing with joy.
L Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
C for only in you can we live in safety.
L Lord, keep this nation under your care,
C and guide us in the way of justice and truth.
L Let your way be known upon earth;
C your saving health among all nations.
L Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten,
C nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
L Create in us clean hearts, O God,
C and sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
L The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
L Let us pray. . . .
C Amen
6. The final prayer is that appropriate to the time of day:
EVENING
L We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have this day so graciously protected us. We beg you to forgive us all our sins and the wrong which we have done. By your great mercy defend us from all the perils and dangers of this night. Into your hands we commend our bodies and souls, and all that is ours. Let your holy angels have charge of us, that the wicked one have no power over us.
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
L The Lord bless us, defend us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
C Amen
