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Your preferred sunset service setting:
The LSB offers two settings of the sunset service.
Vespers closely follows the traditional Vespers of the middles ages, which had prominent usage in the middle ages, and was greatly cherished by 16th and 17th century Lutheran parishes.
Vespers closely follows the traditional Vespers of the middles ages, which had prominent usage in the middle ages, and was greatly cherished by 16th and 17th century Lutheran parishes.
Parishioners gathered the night before the Lord's Day or a Feast, prayed Vespers, and afterwards those who would be communing the next day went to confession.
Vespers in the LSB is very faithful to the old ordo, though it does move the office hymn right before the Psalmody.
Vespers in the LSB is very faithful to the old ordo, though it does move the office hymn right before the Psalmody.
That being said, my personal choice is Evening Prayer. The opening versicles affirm that in Jesus Christ we have a light that no darkness can overcome - it doesn't matter WHAT darkness is threatening to engulf us at the moment.
Then comes the glorious Phos Hilaron, the "hymn of light!" The Phos Hilaron is one of the very oldest--if not THE--hymns in the LSB. St. Basil calls this an "ancient hymn," and he lived in the 350s-400s! Many scholars believe it stretches back to the apostles.
The Psalmody of Evening Prayer begins with a quite haunting melody which accompanies Psalm 141. Of course, I love Evening Prayer becomes it is such an appropriate service to us incense with, "let my prayer rise before You as incense."
Two more psalms follow, Office Hymn, Scripture reading(s), response, Magnificat, and then the Gloria Patri; such beauty!
Evening Prayer closes with the Ektenna, a litany that leads us to pray for many, many things, asking for them from the mercy of God; the collect for peace;
Evening Prayer closes with the Ektenna, a litany that leads us to pray for many, many things, asking for them from the mercy of God; the collect for peace;
and the Lord's prayer. The Benedicamus and Benediction wrap things up.
The Collect for Peace is a secret gem shared by Vespers and Evening Prayer. It asks for such a wonderful thing. Peace, yes, but peace that is "free from the fear of our enemies." Get it?
The Collect for Peace is a secret gem shared by Vespers and Evening Prayer. It asks for such a wonderful thing. Peace, yes, but peace that is "free from the fear of our enemies." Get it?
Not peace by God eliminating our enemies, but by Him eliminating in us the fear of them! In other words, real peace, the peace that passes understanding, that comes not from external things being set in a way that we prefer, but our hearts being set at rest in God.
