Tenebrae for Holy Saturday

Tenebrae is the ancient office of Matins and Lauds as it was celebrated on the last three days of Holy Week, typically in the evening before the day itself. Thus this office for Holy Saturday was typically read on the evening of the Friday before (Good Friday).

Outline of the Service

Matins, Nocturn I
Matins, Nocturn II
Matins, Nocturn III
Lauds

In the First Nocturn

Psalm 4

Antiphon. In pace in ipsidum, dormiam et requiscam. (I will lay me down in peace and take my rest.)

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.
O ye sons of men, how long will ye blaspheme mine honour : and have such pleasure in vanity, and seek after leasing?
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.
Stand in awe, and sin not : commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still.
Offer the sacrifice of righteousness : and put your trust in the Lord.
There be many that say : Who will shew us any good?
Lord, lift thou up : the light of thy countenance upon us.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart : since the time that their corn and wine and oil increased.
I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest : for it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 15

Antiphon. Habitabit in taberaculo tuo: requiescet in monte sancto tuo. (Who shall dwell in thy tabernacle: or rest upon thy holy hill?)

Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle : or who shall rest upon thy holy hill?
Even he that leadeth an uncorrupt life : and doeth the thing which is right, and speaketh the truth from his heart.
He that hath used no deceit in his tongue, nor done evil to his neighbour : and hath not slandered his neighbour.
He that setteth not by himself, but is lowly in his own eyes : and maketh much of them that fear the Lord.
He that sweareth unto his neighbour, and disappointeth him not : though it were to his own hindrance.
He that hath not given his money upon usury : nor taken reward against the innocent.
Whoso doeth these things : shall never fall.

Psalm 16

Antiphon. Caro mea requiescat in spe. (My flesh shall rest in hope.)

Preserve me, O God : for in thee have I put my trust.
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord : Thou art my God, my goods are nothing unto thee.
All my delight is upon the saints, that are in the earth : and upon such as excel in virtue.
But they that run after another god : shall have great trouble.
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer : neither make mention of their names within my lips.
The Lord himself is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup : thou shalt maintain my lot.
The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground : yea, I have a goodly heritage.
I will thank the Lord for giving me warning : my reins also chasten me in the night-season.
I have set God always before me : for he is on my right hand, therefore I shall not fall.
Wherefore my heart was glad, and my glory rejoiced : my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For why? thou shalt not leave my soul in hell : neither shalt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
Thou shalt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is the fulness of joy : and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore.

Lesson I: Lamentations 2:13b–15a

Minister. I will lay me down in peace;
All. And take my rest.

The Lord’s Prayer is said in silence.

From the Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet.

Aleph. What thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?

Beth. Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee, and they have not discovered thy iniquity, to turn away thy captivity.

Gimel. But have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. All that pass by clap their hands at thee: they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem.

All. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.

Responsory I

Sepulto Domino, signatum est monumentum, volventes lapidem ad ostium monumenti: † Ponentes milites, qui custodirent illum. ℣. Ne forte veniant discipuli ejus furentur eum: et dicant plebi surrexit a mortuis. †Ponentes.

(When Jesus was buried, the sepulchre was sealed; and rolling a great stone before the door of the sepulchre, † they set a band of soldiers to keep watch over him. ℣. Lest his disciples should come and steal him away, and should say unto the people, He is risen from the dead. † They set.)

Lesson II: Lamentations 2:17–18

Daleth. The Lord hath done that which he had devised: he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thy enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thy adversaries.

He. Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest, let not the apple of thy eye cease.

All. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.

Responsory II

Recessit pastor noster, fons aquae vivae, ad cujus transitum sol obscuratus est: nam et elli captus est, qui captivum tenebat primum hominem; † hodie portas mortis et seras pariter Salvator noster disrupit. ℣. Ante cujus conspectum mors fugit, ad cujus vocem mortui resurgunt: videntes autem eum portae mortis confractae sunt. † Hodie.

(Our shepherd hath withdrawn himself, the fountain of living water, at whose departure the sun was darkened; for he also is led captive, who had taken captive our first parent: † Today hath our Saviour broken the gates of death, and burst the bars thereof asunder. ℣. Before whose presence death fleeth, at whose voice the dead arise, and seeing him, the gates of death are rent in twain. †Today hath.)

Lesson III: Lamentations 2:21–22, 3:4–6

Zayin. The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: thou hast slain them in the day of thy anger: thou hast killed, and not pitied.

Yodh. Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the Lord’s anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath my enemy consumed.’

Lamedh. He hath built against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

All. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.

Responsory III

Agnus Dei Christus immolatus est pro salutae mundi: nam de parentis protoplasti fraudae facta condolens quando pomi noxialus morte morsu corruit; ipse lignum tunc notavit, † damna ligni ut solveret. ℣. Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem: mortem autem crucis..

(Christ the Lamb of God is offered for the world’s redemption: for God, his Maker, sorely griving that the first-made Adam fell, when he ate the fruit of sorrow, whose reward was death and hell, noted then this wood, † the ruin of the ancient wood to quell. ℣. Christ became obedient for us unto death: even the death of the cross. †The ruin. Christ the Lamb.)

In the Second Nocturn

Psalm 24

Antiphon. Elevamini portae aeternales: et introibit rex gloriae. (Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors: and the King of glory shall come in.)

The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is : the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas : and prepared it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord : or who shall rise up in his holy place?
Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart : and that hath not lift up his mind unto vanity, nor sworn to deceive his neighbour.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord : and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him : even of them that seek thy face, O Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors : and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is the King of glory : it is the Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors : and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is the King of glory : even the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

Psalm 27

Antiphon. Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium. (I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear : the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh : they stumbled and fell.
Though an host of men were laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid : and though there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will require : even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his tabernacle : yea, in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me, and set me up upon a rock of stone.
And now shall he lift up mine head : above mine enemies round about me.
Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladness : I will sing, and speak praises unto the Lord.
Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee : have mercy upon me, and hear me.
My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face : Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
O hide not thou thy face from me : nor cast thy servant away in displeasure.
Thou hast been my succour : leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me : the Lord taketh me up.
Teach me thy way, O Lord : and lead me in the right way, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over into the will of mine adversaries : for there are false witnesses risen up against me, and such as speak wrong.
I should utterly have fainted : but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
O tarry thou the Lord's leisure : be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart ; and put thou thy trust in the Lord.

Psalm 30

Antiphon. Domine abtraxisti ab inferis animam meam. (Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell.)

I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up : and not made my foes to triumph over me.
O Lord my God, I cried unto thee : and thou hast healed me.
Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell : thou hast kept my life from them that go down to the pit.
Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his : and give thanks unto him for a remembrance of his holiness.
For his wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye, and in his pleasure is life : heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be removed : thou, Lord, of thy goodness hast made my hill so strong.
Thou didst turn thy face from me : and I was troubled.
Then cried I unto thee, O Lord : and gat me to my Lord right humbly.
What profit is there in my blood : when I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust give thanks unto thee : or shall it declare thy truth?
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me : Lord, be thou my helper.
Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy : thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.
Therefore shall every good man sing of thy praise without ceasing : O my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Lesson IV: St Augustine

Minister. But thou, O Lord,
All. Have mercy upon me.

The Lord’s Prayer is said in silence.

Here beginneth the Easter Vigil sermon of Bishop Augustine.

This most holy and solemn season, dearly beloved, doth admonish us that we are exhorted to watch and pray. For in the darkness of this world our faith is continually striving against the darkness of our hearts, that the eyes of our mind be not overcome by slumber. And, that we fall not into this mischance, let us pray, and cry to our God in the words of the Prophet: ‘Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep not in death: lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him.’

Responsory IV

Sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est, et dum male tractaretur, non aperuit os suum; traditus est ad mortem, † ut vivificaret populum suum. ℣. Ipse autem vulneratus es propter iniquitates nostras: attritus est proper scelera nostra.

(He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and while he was evil entreated, he opened not his mouth; he was delivered unto death, † that he might give life unto his people. ℣. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. † That.)

Lesson V: St Augustine (continued)

This is that enemy which stirred up the chief priests, (using them as his tools and instruments), against our Lord Jesus Christ; yet he prevailed not against him. Yea, though his enemies after the flesh seemed themselves to have prevailed, yet in them his ghostly enemy was vanquished. For by the offering of a sinless body the unclean spirit was overcome; and by the same device whereby he drave men to do openly that which he would, and by the same he suffered secretly that which he would not. For in slaying Christ, he shed that blood whereby those whom he had slain should be raised to life; yet neither him doth he hold in the bonds of death. And indeed it grieveth him sore to see them raised to life whom he had thought to number with him who was dead.

Responsory V

Ecce quomodo moritur justus et nemo percepit cordae; et viri justi tolluntur et nemo considerat; a facie iniquitatis ablatus est justus, † et erit in pace memoria ejus. ℣. In pace factus est locus ejus: et in Sion habitatio ejus.

(Behold how the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and upright men are taken, and no man considereth; the righteous is taken from the presence of evil, † and he shall enter into peace. ℣. At Salem is his tabernacle: and his dwelling is in Sion. †And he shall.)

Lesson VI: St Augustine (continued)

Therefore, brethren, we celebrate, here on earth, the death of him in whose life we hope to have our portion when this mortal life is ended. Let us therefore humble ourselves as we call to remembrance the humiliation of the Lord; humbly let us watch, humbly let us pray, with stedfastness of faith, in full assurance of hope, and with fervent charity; considering in how great a light our charity shall appear if by our huumility we turn our spiritual darkness into the clear light of noonday. May God, therefore, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, so shine in our hearts, that the same thing may be wrought in us which, in a figure, hath been done in the lighting of lamps in this house of prayer. Adorn we then the tabernacle of God, that is our conscience, with the lights of righteousness; yet not we, but the grace of God that is with us.

Responsory VI

Jerusalem, luge et exuete vestibus jocunditatis; induere cinere et cilicio, † quia in te occisus salvator Israel. ℣. Deduc quasi torrentem lacrimas per diem at noctem: et non taceat pupilla oculi tui.

(Jerusalem, weep and wail, and lay aside thy garments of joy and gladness; gird thee with sackcloth, and lie in ashes; † for the Saviour of Israel hath been slain in thee. ℣. Let tears run down like a river, day and night: let not the apple of thine eye cease. † For the Saviour. Jerusalem, weep and wail.)

In the Third Nocturn

Psalm 54

Antiphon. Deus adjuvat me: Dominus susceptor est anime meae. (God is my helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.)

Save me, O God, for thy Name's sake : and avenge me in thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God : and hearken unto the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me : and tyrants, which have not God before their eyes, seek after my soul.
Behold, God is my helper : the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies : destroy thou them in thy truth.
An offering of a free heart will I give thee, and praise thy Name, O Lord : because it is so comfortable.
For he hath delivered me out of all my trouble : and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

Psalm 76

Antiphon. In pace factus est locus ejus, et in Sion habitatio ejus. (At Salem is his tabernacle, and his dwelling in Sion.)

In Jewry is God known : his Name is great in Israel.
At Salem is his tabernacle : and his dwelling in Sion.
There brake he the arrows of the bow : the shield, the sword, and the battle.
Thou art of more honour and might : than the hills of the robbers.
The proud are robbed, they have slept their sleep : and all the men whose hands were mighty have found nothing.
At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob : both the chariot and horse are fallen.
Thou, even thou art to be feared : and who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry?
Thou didst cause thy judgement to be heard from heaven : the earth trembled, and was still;
When God arose to judgement : and to help all the meek upon earth.
The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise : and the fierceness of them shalt thou refrain.
Promise unto the Lord your God, and keep it, all ye that are round about him : bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
He shall refrain the spirit of princes : and is wonderful among the kings of the earth.

Psalm 88

Antiphon. Factus sum sicut homo sine adjutorio, inter mortuos liber. (I have been even as a man that hath no strength: free among the dead.)

O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee : O let my prayer enter into thy presence, incline thine ear unto my calling.
For my soul is full of trouble : and my life draweth nigh unto hell.
I am counted as one of them that go down into the pit : and I have been even as a man that hath no strength.
Free among the dead, like unto them that are wounded, and lie in the grave : who are out of remembrance, and are cut away from thy hand.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit : in a place of darkness, and in the deep.
Thine indignation lieth hard upon me : and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms.
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me : and made me to be abhorred of them.
I am so fast in prison : that I cannot get forth.
My sight faileth for very trouble : Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.
Dost thou shew wonders among the dead : or shall the dead rise up again, and praise thee?
Shall thy loving-kindness be shewed in the grave : or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark : and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten?
Unto thee have I cried, O Lord : and early shall my prayer come before thee.
Lord, why abhorrest thou my soul : and hidest thou thy face from me?
I am in misery, and like unto him that is at the point to die : even from my youth up thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind.
Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me : and the fear of thee hath undone me.
They came round about me daily like water : and compassed me together on every side.
My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me : and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight.

Lesson VII: The Venerable Bede

Minister. He hath set me down;
All. In the darkness.

The Lord’s Prayer is said in silence.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And that which followeth. (Matthew 28.)

Here beginneth the homily of the Venerable Bede.

The Vigil Office of this most holy night (as we have heard, beloved brethren, in the Gospel-lesson) is consecrated for us by the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. For whereas he willed on this night, for the love that he bare us, to sleep in death, and to be raised again from the death, so it is meet that we, in love to him, should celebrate it with prayer and psalmody. For what saith the Apostle? ‘He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification.’

Responsory VII

Plangue quasi virgo, plebs mea: ululate, pastores, in cinere et cilicio, † quia venit dies Domini magna, et amara valde. ℣. Ululate pastores et clamate: aspergite vos cinere. † Quia.

(Lament like a virgin, O my people: cry and howl, ye shepherds, in sackcloth and ashes, † for the day of the Lord is a great day, and exceeding bitter. ℣. Weep and howl, ye shepherds, and cry aloud: wallow yourselves in ashes. † For.)

Lesson VIII: Bede (continued)

But where it is said in the Gospel-lesson that the holy women came in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, to see the sepulchre, we must understand that they made ready to come in the evening; but it was in the early morning, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, that they actually came to the sepulchre. That is to say, they prepared the spices wherewith they desired to anoint the Lord’s body, in the evening; but the spices which they had prepared in the evening, they brought to the sepulchre in the morning. Which things Saint Matthew indeed records somewhat obscurely, for the sake of brevity; but the other Evangelists indicate more clearly the order in which they were done.

Responsory VIII

Aestimatus sum cum descendentibus in lacum; † factus sum sicut homo sine adjutorio inter mortuos liber. ℣. Posuerunt me in lacu inferiori, in tenebrosis, et in umbra mortis. † Factus.

(I am counted with them that go down into the pit; † I am even as a man that hath no strength, free among them that are dead. ℣. They have laid me in the lowest pit, in a place of darkness and in the deep. † I am even.)

Lesson IX: Bede (continued)

For it was the sixth day of the week when the Lord was buried; and the women, returning to the sepulchre, prepared the spices so long as it was lawful for them to work; and on the Sabbath day they rested according to the commandment, as Saint Luke plainly records. But when the Sabbath was past, and evening was drawing on, the time for work now being returned, then out of devotion, they went speedily, and brought sweet spices (not having prepared sufficient) as Saint Mark relates, that they might come and anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Responsory IX

O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte † si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus. ℣. Attendite, universi populi et videte. † Si est. O vos.

(O all ye people that pass by together, give heed awhile, and see † if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. ℣. Give heed ahile, all ye people, and see. † If there be. O all ye.)

At Lauds

Psalm 51

Antiphon. O mors, ero mors tua: morsus tuus ero inferne. (O death, I will be thy death: O gracee, I will be thy destruction.)

Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness : according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness : and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults : and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight : that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou art judged.
Behold, I was shapen in wickedness : and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts : and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness : that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Turn thy face from my sins : and put out all my misdeeds.
Make me a clean heart, O God : and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence : and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of thy help again : and stablish me with thy free Spirit.
Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked : and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health : and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.
Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord : and my mouth shall shew thy praise.
For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee : but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit : a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion : build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness,
with the burnt-offerings and oblations : then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.

Psalm 92

Antiphon. Attendite universi populi, et videte dolorem meum. (Give heed, all ye people, and behold my sorrows.)

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord : and to sing praises unto thy Name, O most Highest;
To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning : and of thy truth in the night-season;
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the lute : upon a loud instrument, and upon the harp.
For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works : and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of thy hands.
O Lord, how glorious are thy works : thy thoughts are very deep.
An unwise man doth not well consider this : and a fool doth not understand it.
When the ungodly are green as the grass, and when all the workers of wickedness do flourish : then shall they be destroyed for ever; but thou, Lord, art the most Highest for evermore.
For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, lo, thine enemies shall perish : and all the workers of wickedness shall be destroyed.
But mine horn shall be exalted like the horn of an unicorn : for I am anointed with fresh oil.
Mine eye also shall see his lust of mine enemies : and mine ear shall hear his desire of the wicked that arise up against me.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree : and shall spread abroad like a cedar in Libanus.
Such as are planted in the house of the Lord : shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
They also shall bring forth more fruit in their age : and shall be fat and well-liking.
That they may shew how true the Lord my strength is : and that there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 63

Antiphon. O vos omnes qui transitis per viam: attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus. (O all ye people who pass by: behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.)

O God, thou art my God : early will I seek thee.
My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee : in a barren and dry land where no water is.
Thus have I looked for thee in holiness : that I might behold thy power and glory.
For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself : my lips shall praise thee.
As long as I live will I magnify thee on this manner : and lift up my hands in thy Name.
My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness : when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
Have I not remembered thee in my bed : and thought upon thee when I was waking?
Because thou hast been my helper : therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul hangeth upon thee : thy right hand hath upholden me.
These also that seek the hurt of my soul : they shall go under the earth.
Let them fall upon the edge of the sword : that they may be a portion for foxes.
But the King shall rejoice in God;
all they also that swear by him shall be commended : for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Song of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38)

Antiphon. A porta inferi, erue, Domine, animam meam. (From the gates of hell, deliver my soul, O Lord.)

I said in the cutting off of my days, ‘I shall go to the gates of the grave : I am deprived of the residue of my years.’
I said, ‘I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living : I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.’
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off like a weaver my life : he will cut me off with pining sickness;
‘from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.’
I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones : ‘from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.’
Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter : I did mourn as a dove;
Mine eyes fail with looking upward : O Lord, I am oppressed;
undertake for me.
What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it : I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these things is the life of my spirit : so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness,
but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption : for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee : they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day : the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
The Lord was ready to save me : therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments
all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

Laudate Dominum (Psalms 148, 149, 150)

Antiphon. Plangent eum quasi unigenitum: quia innocens Dominus occisus est. (They shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, because the innocent Lord is slain.)

O praise the Lord of heaven : praise him in the height.
Praise him, all ye angels of his : praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon : praise him, all ye stars and light.
Praise him, all ye heavens : and ye waters that are above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord : for he spake the word, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.
He hath made them fast for ever and ever : he hath given them a law which shall not be broken.
Praise the Lord upon earth : ye dragons, and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and vapours : wind and storm, fulfilling his word;
Mountains and all hills : fruitful trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle : worms and feathered fowls;
Kings of the earth and all people : princes and all judges of the world;
Young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the Name of the Lord : for his Name only is excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth.
He shall exalt the horn of his people; all his saints shall praise him : even the children of Israel, even the people that serveth him.

O sing unto the Lord a new song : let the congregation of saints praise him.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him : and let the children of Sion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his Name in the dance : let them sing praises unto him with tabret and harp.
For the Lord hath pleasure in his people : and helpeth the meek-hearted.
Let the saints be joyful with glory : let them rejoice in their beds.
Let the praises of God be in their mouth : and a two-edged sword in their hands;
To be avenged of the heathen : and to rebuke the people;
To bind their kings in chains : and their nobles with links of iron.
That they may be avenged of them, as it is written : Such honour have all his saints.

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 every thing that hath breath : praise the Lord.

Gospel Canticle: Benedictus

Antiphon. Mulieres sedentes ad monumentum: lamentabantur flentes Dominum. (The women, sitting over against the sepulchre, made lamentation and wept for the Lord.)

✠ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets: which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hand of all that hate us.
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers: and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us;
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies: might serve him without fear;
In holiness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people: for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Kyrie eleison with tropes

Clerics. Kyrie eleison.
Deacons. Domine, miserere. (Lord, have mercy.)

Choir. Christus Dominus factus est obediens: usque ad mortem. (Christ became obedient: unto death.)

Chorister. Qui passurus advenisti propter nos. (Thou which sufferest art come for our sakes.)
Clerics. Christe eleison.

Chorister. Qui expansis in cruce manibus, traxisti omnia ad te saecula. (Thou, spreading out thine hands upon the cross, hast drawn all the world unto thee.)
Clerics. Christe eleison.

Chorister. Qui propheticite prompsisti: ero mors tua, O mors. (Thou sentest us the prophecy: I will be thy death, O death.)
Deacons. Domine, miserere. (Lord, have mercy.)

Choir. Christus Dominus factus est obediens: usque ad mortem. (Christ became obedient: unto death.)

Clerics. Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Deacons. Domine, miserere. (Lord, have mercy.)

Choir. Christus Dominus factus est obediens: usque ad mortem. (Christ became obedient: unto death.)
Chorister. Mortem autem crucis. (Even unto death upon the cross.)

The Lord’s Prayer is said in silence.

Miserere mei (Psalm 51, without note)

See above for translation.

Miserére mei Deus, : secúndum magnam misericórdiam tuam.
Et secúndum multitúdinem miseratiónum tuárum, : dele iniquitátem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitáte mea : et a peccáto meo munda me.
Quóniam iniquitátem meam ego cognósco : et peccátum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccávi, et malum coram te feci : ut justificéris in sermónibus tuis, et vincas cum judicáris.
Ecce enim in iniquitátibus concéptus sum : et in peccátis concépit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritátem dilexísti : incérta et occúlta sapiéntiæ tuæ manifestásti mihi.
Aspérges me hyssópo, et mundábor : lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.
Audítui meo dabis gáudium et lætítiam : et exsultábunt ossa humiliáta.
Avérte fáciem tuam a peccátis meis : et omnes iniquitátes meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus : et spíritum rectum ínnova in viscéribus meis.
Ne projícias me a fácie tua : et spíritum sanctum tuum ne áuferas a me.
Redde mihi lætítiam salutáris tui : et spíritu principáli confírma me.
Docébo iníquos vias tuas : et ímpii ad te converténtur.
Líbera me de sanguínibus, Deus, Deus salútis meæ : et exsultábit lingua mea justítiam tuam.
Dómine, lábia mea apéries : et os meum annuntiábit laudem tuam.
Quóniam si voluísses sacrifícium, dedíssem útique : holocáustis non delectáberis.
Sacrifícium Deo spíritus contribulátus : cor contrítum et humiliátum, Deus, non despícies.
Benígne fac, Dómine, in bona voluntáte tua Sion : ut ædificéntur muri Jerúsalem.
Tunc acceptábis sacrifícium justítiæ, oblatiónes, et holocáusta : tunc impónent super altáre tuum vítulos.

The Collect

Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross. Amen.

A loud noise is made. The service ends.