Compline
Night Prayer for the Saints of the Archive
Anglican & Anglo-Catholic use · 1928 BCP & People’s Anglican Missal
To be said at the close of day. The day begun in the Lauds is ended here in the Lord’s keeping. Alleluia is omitted in Lent and Advent.
For sung use, the psalms and canticles should be sung to Anglican chant or plainsong according to the pointing of the Cathedral Psalter (1875), the Parish Psalter (1928), or the Manual of Plainsong (Briggs and Frere, 1902) as available. For said use the text stands as printed.
OPENING
Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
1 In thee, O Lord, have I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion: deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear to me; make haste to deliver me: and be thou my strong rock, and house of defence to save me.
3 For thou art my strong rock and my castle; be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name’s sake.
4 Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
5 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy; for thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known my soul in adversities.
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.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
PSALMODY — PSALM 91 (QUI HABITAT)
He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
1 Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my hope, and my stronghold: my God, in him will I trust.
3 For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall defend thee under his wings, and thou shalt be safe under his feathers; his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 For the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day.
7 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
8 They shall bear thee in their hands, that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.
9 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him up, because he hath known my Name.
10 He shall call upon me, and I will hear him; yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.
11 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
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.
He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
CAPITULUM — SHORT LESSON · 1 PETER 5:8–10
From the First Epistle of St Peter, the fifth chapter.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, stedfast in the faith. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
1 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.
2 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
3 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
4 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
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.
Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
MEMORIALS OF THE DAY’S SAINTS
If a feast of the archive has been kept this day, its collect is said here. On ferias, the following memorial of the whole company is offered.
We remember before thee in the watches of this night Ignatius and Polycarp, whose fire has never gone out; and Columba and Aidan and Cuthbert, who carried the light across the northern waters; and all the company of the Patristic, medieval, and Anglican witnesses who are gathered in this archive.
Grant them thy peace, and grant us their faith.
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.
VERSICLES
| V. O Lord, hear our prayer. | R. And let our cry come unto thee. |
| V. Visit this place, O Lord, we beseech thee. | R. And drive far from it all snares of the enemy. |
| V. Let thy holy angels dwell herein. | R. To preserve us in peace. |
| V. And let thy blessing be always upon us. | R. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
COLLECTS
Collect for the Night
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Collect for a Holy Death — after Jeremy Taylor
O Lord Jesus Christ, who by the grace of thy Cross hast taken away from death his sting and from the grave his victory; Grant us, when our last hour comes, to yield our souls into thy hands without fear and with perfect trust, as thy servant Simeon yielded his; knowing that the sleep thou givest to thy beloved is the sleep from which we shall awake to see thee face to face; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
Amen.
Collect for the Saints
O God, the King of saints, we praise and glorify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee that we, encouraged by their example, supported by their fellowship, and strengthened by their prayers, may be partakers with them of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
THE SALVE REGINA — ANTIPHON OF OUR LADY
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
| V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. | R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. |
DISMISSAL
| V. The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. | R. Amen. |
May the divine assistance remain always with us. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.