The Night Watch

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The Night Watch Service is a New Year’s Eve version of John Wesley’s Covenant Service. The heart of this service is the Covenant Prayer. It requires persons to commit themselves to God. This covenant is serious and assumes adequate preparation for and a continual response to the covenant. You can participate in the responses by opening the transcript at http://www.searching-for-god.com or at http://www.theology21ce.com. I hope this episode serves as an inspiration for you throughout the new year.]

May you continue to accept the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

*OPENING PRAYER

O God, Searcher of all our hearts,
      you have formed us as a people and claimed us for your own.
As we come to acknowledge your sovereignty and grace,
      and to enter anew into covenant with you,
      reveal any reluctance or falsehood within us.
Let your Spirit impress your truth on our inmost being,
      and receive us in mercy, for the sake of our Mediator, Jesus Christ,
      who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
      one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

Let us give thanks for all of God’s mercies.

O God, our Covenant Partner,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,
which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place.
R = We praise your holy name, O God.

You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,

and in their absence, you have comforted us with a knowledge of your presence.
Then you ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers. R

You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church. R

You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors. R

You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace. R

PROCLAMATION

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
      the Christian life is redeemed from sin and consecrated to God.
Through baptism, we have entered this life
      and have been admitted into the new covenant
         of which Jesus Christ is the Mediator.
He sealed it with his own blood, that it might last forever.
On the one side, God promises to give us new life in Christ,
      the Source and Perfecter of our faith.
On the other side, we are pledged
to live no more for ourselves but only for Jesus Christ,
who loved us and gave himself for us.

From time to time we renew our covenant with God,
      especially when we reaffirm the Baptismal Covenant
         and gather at the Lord’s table.

Today, however, we meet, as the generations before us have met,
      to renew the covenant that binds us to God.
Let us make this covenant of God our own.

WESLEY’S COVENANT SERVICE 

INVITATION

Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
   others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
   others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
   except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
   that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.

Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:

Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.

Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.

Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
   put me to doing, put me to suffering,
   let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
    let me be full, let me be empty,
   let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
   give it all to your pleasure and disposal.

Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
   to all that he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.

Confirm this by a holy covenant.

To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:

 First, set apart some time, more than once,
   to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God’s special assistance
   and gracious acceptance of you;
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching your hearts
   whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.
Consider what your sins are.
Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are,
   and whether you, after having carefully considered them,
   are willing to choose them all.
Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.

Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.

Third, claim God’s covenant,
rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength,
   so you can keep your promise.
Trust not your own strength and power.

Fourth, resolve to be faithful.
You have given to the Lord your hearts,
   you have opened your mouths to the Lord,
   and you have dedicated yourself to God.
With God’s power, never go back.

And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.
Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven,
   open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:

COVENANT PRAYER

[The people kneel or bow.]

O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
see me as I fall down before you.
Forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done your will,
for you have promised mercy to me
if I turn to you with my whole heart.

God requires that you shall put away all your idols.

I here from the bottom of my heart renounce them all,
   covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in my life.
Against your will, I have turned my love toward the world.
In your power
   I will watch all temptations that will lead me away from you.
For my own righteousness is riddled with sin,
   unable to stand before you.

Through Christ, God has offered to be your God again
if you would let him.

Before all heaven and earth,
   I here acknowledge you as my Lord and God.
I take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion,
   and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant,
   to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

God has given the Lord Jesus Christ
as the only way and means of coming to God.

 Jesus, I do here on bended knees accept Christ
   as the only new and living Way,
   and sincerely join myself in a covenant with him.
O blessed Jesus, I come to you,
    hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked,
   unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.
I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord and Head.
I renounce my own worthiness,
    and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness.
I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide.
I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law.

Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.

I do here covenant with you, O Christ,
    to take my lot with you as it may fall.
Through your grace I promise
   that neither life nor death shall part me from you.

God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.

I do here willingly put my neck under your yoke, to carry your burden.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
I therefore take them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions,
   promising that I will strive
      to order my whole life according to your direction,
and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.

The almighty God searches and knows your heart.

 O God, you know that I make this covenant with you today
   without guile or reservation.
If any falsehood should be in it, guide me and help me to set it aright.
And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
   whom I from this day forward shall look upon as my God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
   who have loved me and washed me from my sins in your own blood,
   and now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
   who by your almighty power have turned my heart from sin to God.

 O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
   you have now become my Covenant Friend.
And I, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servant.
So be it.
And let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

You are advised to make this covenant not only in your heart, but in word; not only in word, but in writing. Therefore, with all reverence, lay the service before the Lord as your act and deed. And when you have done this, sign it. Then keep it as a reminder of the holy agreement between God and you that you may remember it during doubts and temptations.

Continue in the ways of the LORD. Be ready to serve and receive God’s grace at any time. You and God are partners in healing creation and realizing the joys of living. Amen.