Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At Matins most of the service is sung by the choir on our behalf. We participate through our presence and our listening, that the words and the music might become a prayer within us and lift us to contemplate God's beauty and glory.

The service always includes one or more psalms. These ancient prayers, taken from the Old Testament, reflect the full range of human emotions and experiences; from the depths of anger, resentment, and abandonment to the heights of ecstatic joy and praise. They were used by Jesus, and have always been at the heart of the Church's daily prayer.

Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

The service is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey.

After the service a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Tariro—Hope for Youth in Zimbabwe International and the work of the Abbey. Tariro helps young people in Zimbabwe to learn, develop, and grow until they can support themselves.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture

The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: William Byrd (c 1540–1623)

All sit. The choir sings Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated. The choir sings Psalm 119: 41–56

Let thy loving mercy come also unto me, O Lord : even thy salvation, according unto thy word.
So shall I make answer unto my blasphemers : for my trust is in thy word.
O take not the word of thy truth utterly out of my mouth : for my hope is in thy judgements.
So shall I alway keep thy law : yea, for ever and ever.
And I will walk at liberty : for I seek thy commandments.
I will speak of thy testimonies also, even before kings : and will not be ashamed.
And my delight shall be in thy commandments : which I have loved.
My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved : and my study shall be in thy statutes.

O think upon thy servant, as concerning thy word : wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust.
The same is my comfort in my trouble : for thy word hath quickened me.
The proud have had me exceedingly in derision : yet have I not shrinked from thy law.
For I remembered thine everlasting judgements, O Lord : and received comfort.
I am horribly afraid : for the ungodly that forsake thy law.
Thy statutes have been my songs : in the house of my pilgrimage.
I have thought upon thy name, O Lord, in the night-season : and have kept thy law.
This I had : because I kept thy commandments.

All stand

Chants: Thomas Attwood Walmisley (1814–56) and George Garrett (1834–97)

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 51: 1–11

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
   you that seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
   and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
   and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
   but I blessed him and made him many.
For the Lord will comfort Zion;
   he will comfort all her waste places,
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
   her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
   thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Listen to me, my people,
   and give heed to me, my nation;
for a teaching will go out from me,
   and my justice for a light to the peoples.
I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,
   my salvation has gone out
   and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
   and for my arm they hope.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
   and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like a garment,
   and those who live on it will die like gnats;
but my salvation will be for ever,
   and my deliverance will never be ended.

Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
   you people who have my teaching in your hearts;
do not fear the reproach of others,
   and do not be dismayed when they revile you.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
   and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my deliverance will be for ever,
   and my salvation to all generations.

Awake, awake, put on strength,
   O arm of the Lord!
Awake, as in days of old,
   the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
   who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
   the waters of the great deep;
who made the depths of the sea a way
   for the redeemed to cross over?
So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
   and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
   they shall obtain joy and gladness,
   and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Benedicite omnia opera

O all ye Works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Heavens, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Waters that be above the Firmament, bless ye the Lord
O all ye Powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Sun, and Moon, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Stars of Heaven, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Showers, and Dew, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Winds of God, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Fire and Heat, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Winter and Summer, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Dews, and Frosts, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Frost and Cold, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Ice and Snow, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Nights, and Days, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Light and Darkness, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Lightnings, and Clouds, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let the Earth bless the Lord.
O ye Mountains, and Hills, bless ye the Lord.
O all ye Green Things upon the Earth, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Wells, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Seas, and Floods, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Whales, and all that move in the Waters, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
All ye Fowls of the Air, bless ye the Lord.
O all ye Beasts, and Cattle, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Children of Men, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let Israel bless the Lord.
O ye Priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord.
O ye Servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Spirits and Souls of the Righteous, bless ye the Lord.
O ye holy and humble Men of heart, bless ye the Lord.
O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.

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.

Morning Service in F, George Dyson (1883–1964)

All sit for the second Lesson, Galatians 3: 1–9, 23–end

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness', so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.' For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel

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 hands 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 hands 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.

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.

Chant: James Turle (1802–82), Organist of Westminster Abbey 1831–82

All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

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. Amen.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, of Lent, for Peace, for Grace:

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent; create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: William Byrd

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the Members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All say

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.

All stand as the choir and clergy depart

Music after the service

Benedictus (Organ Sonata III in D minor Op 152 'Britannica'), Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary