Please join in saying the words and singing the hymn printed in bold type.

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The service is sung by the Lay Vicars.

Order of Service

The choir sings the Introit

O Rex gloriae, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes caelos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos: sed mitte promissum Patris in nos, Spiritum veritatis. Alleluia!

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who today ascended in triumph above all heavens, do not leave us as orphans: but send to us that promised by the Father, the Spirit of truth. Alleluia!

Words: Magnificat antiphon at Ascension Day, after Ephesians 4: 10, John 14: 18, and Luke 24: 49
Music: William Byrd (c 1540–1623) Gradualia 1607

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

All remain standing as the officiant introduces a general Confession

Beloved, we are come together in the presence of Almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and show forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all people such things as their well-being doth require. Wherefore let us kneel and keep silence, and remember God's presence with us now.

All kneel or sit to say together

O God, our Father, we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved thee with all our heart; we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves. Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee; cleanse us from our sins; and help us to overcome our faults; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 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.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

O Lord, open thou our lips
and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

Praise ye the Lord.

Composer: William Byrd

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 74

O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long : why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture?
O think upon thy congregation : whom thou hast purchased, and redeemed of old.
Think upon the tribe of thine inheritance : and mount Sion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Lift up thy feet, that thou mayest utterly destroy every enemy : which hath done evil in thy sanctuary.
Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy congregations : and set up their banners for tokens.
He that hewed timber afore out of the thick trees : was known to bring it to an excellent work.
But now they break down all the carved work thereof : with axes and hammers.
They have set fire upon thy holy places : and have defiled the dwelling-place of thy name, even unto the ground.
Yea, they said in their hearts, Let us make havock of them altogether : thus have they burnt up all the houses of God in the land.
We see not our tokens, there is not one prophet more : no, not one is there among us, that understandeth any more.
O God, how long shall the adversary do this dishonour : how long shall the enemy blaspheme thy name, for ever?
Why withdrawest thou thy hand : why pluckest thou not thy right hand out of thy bosom to consume the enemy?
For God is my King of old : the help that is done upon earth he doeth it himself.
Thou didst divide the sea through thy power : thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou smotest the heads of Leviathan in pieces : and gavest him to be meat for the people in the wilderness.
Thou broughtest out fountains and waters out of the hard rocks : thou driedst up mighty waters:
The day is thine, and the night is thine : thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth : thou hast made summer and winter.
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy hath rebuked : and how the foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.
O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the enemies : and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever.
Look upon the covenant : for all the earth is full of darkness, and cruel habitations.
O let not the simple go away ashamed : but let the poor and needy give praise unto thy name.
Arise, O God, maintain thine own cause : remember how the foolish man blasphemeth thee daily.
Forget not the voice of thine enemies : the presumption of them that hate thee increaseth ever more and more.

All stand

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.

plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Numbers 11: 16–17, 24–29

The Lord said to Moses, 'Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, 'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, 'My lord Moses, stop them!' But Moses said to him, 'Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!'

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his hand-maiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefather, Abraham and to his seed, for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Service in three parts, William Mundy (c 1529–91)

All sit for the second Lesson, 1 Corinthians 2

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him'—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.

Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny.
'For who has known the mind of the Lord
   so as to instruct him?'
But we have the mind of Christ.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be 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, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Service in three parts, William Mundy

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.

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

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

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. 

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.

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save The Queen.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
And make thy chosen people joyful.

O Lord, save thy people.
And bless thine inheritance.

Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

O God the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; we beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

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.

Robert Quinney (b 1976)

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 Lady Queen Elizabeth, Charles Prince 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 Brotherhood of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Thou art my king, O God;
   send help unto Jacob.
Through thee will we overthrow our enemies,
   and in thy name we will tread them down, that rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow;
   it is not my sword that shall help me;
but it is thou that savest us from our enemies,
   and puttest them to confusion that hate us.
We make our boast of God all the day long,
   and will praise thy name for evermore.
      Amen.

Words: Psalm 44: 4–8
Music: Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions, at the end of which 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 to sing the Hymn

Crown him with many crowns,
   the Lamb upon his throne;
hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
   all music but its own:
awake, my soul, and sing
   of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
   through all eternity.

Crown him the Virgin's Son,
   the God incarnate born,
whose arm those crimson trophies won
   which now his brow adorn:
Fruit of the mystic Rose,
   as of that Rose the Stem;
the Root whence mercy ever flows,
   the Babe of Bethlehem.

Crown him the Lord of love!
   Behold his hands and side,
rich wounds yet visible above
   in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky
   can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye
   at mysteries so bright.

Crown him the Lord of peace,
   whose power a sceptre sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
   absorbed in prayer and praise:
his reign shall know no end,
   and round his piercèd feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
   their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown him the Lord of years,
   the Potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
   ineffably sublime.
Glassed in a sea of light,
   where everlasting waves
reflect his throne—the Infinite!
   who lives—and loves—and saves.

Words: Matthew Bridges (1800–94)
Tune: Diademata 352 NEH, George Elvey (1816–93)

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

Music after the service

A Fancy in Gamut Flatt, Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) Organist of Westminster Abbey 1623–25

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

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