Order of Service

Today's services

Evensong, 17:00
Westminster Abbey

Sunday, 14th August 2022

10:00

Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Morning Prayer

Please join in saying the words and singing the hymns 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 St Margaret's Church during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.


Order of Service



All stand as the clergy enter


The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture


All remain standing for 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.
The Lord's name be praised.


All sing the Hymn


Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
   Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
   triumph o'er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
   unaccompanied by thee;
joyless is the day's return,
   till thy mercy's beams I see;
till they inward light impart,
glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
   pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, radiancy divine,
   scatter all my unbelief;
more and more thyself display,
shining to the perfect day.

Words: Morning Hymn Charles Wesley (1707–88)
Music: Ratisbon 234ii NEH, in Johann Werner's Choralbuch Leipzig, 1815


All sit to say Venite exultemus Domino

O come, let us sing unto the Lord :
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving :
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God :
and a great King above all gods.
In his hands are all the corners of the earth :
and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it :
and his hands prepared the dry land.
O come, let us worship and fall down :
and kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is the Lord our God :
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

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.


All remain seated to say Psalm 107: 1–32

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious :
and his mercy endureth for ever.
Let them give thanks whom the Lord hath redeemed :
and delivered from the hand of the enemy;
and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west :
from the north, and from the south.
They went astray in the wilderness out of the way :
and found no city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty :
their soul fainted in them.
So they cried unto the Lord in their trouble :
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them forth by the right way :
that they might go to the city where they dwelt.
O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness :
and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men.
For he satisfieth the empty soul :
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death :
being fast bound in misery and iron;
because they rebelled against the words of the Lord :
and lightly regarded the counsel of the most Highest;
he also brought down their heart through heaviness :
they fell down, and there was none to help them.
So when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble :
he delivered them out of their distress.
For he brought them out of darkness, and out of the shadow of death :
and brake their bonds in sunder.
O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness :
and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men.
For he hath broken the gates of brass :
and smitten the bars of iron in sunder.
Foolish men are plagued for their offence :
and because of their wickedness.
Their soul abhorred all manner of meat :
and they were even hard at death's door.
So when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble :
he delivered them out of their distress.
He sent his word, and healed them :
and they were saved from their destruction.
O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness :
and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men.
That they would offer unto him the sacri?ce of thanksgiving :
and tell out his works with gladness.
They that go down to the sea in ships :
and occupy their business in great waters;
these men see the works of the Lord :
and his wonders in the deep.
For at his word the stormy wind ariseth :
which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They are carried up to the heaven, and down again to the deep :
their soul melteth away because of the trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man :
and are at their wits' end.
So when they cry unto the Lord in their trouble :
he delivereth them out of their distress.
For he maketh the storm to cease :
so that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad, because they are at rest :
and so he bringeth them unto the haven where they would be.
O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness :
and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men!
That they would exalt him also in the congregation of the people :
and praise him in the seat of the elders!

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.


All remain seated for the first Lesson, Jonah 1

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 'Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.' But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, 'What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.'

The sailors said to one another, 'Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, 'Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?' 'I am a Hebrew,' he replied. 'I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.' Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, 'What is this that you have done!' For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

Then they said to him, 'What shall we do to you, that the sea may quieten down for us?' For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.' Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, 'Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.' So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.


All stand to say Te Deum laudamus

We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee Cherubin and Seraphin continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
the Father, of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable, true, and only Son,
also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ;
thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints, in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage.
Govern them and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee, and we worship thy name ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.


All sit for the second Lesson, 2 Peter 3: 14–end

Beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.


All stand to say Benedictus

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.


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 to say 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 says the Collects; of the day, for Peace, for Grace:

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; 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.


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 Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.


Further prayers may be said, after 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, during which a collection will be taken. The money from today's services will be divided equally between the work of the Abbey and the charities it supports. UK residents may also donate £5 or £10 to the work of the Abbey by texting respectively ABBEY5 or ABBEY10 to 70025


O worship the King
   all glorious above;
O gratefully sing
   his power and his love:
our Shield and Defender,
   the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendour,
   and girded with praise.

O tell of his might,
   O sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light,
   whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath
   the deep thunder-clouds form,
and dark is his path
   on the wings of the storm.

This earth, with its store
   of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power
   hath founded of old:
hath stablished it fast
   by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast,
   like a mantle, the sea.

O measureless Might,
   ineffable Love,
while angels delight
   to hymn thee above,
thy humbler creation,
   though feeble their lays,
with true adoration
   shall sing to thy praise.

Words: Robert Grant (1779–1838)
Tune: Hanover 433 NEH, William Croft (1678–1727) Organist of Westminster Abbey 1708–27


All remain standing for the Blessing, to which all respond Amen.


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

The Abbey is grateful for your support. Cash and contactless donations may be given as you leave via the Great West Door and will be divided equally between the work of the Abbey and the charities it supports.

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