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 and singing the hymn 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 Magraret's Church during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

The service is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey.

During the hymn a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the work of the Abbey. The Connection works with people who are rough sleeping to move away from, and stay off, the streets of London.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

O hearken thou unto the voice of my calling, my King, and my God,
   for unto thee will I make my prayer.

Words: Psalm 5: 2
Music: Roxanna Panufnik (b 1968)

The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture

The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: Philip Radcliffe (1905–86)

All sit. The choir sings Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated. The choir sings Psalm 116

I am well pleased : that the Lord hath heard the voice of my prayer;
that he hath inclined his ear unto me : therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
The snares of death compassed me round about : and the pains of hell gat hold upon me.
I shall find trouble and heaviness, and I will call upon the name of the Lord : O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous : yea, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserveth the simple : I was in misery, and he helped me.
Turn again then unto thy rest, O my soul : for the Lord hath rewarded thee.
And why? Thou hast delivered my soul from death : mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
I will walk before the Lord : in the land of the living.
I believed, and therefore will I speak; but I was sore troubled : I said in my haste, All men are liars.
What reward shall I give unto the Lord : for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?
I will receive the cup of salvation : and call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows now in the presence of all his people : right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Behold, O Lord, how that I am thy servant : I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid; thou hast broken my bonds in sunder.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving : and will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the sight of all his people : in the courts of the Lord's house, even in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

All stand

Chant: Walford Davies (1869–1941)

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 45: 9–22

Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
   earthen vessels with the potter!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, 'What are you making?'
   or 'Your work has no handles'?
Woe to anyone who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?'
   or to a woman, 'With what are you in labour?'
Thus says the Lord,
   the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question me about my children,
   or command me concerning the work of my hands?
I made the earth,
   and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
   and I commanded all their host.
I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness,
   and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
   and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
   says the Lord of hosts.
Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
   and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
   they shall follow you;
   they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying,
   'God is with you alone, and there is no other;
   there is no god besides him.'
Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
   O God of Israel, the Saviour.
All of them are put to shame and confounded,
   the makers of idols go in confusion together.
But Israel is saved by the Lord
   with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
   to all eternity.

For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
   (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
   (he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
   he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret,
   in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
   'Seek me in chaos.'
I the Lord speak the truth,
   I declare what is right.

Assemble yourselves and come together,
   draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge—
   those who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
   that cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
   let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
   Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
   There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Saviour;
   there is no one besides me.

Turn to me and be saved,
   all the ends of the earth!
   For I am God, and there is no other.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Jubilate Deo

O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands.
   Serve the Lord with gladness;
   and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God.
   It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,
   and into his courts with praise.
   Be thankful unto him, and speak good of his name.

For the Lord is gracious;
   his mercy is everlasting,
   and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

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 B flat, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

All sit for the second Lesson, Revelation 14: 1–5

I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand 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, for Peace, for Grace:

O Lord, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; 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: Philip Radcliffe

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 to sing the Hymn, during which a collection will be taken. Alternatively, cash donations may be given as you leave

Angel-voices ever singing
   round thy throne of light,
angel-harps for ever ringing,
   rest not day nor night;
thousands only live to bless thee
and confess thee
   Lord of might.

Thou who art beyond the farthest
   mortal eye can scan,
can it be that thou regardest
   songs of sinful man?
Can we know that thou art near us,
and wilt hear us?
   Yea, we can.

For we know that thou rejoicest
   o'er each work of thine;
thou didst ears and hands and voices
   for thy praise design;
craftsman's art and music's measure
for thy pleasure
   all combine.

In thy house, great God, we offer
   of thine own to thee;
and for thine acceptance proffer
   all unworthily
hearts and minds and hands and voices
in our choicest
   psalmody.

Honour, glory, might, and merit
   thine shall ever be,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
   blessèd Trinity.
Of the best which thou hast given
earth and heaven
   render thee.

Words: Francis Pott (1832–1909)
Tune: 'Angel-voices' 336 NEH, Edwin Monk (1819–1900)

All remain standing for the Blessing

Music after the service

Allegro con brio (Sonata in B flat Op 65 no 4), Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47)

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