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.

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.

The canticles Magnificat (Luke 1: 46–55) and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2: 29–32) reflect two responses to the Incarnation (God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ). Both speak of the fulfilment of God's promises, not just to 'Abraham and his seed', but also 'to be a light to lighten the Gentiles' (all nations). With their themes of fulfilment and completion, these texts have been given central place for many centuries in the Church's prayers for the evening and at the end of the day.

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.

Following the service a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between The Queen's Commonwealth Trust International and the work of the Abbey. The Queen's Commonwealth Trust supports Young Leaders in the Commonwealth who are transforming their communities.

Order of Service

All stand as the clergy enter

The officiant says a sentence of Scripture

All remain standing as the officiant introduces the 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 sit or 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 stand to say the Responses

All sit to say Psalm 9

I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart :
I will speak of all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee :
yea, my songs will I make of thy name, O thou most highest.
While my enemies are driven back :
they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
For thou hast maintained my right and my cause :
thou art set in the throne that judgest right.
Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and destroyed the ungodly :
thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end :
even as the cities which thou hast destroyed; their memorial is perished with them.
But the Lord shall endure for ever :
he hath also prepared his seat for judgement.
For he shall judge the world in righteousness :
and minister true judgement unto the people.
The Lord also will be a defence for the oppressed :
even a refuge in due time of trouble.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee :
for thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek thee.
O praise the Lord which dwelleth in Sion :
shew the people of his doings.
For, when he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them :
and forgetteth not the complaint of the poor.
Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider the trouble which I suffer of them that hate me :
thou that liftest me up from the gates of death.
That I may shew all thy praise within the ports of the daughter of Sion :
I will rejoice in thy salvation.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made :
in the same net which they hid privily, is their foot taken.
The Lord is known to execute judgement :
the ungodly is trapped in the work of his own hands.
The wicked shall be turned into hell :
and all the people that forget God.
For the poor shall not alway be forgotten :
the patient abiding of the meek shall not perish for ever.
Up, Lord, and let not man have the upper hand :
let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
Put them in fear, O Lord :
that the heathen may know themselves to be but men.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Job 36: 1–12

Elihu said:
'Bear with me a little, and I will show you,
   for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.
I will bring my knowledge from far away,
   and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words are not false;
   one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

'Surely God is mighty and does not despise any;
   he is mighty in strength of understanding.
He does not keep the wicked alive,
   but gives the afflicted their right.
He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
   but with kings on the throne
   he sets them for ever, and they are exalted.
And if they are bound in fetters
   and caught in the cords of affliction,
then he declares to them their work
   and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
He opens their ears to instruction,
   and commands that they return from iniquity.
If they listen, and serve him,
   they complete their days in prosperity,
   and their years in pleasantness.
But if they do not listen, they shall perish by the sword,
   and die without knowledge.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand to say Magnificat

All sit for the second Lesson, John 14: 1–14

Jesus said to his disciples, 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'

Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand to say Nunc dimittis

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 for 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 says the Collects; of the day, of Lent, for peace, and for aid against all perils

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, 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.

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 remain kneeling or 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 as the clergy depart

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