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 choral Evensong 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.

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 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 the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

Visiting Choirs

When the Abbey Choirs are on holiday, the Abbey welcomes visiting choirs, upholding the Abbey's pattern of choral services. This is an important aspect of worship at Westminster Abbey, and choirs are received both at the invitation of the Minor Canons and Music Departments and via online applications. More information and details on how to apply can be found here. Today, the Abbey is pleased to welcome Exultate who are singing the choral services this weekend.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

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 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

Music: Bernard Rose (1916-96)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 81

Sing we merrily unto God our strength : make a cheerful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Take the psalm, bring hither the tabret : the merry harp with the lute.
Blow up the trumpet in the new-moon : even in the time appointed, and upon our solemn feast-day.
For this was made a statute for Israel : and a law of the God of Jacob.
This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony : when he came out of the land of Egypt, and had heard a strange language.
I eased his shoulder from the burden : and his hands were delivered from making the pots.
Thou calledst upon me in troubles, and I delivered thee : and heard thee what time as the storm fell upon thee.
I proved thee also : at the waters of strife.
Hear, O my people, and I will assure thee, O Israel : if thou wilt hearken unto me,
there shall no strange god be in thee : neither shalt thou worship any other god.
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt : open thy mouth wide, and I shall fill it.
But my people would not hear my voice : and Israel would not obey me.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lusts : and let them follow their own imaginations.
O that my people would have hearkened unto me : for if Israel had walked in my ways,
I should soon have put down their enemies : and turned my hand against their adversaries.
The haters of the Lord should have been found liars : but their time should have endured for ever.
He should have fed them also with the finest wheatflour : and with honey out of the stony rock should I have satisfied thee.

All stand

Chants: James Turle (1802–82) Organist of Westminster Abbey 1831–82, and Joseph Barnby (1838–96)

All sit for the first Lesson, Ecclesiastes 9: 1–11

All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them is vanity, since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners; those who swear are like those who shun an oath. This is an evil in all that happens under the sun, that the same fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in G, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

All sit for the second Lesson, Hebrews 1: 1–9

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,
'You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you'?
Or again,
'I will be his Father,
   and he will be my Son'?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,~
'Let all God's angels worship him.'
Of the angels he says,
'He makes his angels winds,
   and his servants flames of fire.'
But of the Son he says,
'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever,
   and the righteous sceptre is the sceptre of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
   therefore God, your God, has anointed you
   with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in G, Charles Villiers Stanford

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 officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit

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, and for aid against all perils

Lord of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; graft in our hearts the love of thy name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; 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.

Music: Bernard Rose

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Let the people praise thee, O God;
   yea, let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations rejoice and be glad,
   for thou shalt judge the folk righteously
   and govern the nations upon earth.
Let the people praise thee, O God;
   yea, let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase,
   and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.
God shall bless us,
   and all the ends of the world shall fear him.

God be merciful unto us and bless us
   and shew us the light of his countenance and be merciful unto us,
that thy way may be known upon earth,
   thy saving health among all nations.

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.

Words: Psalm 67
Music: William Mathias (1934–92)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions

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

O love divine, how sweet thou art!
When shall I find my longing heart
   all taken up by thee?
I thirst, I faint and die to prove
the greatness of redeeming love,
   the love of Christ to me.

Stronger his love than death or hell;
its riches are unsearchable:
   the first-born sons of light
desire in vain its depths to see;
they cannot reach the mystery,
   the length and breadth and height.

God only knows the love of God;
O that it now were shed abroad
   in this poor stony heart!
For love I sigh, for love I pine;
this only portion, Lord, be mine,
   be mine this better part.

For ever would I take my seat
with Mary at the Master's feet:
   be this my happy choice;
my only care, delight, and bliss,
my joy, my heaven on earth, be this,
   to hear the Bridegroom's voice.

Words: 'Desiring to Love' Charles Wesley (1707–88)
Tune: 'Cornwall' 424 NEH, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–76)

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

Organ Voluntary

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

If you attend worship at the Abbey regularly, you may like to add this page to your home screen for easy access to our orders of service.

Hymn covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. Common Worship (Church House Publishing, 2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council. Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version.