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.

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 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 St Andrew's Youth Club and the work of the Abbey. Established over 150 years ago, St Andrew's provides a sense of belonging, fun, and informal education to over 500 members each year.

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

Glory to thee, who safe has kept
and hast refreshed me whilst I slept;
grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
and with the angels bear thy part,
who all night long unwearied sing
high praise to the eternal King.

Lord, I my vows to thee renew;
scatter my sins as morning dew;
guard my first spring of thought and will,
and with thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day
all I design, or do, or say;
that all my powers, with all their might,
in thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,
praise him all creatures here below,
praise him above, ye heavenly host,
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
   Amen.

Words: Thomas Ken (1637–1711)
Tune: Tallis's Canon 244 NEH, Thomas Tallis (c 1505–85)

All sit to say Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated to say Psalm 147

O praise the Lord, for it is a good thing to sing praises unto our God :
yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful.
The Lord doth build up Jerusalem :
and gather together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth those that are broken in heart :
and giveth medicine to heal their sickness.
He telleth the number of the stars :
and calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power :
yea, and his wisdom is infinite.
The Lord setteth up the meek :
and bringeth the ungodly down to the ground.
O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving :
sing praises upon the harp unto our God;
who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth :
and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men;
who giveth fodder unto the cattle :
and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him.
He hath no pleasure in the strength of an horse :
neither delighteth he in any man's legs.
But the Lord's delight is in them that fear him :
and put their trust in his mercy.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem :
praise thy God, O Sion.
For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates :
and hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders :
and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.
He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth :
and his word runneth very swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool :
and scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
He casteth forth his ice like morsels :
who is able to abide his frost?
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them :
he bloweth with his wind, and the waters flow.
He sheweth his word unto Jacob :
his statutes and ordinances unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation :
neither have the heathen knowledge of his laws.

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, Ecclesiasticus 11: 7–28

Do not find fault before you investigate;
   examine first, and then criticize.
Do not answer before you listen,
   and do not interrupt when another is speaking.
Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you,
   and do not sit with sinners when they judge a case.

My child, do not busy yourself with many matters;
   if you multiply activities, you will not be held blameless.
If you pursue, you will not overtake,
   and by fleeing you will not escape.
There are those who work and struggle and hurry,
   but are so much the more in want.
There are others who are slow and need help,
   who lack strength and abound in poverty;
but the eyes of the Lord look kindly upon them;
   he lifts them out of their lowly condition
and raises up their heads
   to the amazement of many.

Good things and bad, life and death,
   poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.
The Lord's gift remains with the devout,
   and his favour brings lasting success.
One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial,
   and the reward allotted to him is this:
when he says, 'I have found rest,
   and now I shall feast on my goods!'
he does not know how long it will be
   until he leaves them to others and dies.

Stand by your agreement and attend to it,
   and grow old in your work.
Do not wonder at the works of a sinner,
   but trust in the Lord and keep at your job;
for it is easy in the sight of the Lord
   to make the poor rich suddenly, in an instant.
The blessing of the Lord is the reward of the pious,
   and quickly God causes his blessing to flourish.
Do not say, 'What do I need,
   and what further benefit can be mine?'
Do not say, 'I have enough,
   and what harm can come to me now?'
In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten,
   and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.
For it is easy for the Lord on the day of death
   to reward individuals according to their conduct.
An hour's misery makes one forget past delights,
   and at the close of one's life one's deeds are revealed.
Call no one happy before his death;
   by how he ends, a person becomes known.

Here ends the first lesson.

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, Revelation 3: 14–end

The one like the Son of Man said, 'To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation:

'I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand to say Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel

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

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 King.
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, and for Grace

O God, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity; mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; 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 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

All stand to sing the Hymn

New every morning is the love
our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life and power and thought.

New mercies, each returning day,
hover around us while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

If on our daily course our mind
be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.

The trivial round, the common task,
would furnish all we ought to ask,
room to deny ourselves, a road
to bring us daily nearer God.

Only, O Lord, in thy dear love
fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray.

Words: John Keble (1792–1866)
Tune: 'Melcombe' 238 NEH, Samuel Webbe (1740–1816)

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

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

Sunday Lunch

Come and join us for Sunday lunch at the Cellarium

Enjoy a traditional lunch with a selection of starters and desserts. Open from noon. From £20.00 per person.

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.

Hymns 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.