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 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.

The service is sung by the Choristers of Westminster Abbey.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Combat Stress and the work of the Abbey. Combat Stress provides clinical treatment and support for veterans from the British Armed Forces.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

In the hour of my distress,
When temptations me oppress,
And when I my sins confess,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When I lie within my bed,
Sick in heart and sick in head,
And with doubts discomfited,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the house doth sigh and weep,
And the world is drowned with sleep,
Yet mine eyes the watch do keep,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

Words: from 'His Litany to the Holy Spirit' Robert Herrick (c 1591–1674)
Music: Peter Hurford (1930–2019)

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: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 28

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my strength : think no scorn of me; lest, if thou make as though thou hearest not, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto thee : when I hold up my hands towards the mercy-seat of thy holy temple.
O pluck me not away, neither destroy me with the ungodly and wicked doers : which speak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mischief in their hearts.
Reward them according to their deeds : and according to the wickedness of their own inventions.
Recompense them after the work of their hands : pay them that they have deserved.
For they regard not in their mind the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands : therefore shall he break them down, and not build them up.
Praised be the Lord : for he hath heard the voice of my humble petitions.
The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped : therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise him.
The Lord is my strength : and he is the wholesome defence of his Anointed.
O save thy people, and give thy blessing unto thine inheritance : feed them, and set them up for ever.

All stand

Chants: plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 40: 21–end

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
   Has it not been told you from the beginning?
   Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
   and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
   and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
   and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
   scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
   and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

To whom then will you compare me,
   or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
   Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
   calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
   mighty in power,
   not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
   and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
   and my right is disregarded by my God'?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
   and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
   and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

The Second Service, Philip Moore (b 1943)

All sit for the second Lesson, Romans 11: 25–end

So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,
'Out of Zion will come the Deliverer;
   he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.'
'And this is my covenant with them,
   when I take away their sins.'

As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!
'For who has known the mind of the Lord?
  Or who has been his counsellor?'
'Or who has given a gift to him,
   to receive a gift in return?'
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

The Second Service, Philip Moore

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

Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; 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: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
   and covered the earth as a mist.
I dwelt in high places,
   and my throne is in the pillar of the cloud.
Alone I compassed the circuit of heaven
   and walked in the depth of the abyss.
In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth,
   and in every people and nation, I got a possession.
With all these I sought rest.

'And I took root in a people that was glorified,
   in the portion of the Lord's own inheritance.

'I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus,
   and as a cypress on the mountains of Hermon.
I was exalted like a palm tree on the sea shore,
and as a fair olive tree in the plain,
   and my branches are branches of glory and grace,
   and my flowers are the fruit of glory and riches.

'Come unto me, ye that are desirous of me,
   and be ye filled with my fruits.'

And I came out as a stream from a river.
I said 'I will water my garden,
   and will water abundantly my garden bed,
and lo, my stream became a river,
   and my river became the sea.'

For my thoughts are filled from the sea,
   and my counsels from the great deep.

Words: Ecclesiasticus 24: 3–7a, 12–14a, 14c, 16b, 17b–19, 30a, 31, 29
Music: 'A Song of Wisdom' Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) from 'Bible Songs' Op 113

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 as the choir and clergy depart

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

Choristerships at Westminster Abbey

The Choir of Westminster Abbey

If you have a son who enjoys singing, you can find out more information about our world-renowned Abbey Choir and its unique Choir School. Alternatively, please contact Dr Emma Margrett, Headteacher, Westminster Abbey Choir School, and Mr Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, by emailing [email protected].

St Margaret's Choristers

If you have a daughter aged 10 or 11 who would like to sing with the St Margaret's Choristers, please contact Mr Greg Morris, Director of Music, St Margaret's Church, [email protected]. Find out more about Music at St Margaret's Church.

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.

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.