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 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 Lay Vicars of Westminster Abbey.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Embrace the Middle East and the work of the Abbey. Embrace is the Christian development charity tackling poverty and injustice in the Middle East, inspired by Christ's invitation to care for those most in need.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture

The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated. The choir sings Psalm 106

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious : and his mercy endureth for ever.
Who can express the noble acts of the Lord : or shew forth all his praise?
Blessed are they that alway keep judgement : and do righteousness.
Remember me, O Lord, according to the favour that thou bearest unto thy people : O visit me with thy salvation;
that I may see the felicity of thy chosen : and rejoice in the gladness of thy people, and give thanks with thine inheritance.
We have sinned with our fathers : we have done amiss, and dealt wickedly.
Our fathers regarded not thy wonders in Egypt, neither kept they thy great goodness in remembrance : but were disobedient at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless, he helped them for his name's sake : that he might make his power to be known.
He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up : so he led them through the deep, as through a wilderness.
And he saved them from the adversary's hand : and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them : there was not one of them left.
Then believed they his words : and sang praise unto him.
But within a while they forgat his works : and would not abide his counsel.
But lust came upon them in the wilderness : and they tempted God in the desert.
And he gave them their desire : and sent leanness withal into their soul.
They angered Moses also in the tents : and Aaron the saint of the Lord.
So the earth opened, and swallowed up Dathan : and covered the congregation of Abiram.
And the fire was kindled in their company : the flame burnt up the ungodly.
They made a calf in Horeb : and worshipped the molten image.
Thus they turned their glory : into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay.
And they forgat God their Saviour : who had done so great things in Egypt;
wondrous works in the land of Ham : and fearful things by the Red sea.
So he said, he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the gap : to turn away his wrathful indignation, lest he should destroy them.
Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant land : and gave no credence unto his word;
but murmured in their tents : and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
Then lift he up his hand against them : to overthrow them in the wilderness;
to cast out their seed among the nations : and to scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves unto Baal-peor : and ate the offerings of the dead.
Thus they provoked him to anger with their own inventions : and the plague was great among them.
Then stood up Phinees and prayed : and so the plague ceased.
And that was counted unto him for righteousness : among all posterities for evermore.
They angered him also at the waters of strife : so that he punished Moses for their sakes;
because they provoked his spirit : so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Neither destroyed they the heathen : as the Lord commanded them;
but were mingled among the heathen : and learned their works.
Insomuch that they worshipped their idols, which turned to their own decay : yea, they offered their sons and their daughters unto devils;
and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters : whom they offered unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with blood.
Thus were they stained with their own works : and went a whoring with their own inventions.
Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people : insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
And he gave them over into the hand of the heathen : and they that hated them were lords over them.
Their enemies oppressed them : and had them in subjection.
Many a time did he deliver them : but they rebelled against him with their own inventions, and were brought down in their wickedness.
Nevertheless, when he saw their adversity : he heard their complaint.
He thought upon his covenant, and pitied them, according unto the multitude of his mercies : yea, he made all those that led them away captive to pity them.
Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen : that we may give thanks unto thy holy name, and make our boast of thy praise.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and world without end : and let all the people say, Amen.

All stand

Chant: plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Zephaniah 3: 14–20

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
   shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
   O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,
   he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
   you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
   do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
   a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
   he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
   as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
   so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all your oppressors
   at that time.
And I will save the lame
   and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
   and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,
   at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
   among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
   before your eyes, says the Lord.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Benedicite omnia opera

O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye heavens, bless ye the Lord;
O ye waters that be above the firmament, bless ye the Lord;
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye sun, and moon, bless ye the Lord;
O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord;
O ye showers, and dew, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye winds of God, bless ye the Lord;
O ye fire and heat, bless ye the Lord;
O ye winter and summer, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye dews, and frosts, bless ye the Lord;
O ye frost and cold, bless ye the Lord;
O ye ice and snow, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye nights, and days, bless ye the Lord;
O ye light and darkness, bless ye the Lord;
O ye lightnings, and clouds, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let the earth bless the Lord :
   yea, let it praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye mountains, and hills, bless ye the Lord;
O all ye green things upon the earth, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye wells, bless ye the Lord;
O ye seas, and floods, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord;
O all ye beasts, and cattle, bless ye the Lord;
O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let Israel bless the Lord;
O ye priests of the Lord;
O ye servants of the Lord;
O ye spirits and souls of the righteous;
O ye holy and humble men of heart;
O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord :
   praise him, and magnify him for ever.

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.

Music: Humphrey Clucas (b 1941)

All sit for the second Lesson, Philippians 4: 4–7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings 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.

Music: plainsong

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, of Advent, for Peace, for Grace

O Lord Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. 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: plainsong

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

Music after the service

Praeludium in A minor BuxWV 153, Dieterich Buxtehude (c 1637–1707)

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