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 Unseen and the work of the Abbey. Unseen works towards a world without slavery.

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

A great and mighty wonder,
   a full and holy cure!
The Virgin bears the Infant
   with virgin-honour pure.
Repeat the hymn again!
   'To God on high be glory,
and peace on earth to men!'

The Word becomes incarnate
   and yet remains on high!
And Cherubim sing anthems
   to shepherds from the sky.
Repeat the hymn again!
   'To God on high be glory,
and peace on earth to men!'

Since all he comes to ransom,
   by all be he adored,
the Infant born in Bethl'em,
   the Saviour and the Lord.
Repeat the hymn again!
   'To God on high be glory,
and peace on earth to men!'

And idol forms shall perish,
   and error shall decay,
and Christ shall wield his sceptre,
   our Lord and God for ay.
Repeat the hymn again!
   'To God on high be glory,
and peace on earth to men!'

Words: attributed to St Germanos of Constantinople (c 634–c 734) translated by John Mason Neale (1818–66)
Tune: 'Es ist ein Ros entsprungen' 21 NEH, German carol melody

All sit to say Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated to say Psalms 11 and 12

In the Lord put I my trust :
how say ye then to my soul, that she should flee as a bird unto the hill?
For lo, the ungodly bend their bow, and make ready their arrows within the quiver :
that they may privily shoot at them which are true of heart.
For the foundations will be cast down :
and what hath the righteous done?
The Lord is in his holy temple :
the Lord's seat is in heaven.
His eyes consider the poor :
and his eye-lids try the children of men.
The Lord alloweth the righteous :
but the ungodly, and him that delighteth in wickedness doth his soul abhor.
Upon the ungodly he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest :
this shall be their portion to drink.
For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness :
his countenance will behold the thing that is just.

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.

Help me, Lord, for there is not one godly man left :
for the faithful are minished from among the children of men.
They talk of vanity every one with his neighbour :
they do but flatter with their lips, and dissemble in their double heart.
The Lord shall root out all deceitful lips :
and the tongue that speaketh proud things;
Which have said, With our tongue will we prevail :
we are they that ought to speak, who is lord over us?
Now for the comfortless troubles' sake of the needy :
and because of the deep sighing of the poor,
I will up, saith the Lord :
and will help every one from him that swelleth against him, and will set him at rest.
The words of the Lord are pure words :
even as the silver, which from the earth is tried, and purified seven times in the fire.
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord :
thou shalt preserve him from this generation for ever.
The ungodly walk on every side :
when they are exalted, the children of men are put to rebuke.

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, Jeremiah 31: 15–17

Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
   lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
   she refuses to be comforted for her children,
   because they are no more.
Thus says the Lord:
Keep your voice from weeping,
   and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
         says the Lord:
   they shall come back from the land of the enemy;
there is hope for your future,
         says the Lord:
your children shall come back to their own country.

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, 2 Corinthians 1: 3–12

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted to us through the prayers of many.

Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with frankness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more towards you.

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

Almighty God, who madest thy blessed Son Jesus Christ to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that, our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son 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

Jesus, good above all other,
gentle child of gentle mother,
in a stable born our brother,
   give us grace to persevere.

Jesus, cradled in a manger,
for us facing every danger,
living as a homeless stranger,
   make we thee our King most dear.

Jesus, for thy people dying,
risen master, death defying,
Lord in heav'n, thy grace supplying,
   keep us to thy presence near.

Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
all our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
thou to man the truth declarest;
   help us all thy truth to hear.

Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
we'll go on with thee beside us,
   and with joy we'll persevere!

Words: Percy Dearmer (1867–1936)
Tune: 'Quem pastores' 387 NEH, 14th-century German carol

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.