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.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between St John's Hospice and the work of the Abbey. St John's Hospice is committed to celebrating and amplifying life, enabling people to live well for as long as possible.

The Commonwealth Nations

On the second Monday in March each year, members of all Commonwealth Nations from around the world come together at the Abbey for the Commonwealth Service, in the presence of the Head of the Commonwealth His Majesty King Charles III, in celebration of both their diversity of culture and common purpose. Throughout the year, and to mark an important national day in the life of each Commonwealth Nation, the Abbey is proud to invite High Commissioners or their representatives and their guests to attend Evensong and to pray for their governments and citizens. Today, the Abbey welcomes the High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Jeremiah Mamabolo, to mark the Freedom Day (27 April) of that realm. The High Commissioner will read the second lesson.

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 the Choir of Marlborough College who are singing this evening's service.

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: William Byrd (c 1540–1623)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 144

Blessed be the Lord my strength : who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight;
my hope and my fortress, my castle and deliverer, my defender in whom I trust : who subdueth my people that is under me.
Lord, what is man, that thou hast such respect unto him : or the son of man, that thou so regardest him?
Man is like a thing of nought : his time passeth away like a shadow.
Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down : touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Cast forth thy lightning, and tear them : shoot out thine arrows, and consume them.
Send down thine hand from above : deliver me, and take me out of the great waters,
from the hand of strange children; whose mouth talketh of vanity : and their right hand is a right hand of wickedness.
I will sing a new song unto thee, O God : and sing praises unto thee upon a ten-stringed lute.
Thou hast given victory unto kings : and hast delivered David thy servant from the peril of the sword.
Save me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children : whose mouth talketh of vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.
That our sons may grow up as the young plants : and that our daughters may be as the polished corners of the temple.
That our garners may be full and plenteous with all manner of store : that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets.
That our oxen may be strong to labour, that there be no decay : no leading into captivity, and no complaining in our streets.
Happy are the people that are in such a case : yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God.

All stand

Chant: Thomas Attwood Walmisley (1814–56)

All sit for the first Lesson, Job 31: 13–23

Job said,
'If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves,
   when they brought a complaint against me;
what then shall I do when God rises up?
   When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
   And did not one fashion us in the womb?

'If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
   or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
   and the orphan has not eaten from it—
for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father,
   and from my mother's womb I guided the widow—
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
   or a poor person without covering,
whose loins have not blessed me,
   and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
if I have raised my hand against the orphan,
   because I saw I had supporters at the gate;
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
   and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
   and I could not have faced his majesty.'

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in B minor, T Tertius Noble (1867–1953)

All sit for the second Lesson, Matthew 7: 1–12

Jesus said, 'Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, "Let me take the speck out of your eye", while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour's eye.

'Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

'Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

'In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in B minor, T Tertius Noble

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

Almighty God, who shewest to them that be in error the light of thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness; grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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: William Byrd

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

This sanctuary of my soul,
Unwitting I keep white and whole,
Unlatched and lit, if thou should'st care
To enter or to tarry there.

With parted lips and outstretched hands,
And listening ears thy servant stands.
Call thou early, call thou late,
To thy great service dedicate.

Words: from Expectans Expectavi, Charles Sorley (1895–1915)
Music: Charles Wood (1866–1926)

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

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.