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 divided equally between Christian Aid and the work of the Abbey. Christian Aid Week is our shared moment to come together, across churches, communities, and households, to stand alongside people living in poverty.

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: Thomas Tallis (c 1505–85)

All sit. The choir sings the Easter Anthems

Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.
   Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
   but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more;
   death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once;
   but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin
   but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ is risen from the dead,
   and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death,
   by man came also the resurrection of the dead;
for as in Adam all die,
   even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

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. The choir sings Psalm 27

The Lord is my light, and my salvation; whom then shall I fear : the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies, and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh : they stumbled and fell.
Though an host of men were laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid : and though there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will require : even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his tabernacle : yea, in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me, and set me up upon a rock of stone.
And now shall he lift up mine head : above mine enemies round about me.
Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladness : I will sing, and speak praises unto the Lord.
Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee : have mercy upon me, and hear me.
My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face : Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
O hide not thou thy face from me : nor cast thy servant away in displeasure.
Thou hast been my succour : leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me : the Lord taketh me up.
Teach me thy way, O Lord : and lead me in the right way, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over into the will of mine adversaries : for there are false witnesses risen up against me, and such as speak wrong.
I should utterly have fainted : but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
O tarry thou the Lord's leisure : be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart; and put thou thy trust in the Lord.

All stand

Chant: plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Job 14: 1–2, 7–15; 19: 23–27a

Job said,
'A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,
   comes up like a flower and withers,
   flees like a shadow and does not last.

'For there is hope for a tree,
   if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
   and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth,
   and its stump dies in the ground,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
   and put forth branches like a young plant.
But mortals die, and are laid low;
   humans expire, and where are they?
As waters fail from a lake,
   and a river wastes away and dries up,
so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
   until the heavens are no more, they will not awake
   or be roused out of their sleep.
O that you would hide me in Sheol,
   that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,
   that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If mortals die, will they live again?
   All the days of my service I would wait
   until my release should come.
You would call, and I would answer you;
   you would long for the work of your hands.

'O that my words were written down!
   O that they were inscribed in a book!
O that with an iron pen and with lead
   they were engraved on a rock for ever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
   and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
   then in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see on my side,
   and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
   My heart faints within me!'

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Te Deum laudamus

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitamur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae potestates.
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra majestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus;
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus;
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia:
Patrem immensae majestatis;
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Judex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic haereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

Music: Tomás Luis de Victoria (c 1548–1611)

All sit for the second Lesson, 1 Thessalonians 4: 13–end

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Jubilate Deo

O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands.
   Serve the Lord with gladness;
   and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God.
   It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,
   and into his courts with praise.
   Be thankful unto him, and speak good of his name.

For the Lord is gracious;
   his mercy is everlasting,
   and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

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.

Jubilate Deo tone v, Philip Moore (b 1943)

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, for Grace

O Lord, from whom all good things do come; grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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: Thomas Tallis

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

Fantasia Chromatica SwWV 258, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621)

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