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 divided equally between The Children's Society and the work of the Abbey. The Children's Society provides specialist support that empowers young people to make positive changes and rediscover their hope.

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

Bright the vision that delighted
   once the sight of Judah's seer;
sweet the countless tongues united
   to entrance the prophet's ear.

Round the Lord in glory seated
   cherubim and seraphim
filled his temple, and repeated
   each to each th'alternate hymn:

'Lord, thy glory fills the heaven;
   earth is with its fullness stored;
unto thee be glory given,
   Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord.'

Heav'n is still with glory ringing,
   earth takes up the angels' cry,
'Holy, Holy, Holy,' singing,
   'Lord of hosts, the Lord most high.'

With his seraph train before him,
   with his holy Church below,
thus unite we to adore him,
   bid we thus our anthem flow:

'Lord, thy glory fills the heaven;
   earth is with its fullness stored;
unto thee be glory given,
   Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord.'

Words: Richard Mant (1776–1848)
Tune: Redhead No 46 343 NEH, Richard Redhead (1820–1901)

All sit to say Venite exultemus Domino

All remain seated to say Psalm 145

I will magnify thee, O God, my King :
and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Every day will I give thanks unto thee :
and praise thy name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and marvellous worthy to be praised :
there is no end of his greatness.
One generation shall praise thy works unto another :
and declare thy power.
As for me, I will be talking of thy worship :
thy glory, thy praise, and wondrous works;
so that men shall speak of the might of thy marvellous acts :
and I will also tell of thy greatness.
The memorial of thine abundant kindness shall be shewed :
and men shall sing of thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious, and merciful :
long-suffering, and of great goodness.
The Lord is loving unto every man :
and his mercy is over all his works.
All thy works praise thee, O Lord :
and thy saints give thanks unto thee.
They shew the glory of thy kingdom :
and talk of thy power;
that thy power, thy glory, and mightiness of thy kingdom :
might be known unto men.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom :
and thy dominion endureth throughout all ages.
The Lord upholdeth all such as fall :
and lifteth up all those that are down.
The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord :
and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Thou openest thine hand :
and fillest all things living with plenteousness.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways :
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him :
yea, all such as call upon him faithfully.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him :
he also will hear their cry, and will help them.
The Lord preserveth all them that love him :
but scattereth abroad all the ungodly.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord :
and let all flesh give thanks unto his holy name for ever and 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.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Jonah 3: 1–9

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 'Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.' So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, 'Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!' And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: 'By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.'

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, Revelation 3: 14–end

The voice of the one speaking said, 'To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation:

'I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'

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 and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of 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

Disposer supreme, and judge of the earth,
   who choosest for thine the weak and the poor,
to frail earthen vessels, and things of no worth,
   entrusting thy riches which ay shall endure;

throughout the wide world their message is heard,
   and swift as the wind it circles the earth;
it echoes the voice of the heavenly Word,
   and brings unto mortals the hope of new birth.

Their cry thunders forth, 'Christ Jesus is Lord',
   then Satan doth fear, his citadels fall:
as when those shrill trumpets were raised at thy word,
   and one long blast shattered proud Jericho's wall.

O loud be the call, and stirring the sound,
   to rouse us, O Lord, from sin's deadly sleep;
may lights which thou kindlest in darkness around,
   the dull soul awaken, her vigil to keep.

All honour and praise, dominion and might,
   to thee, Three in One, eternally be,
who pouring around us thy glorious light,
   dost call us from darkness thy glory to see.
      Amen.

Words: Supreme quales Arbiter, Jean-Baptiste de Santeuil (1630–97) translated by Isaac Williams (1802–65)
Tune: Old 104th 216 NEH, Thomas Ravenscroft (c 1588–1635)

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 enjoy 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.