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.

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 The Anglican Centre in Rome and the work of the Abbey. The Anglican Centre in Rome promotes Christian unity and encounter between Anglicans and Roman Catholics through their presence in Rome. This year is the Centre's sixtieth anniversary.

Order of Service

All stand as the clergy enter

The officiant says a sentence of Scripture

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 stand to say the Responses

All sit to say Psalm 94

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth :
thou God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
Arise, thou Judge of the world :
and reward the proud after their deserving.
Lord, how long shall the ungodly :
how long shall the ungodly triumph?
How long shall all wicked doers speak so disdainfully :
and make such proud boasting?
They smite down thy people, O Lord :
and trouble thine heritage.
They murder the widow, and the stranger :
and put the fatherless to death.
And yet they say, Tush, the Lord shall not see :
neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
Take heed, ye unwise among the people :
O ye fools, when will ye understand?
He that planted the ear, shall he not hear :
or he that made the eye, shall he not see?
Or he that nurtureth the heathen :
it is he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he punish?
The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man :
that they are but vain.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord :
and teachest him in thy law;
that thou mayest give him patience in time of adversity :
until the pit be digged up for the ungodly.
For the Lord will not fail his people :
neither will he forsake his inheritance;
until righteousness turn again unto judgement :
all such as are true in heart shall follow it.
Who will rise up with me against the wicked :
or who will take my part against the evil-doers?
If the Lord had not helped me :
it had not failed but my soul had been put to silence.
But when I said, My foot hath slipt :
thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart :
thy comforts have refreshed my soul.
Wilt thou have any thing to do with the stool of wickedness :
which imagineth mischief as a law?
They gather them together against the soul of the righteous :
and condemn the innocent blood.
But the Lord is my refuge :
and my God is the strength of my confidence.
He shall recompense them their wickedness, and destroy them in their own malice :
yea, the Lord our God shall destroy them.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Isaiah 24: 1–15

The Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
   and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
   as with the slave, so with his master;
   as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
   as with the lender, so with the borrower;
   as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
   for the Lord has spoken this word.

The earth dries up and withers,
   the world languishes and withers;
   the heavens languish together with the earth.
The earth lies polluted
   under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
   violated the statutes,
   broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
   and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
   and few people are left.
The wine dries up,
   the vine languishes,
   all the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
   the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
   the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No longer do they drink wine with singing;
   strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
The city of chaos is broken down,
   every house is shut up so that no one can enter.
There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
   all joy has reached its eventide;
   the gladness of the earth is banished.
Desolation is left in the city,
   the gates are battered into ruins.
For thus it shall be on the earth
   and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
   as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
   they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
   in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand to say Magnificat

All sit for the second Lesson, John 16: 25–end

Jesus said, 'I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.'

His disciples said, 'Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand to say Nunc dimittis

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.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit for the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

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 says the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

Lord, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.

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 remain kneeling or seated for the Intercessions, at the end of which 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 clergy depart

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

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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.