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 Open Doors and the work of the Abbey. Open Doors helps persecuted Christians around the world continue to follow Jesus courageously.

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 35

Plead thou my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me :
and fight thou against them that fight against me.
Lay hand upon the shield and buckler :
and stand up to help me.
Bring forth the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me :
say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Let them be confounded, and put to shame, that seek after my soul :
let them be turned back, and brought to confusion, that imagine mischief for me.
Let them be as the dust before the wind :
and the angel of the Lord scattering them.
Let their way be dark and slippery :
and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
For they have privily laid their net to destroy me without a cause :
yea, even without a cause have they made a pit for my soul.
Let a sudden destruction come upon him unawares, and his net, that he hath laid privily, catch himself :
that he may fall into his own mischief.
And, my soul, be joyful in the Lord :
it shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him :
yea, the poor, and him that is in misery, from him that spoileth him?
False witnesses did rise up :
they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
They rewarded me evil for good :
to the great discomfort of my soul.
Nevertheless, when they were sick, I put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting :
and my prayer shall turn into mine own bosom.
I behaved myself as though it had been my friend, or my brother :
I went heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together :
yea, the very abjects came together against me unawares, making mouths at me, and ceased not.
With the flatterers were busy mockers :
who gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Lord, how long wilt thou look upon this :
O deliver my soul from the calamities which they bring on me, and my darling from the lions.
So will I give thee thanks in the great congregation :
I will praise thee among much people.
O let not them that are mine enemies triumph over me ungodly :
neither let them wink with their eyes that hate me without a cause.
And why? their communing is not for peace :
but they imagine deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land.
They gaped upon me with their mouths, and said :
Fie on thee, fie on thee, we saw it with our eyes.
This thou hast seen, O Lord :
hold not thy tongue then, go not far from me, O Lord.
Awake, and stand up to judge my quarrel :
avenge thou my cause, my God, and my Lord.
Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness :
and let them not triumph over me.
Let them not say in their hearts, There, there, so would we have it :
neither let them say, We have devoured him.
Let them be put to confusion and shame together, that rejoice at my trouble :
let them be clothed with rebuke and dishonour, that boast themselves against me.
Let them be glad and rejoice, that favour my righteous dealing :
yea, let them say alway, Blessed be the Lord, who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
And as for my tongue, it shall be talking of thy righteousness :
and of thy praise all the day long.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Hosea 14: 1–7

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
   for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you
   and return to the Lord;
say to him,
'Take away all guilt;
   accept that which is good,
   and we will offer
   the fruit of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
   we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, "Our God",
   to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.'

I will heal their disloyalty;
   I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
   I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily,
   he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.
His shoots shall spread out;
   his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
   and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
They shall again live beneath my shadow,
   they shall flourish as a garden;
they shall blossom like the vine,
   their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand to say Magnificat

All sit for the second Lesson, 2 Timothy 4: 1–8

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

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

Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; 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

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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.