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 Commonwealth Forestry Association and the work of the Abbey. The Commonwealth Forestry Association exists to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the world's forests and the contributions they make to peoples' livelihoods.

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 40

I waited patiently for the Lord :
and he inclined unto me, and heard my calling.
He brought me also out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay :
and set my feet upon the rock, and ordered my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth :
even a thanksgiving unto our God.
Many shall see it, and fear :
and shall put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man that hath set his hope in the Lord :
and turned not unto the proud, and to such as go about with lies.
O Lord my God, great are the wondrous works which thou hast done, like as be also thy thoughts which are to us-ward :
and yet there is no man that ordereth them unto thee.
If I should declare them, and speak of them :
they should be more than I am able to express.
Sacrifice, and meat-offering, thou wouldest not :
but mine ears hast thou opened.
Burnt-offerings, and sacrifice for sin, hast thou not required :
then said I, Lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it is written of me, that I should fulfil thy will, O my God :
I am content to do it; yea, thy law is within my heart.
I have declared thy righteousness in the great congregation :
lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, and that thou knowest.
I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart :
my talk hath been of thy truth, and of thy salvation.
I have not kept back thy loving mercy and truth :
from the great congregation.
Withdraw not thou thy mercy from me, O Lord :
let thy loving-kindness and thy truth alway preserve me.
For innumerable troubles are come about me; my sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up :
yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.
O Lord, let it be thy pleasure to deliver me :
make haste, O Lord, to help me.
Let them be ashamed, and confounded together, that seek after my soul to destroy it :
let them be driven backward, and put to rebuke, that wish me evil.
Let them be desolate, and rewarded with shame :
that say unto me, Fie upon thee, fie upon thee.
Let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad in thee :
and let such as love thy salvation say alway, The Lord be praised.
As for me, I am poor and needy :
but the Lord careth for me.
Thou art my helper and redeemer :
make no long tarrying, O my God.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Proverbs 27: 1–12

Do not boast about tomorrow,
   for you do not know what a day may bring.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—
   a stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
   but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
   but who is able to stand before jealousy?
Better is open rebuke
   than hidden love.
Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
   but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
The sated appetite spurns honey,
   but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.
Like a bird that strays from its nest
   is one who strays from home.
Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
   but the soul is torn by trouble.
Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
   do not go to the house of your kindred on the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbour who is nearby
   than kindred who are far away.
Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
   so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.
The clever see danger and hide;
   but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand to say Magnificat

All sit for the second Lesson, John 15: 12–27

Jesus said, 'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

'If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, "Servants are not greater than their master." If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfil the word that is written in their law, "They hated me without a cause."

'When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.'

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 to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; 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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