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 choral Evensong 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.

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.

During the Abbey Choir's vacation we welcome visiting choirs from the United Kingdom and beyond to lead the music at our services. Today's service is sung by the Kampen Boys' Choir, Netherlands.

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 choir and clergy enter

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 say together the Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: William Smith (1603–45)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 107: 1–9, 33–end

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious : and his mercy endureth for ever.
Let them give thanks whom the Lord hath redeemed : and delivered from the hand of the enemy;
and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west : from the north, and from the south.
They went astray in the wilderness out of the way : and found no city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty : their soul fainted in them.
So they cried unto the Lord in their trouble : and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them forth by the right way : that they might go to the city where they dwelt.
O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness : and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men.
For he satisfieth the empty soul : and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Who turneth the floods into a wilderness : and drieth up the water-springs.
A fruitful land maketh he barren : for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
Again, he maketh the wilderness a standing water : and water-springs of a dry ground.
And there he setteth the hungry : that they may build them a city to dwell in;
that they may sow their land, and plant vineyards : to yield them fruits of increase.
He blesseth them, so that they multiply exceedingly : and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
And again, when they are minished, and brought low : through oppression, through any plague, or trouble;
though he suffer them to be evil intreated through tyrants : and let them wander out of the way in the wilderness;
Yet helpeth he the poor out of misery : and maketh him households like a flock of sheep.
The righteous will consider this, and rejoice : and the mouth of all wickedness shall be stopped.
Whoso is wise will ponder these things : and they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.

All stand

Chant: Edward Bairstow (1874–1946)

All sit for the first Lesson, Job 9: 1–24

Job answered:
'Indeed I know that this is so;
   but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him,
   one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
   when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place,
   and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
   who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
   and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion,
   the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond understanding,
   and marvellous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
   he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him?
   Who will say to him, "What are you doing?"

'God will not turn back his anger;
   the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.
How then can I answer him,
   choosing my words with him?
Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
   I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
If I summoned him and he answered me,
   I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
For he crushes me with a tempest,
   and multiplies my wounds without cause;
he will not let me get my breath,
   but fills me with bitterness.
If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
   If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
   though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
I am blameless; I do not know myself;
   I loathe my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
   he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
When disaster brings sudden death,
   he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
   he covers the eyes of its judges—
   if it is not he, who then is it?'

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in F, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1934)

All sit for the second Lesson, Mark 15: 21–32

The soldiers compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry Jesus's cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, 'The King of the Jews.' And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, 'Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!' In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.' Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in F, Charles Villiers Stanford

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. The officiant and choir sing 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 sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

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, 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.

Music: William Smith

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Many waters cannot quench love,
   neither can the floods drown it.

Love is strong as death.

'Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.'

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.

Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Words: Song of Solomon 8: 7a, 6b; John 15: 13a; 1 Peter 2: 24; 1 Corinthians 6: 11b; 1 Peter 2: 9; Romans 12: 1
Music: 'Greater Love Hath No Man' John Ireland (1879–1962)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions

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

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.