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.

The service is sung by the Lay Vicars of Westminster Abbey.

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.

The Commonwealth Nations

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

O lux beata Trinitas,
Et principalis Unitas,
Iam sol recedit igneus,
Infunde lumen cordibus.

Te mane laudum carmine,
Te deprecemur vesperi,
Te nostra supplex gloria
Per cuncta laudet saecula.

Christum rogamus et Patrem,
Christi Patrisque Spiritum;
Unum potens per omnia,
Fove precantes, Trinitas.
   Amen.

O Trinity, O blessed light, and primal Unity: now as the fiery sun recedes, pour light into our hearts.

In the morning we praise you with song, in the evening to you we pray. Let our humble worship praise you throughout the ages.

We beseech Christ and the Father and the Spirit who is of both: O one almighty Trinity, guard those who pray to you. Amen.

Words: anonymous, 4th century
Music: plainsong

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: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 37

Fret not thyself because of the ungodly : neither be thou envious against the evil-doers.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass : and be withered even as the green herb.
Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good : dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thou in the Lord : and he shall give thee thy heart's desire.
Commit thy way unto the Lord, and put thy trust in him : and he shall bring it to pass.
He shall make thy righteousness as clear as the light : and thy just dealing as the noon-day.
Hold thee still in the Lord, and abide patiently upon him : but grieve not thyself at him whose way doth prosper, against the man that doeth after evil counsels.
Leave off from wrath, and let go displeasure : fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.
Wicked doers shall be rooted out : and they that patiently abide the Lord, those shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the ungodly shall be clean gone : thou shalt look after his place, and he shall be away.
But the meek-spirited shall possess the earth : and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace.
The ungodly seeketh counsel against the just : and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
The Lord shall laugh him to scorn : for he hath seen that his day is coming.
The ungodly have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow : to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as are of a right conversation.
Their sword shall go through their own heart : and their bow shall be broken.
A small thing that the righteous hath : is better than great riches of the ungodly.
For the arms of the ungodly shall be broken : and the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
The Lord knoweth the days of the godly : and their inheritance shall endure for ever.
They shall not be confounded in the perilous time : and in the days of dearth they shall have enough.
As for the ungodly, they shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord shall consume as the fat of lambs : yea, even as the smoke, shall they consume away.
The ungodly borroweth, and payeth not again : but the righteous is merciful, and liberal.
Such as are blessed of God shall possess the land : and they that are cursed of him shall be rooted out.
The Lord ordereth a good man's going : and maketh his way acceptable to himself.
Though he fall, he shall not be cast away : for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old : and yet saw I never the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread.
The righteous is ever merciful, and lendeth : and his seed is blessed.
Flee from evil, and do the thing that is good : and dwell for evermore.
For the Lord loveth the thing that is right : he forsaketh not his that be godly, but they are preserved for ever.
The unrighteous shall be punished : as for the seed of the ungodly, it shall be rooted out.
The righteous shall inherit the land : and dwell therein for ever.
The mouth of the righteous is exercised in wisdom : and his tongue will be talking of judgement.
The law of his God is in his heart : and his goings shall not slide.
The ungodly seeth the righteous : and seeketh occasion to slay him.
The Lord will not leave him in his hand : nor condemn him when he is judged.
Hope thou in the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall promote thee, that thou shalt possess the land : when the ungodly shall perish, thou shalt see it.
I myself have seen the ungodly in great power : and flourishing like a green bay-tree.
I went by, and lo, he was gone : I sought him, but his place could no where be found.
Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right : for that shall bring a man peace at the last.
As for the transgressors, they shall perish together : and the end of the ungodly is, they shall be rooted out at the last.
But the salvation of the righteous cometh of the Lord : who is also their strength in the time of trouble.
And the Lord shall stand by them, and save them : he shall deliver them from the ungodly, and shall save them, because they put their trust in him.

All stand

Chant: plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 49: 1–7

Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, 'You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'
But I said, 'I have laboured in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.'

And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
he says,
'It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'

Thus says the Lord,
   the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
   the slave of rulers,
'Kings shall see and stand up,
   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.'

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Verse Service, George Marson (c 1573–1632)

All sit for the second Lesson, John 19: 16–25a

The chief priests took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write, "The King of the Jews", but, "This man said, I am King of the Jews." ' Pilate answered, 'What I have written I have written.' When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.' This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
'They divided my clothes among themselves,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.'
And that is what the soldiers did.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Verse Service, George Marson

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.

The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit

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

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.

Music: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes,
   and I shall keep it unto the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law,
   yea, I shall keep it with my whole heart.
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments,
   for therein is my desire.
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,
   and not unto covetousness.
O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity,
   and quicken thou me in thy way.
O stablish thy word in thy servant,
   that I may fear thee.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Words: Psalm 119: 33–38
Music: William Byrd (c 1540–1623)

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.