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 and singing the hymn 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.

Visiting Choirs

When the Abbey Choirs are on holiday, the Abbey is pleased to welcome visiting choirs, upholding the Abbey's pattern of choral services. This is an important aspect of worship at Westminster Abbey, and choirs are received both at the invitation of the Minor Canons and Music Departments and via online applications. More information and details on how to apply can be found here.

Today's service is sung by The Cathedral Singers of Ontario, Canada. The Cathedral Singers of Ontario was founded in 2000. CSO draws singers from Southwestern Ontario and visits the United Kingdom twice a year for week-long residencies at a cathedral. Ian Sadler, a former chorister and organ scholar at St Paul's Cathedral, directs the choir. Guest conductors are often engaged including Simon Lole, Paul Trepte, and Martin Elliott, a former chorister of Westminster Abbey. This is the choir's third visit to Westminster Abbey and its thirty-fifth to the UK.

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 140

Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man : and preserve me from the wicked man.
Who imagine mischief in their hearts : and stir up strife all the day long.
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent : adders' poison is under their lips.
Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the ungodly : preserve me from the wicked men, who are purposed to overthrow my goings.
The proud have laid a snare for me, and spread a net abroad with cords : yea, and set traps in my way.
I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God : hear the voice of my prayers, O Lord.
O Lord God, thou strength of my health : thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
Let not the ungodly have his desire, O Lord : let not his mischievous imagination prosper, lest they be too proud.
Let the mischief of their own lips fall upon the head of them : that compass me about.
Let hot burning coals fall upon them : let them be cast into the fire and into the pit, that they never rise up again.
A man full of words shall not prosper upon the earth : evil shall hunt the wicked person to overthrow him.
Sure I am that the Lord will avenge the poor : and maintain the cause of the helpless.
The righteous also shall give thanks unto thy name : and the just shall continue in thy sight.

All stand

Chants: William Crotch (1775–1847) and John Harrison (1808–71)

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 63: 7–16

I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
   the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us,
   and the great favour to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
   according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, 'Surely they are my people,
   children who will not deal falsely';
and he became their saviour
   in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
   but his presence that saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
   he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

But they rebelled
   and grieved his holy spirit;
therefore he became their enemy;
   he himself fought against them.
Then they remembered the days of old,
   of Moses his servant.
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
   with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who put within them
   his holy spirit,
who caused his glorious arm
   to march at the right hand of Moses,
   who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
   who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
   they did not stumble.
Like cattle that go down into the valley,
   the spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Thus you led your people,
   to make for yourself a glorious name.

Look down from heaven and see,
   from your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
   The yearning of your heart and your compassion?
   They are withheld from me.
For you are our father,
   though Abraham does not know us
   and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our father;
   our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Canticles in E, Herbert Murrill (1909–52)

All sit for the second Lesson, Galatians 3: 23—4: 7

Before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Canticles in E, Herbert Murrill

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

Almighty God, who madest thy blessed Son Jesus Christ to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that, our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son 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

Hush, little baby, don't you cry;
I'm going to sing you a lullaby:
   Lullay!

Sweet little Jesus, with your birth
You bring salvation to all the earth.
   Lullay!

Fair Prince of peace, Lord of all,
We humbly kneel by your manger stall.
   Lullay!

God, in his mercy, on us has smiled;
He sends his love through this tiny child.
   Lullay!

Let us sing praises to our King;
In glad thanksgiving our voices shall ring,
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Glory to God in the highest.

Words and Music: 'Lullaby for the Christ Child' Ruth Watson Henderson (b 1932)

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 to sing the Hymn

Where is this stupendous stranger?
   Prophets, shepherds, kings advise:
lead me to my Master's manger,
   show me where my Saviour lies.

O most mighty, O most holy,
   far beyond the seraph's thought!
Art thou then so mean and lowly
   as unheeded prophets taught?

O the magnitude of meekness,
   worth from worth immortal sprung!
O the strength of infant weakness,
   if eternal is so young!

God all-bounteous, all-creative,
   whom no ills from good dissuade,
is incarnate—and a native
   of the very world he made.

Words: from'The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' Christopher Smart (1722–71)
Tune: 'Ottery St Mary' 41i NEH, Henry Ley (1887–1962)

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

Music after the service

Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her BWV 769, Variatio IV & V, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

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

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Hymn covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. 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.