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.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Cathedral Music Trust and the work of the Abbey. Cathedral Music Trust supports the valuable work of musicians who enrich so many lives through the power of cathedral music.

Visiting Choirs

When the Abbey Choirs are on holiday, the Abbey welcomes 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, the Abbey is pleased to welcome Bristol University Madrigal Ensemble to sing Evensong.

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: Kenneth Leighton (1929–88)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 119: 145–160

I call with my whole heart : hear me, O Lord, I will keep thy statutes.
Yea, even unto thee do I call : help me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
Early in the morning do I cry unto thee : for in thy word is my trust.
Mine eyes prevent the night-watches : that I might be occupied in thy words.
Hear my voice, O Lord, according unto thy loving-kindness : quicken me, according as thou art wont.
They draw nigh that of malice persecute me : and are far from thy law.
Be thou nigh at hand, O Lord : for all thy commandments are true.
As concerning thy testimonies, I have known long since : that thou hast grounded them for ever.

O consider mine adversity, and deliver me : for I do not forget thy law.
Avenge thou my cause, and deliver me : quicken me, according to thy word.
Health is far from the ungodly : for they regard not thy statutes.
Great is thy mercy, O Lord : quicken me, as thou art wont.
Many there are that trouble me, and persecute me : yet do I not swerve from thy testimonies.
It grieveth me when I see the transgressors : because they keep not thy law.
Consider, O Lord, how I love thy commandments : O quicken me, according to thy loving-kindness.
Thy word is true from everlasting : all the judgements of thy righteousness endure for evermore.

All stand

Chants: Thomas Attwood (1765–1838) and John Brownsmith (1809–66)

All sit for the first Lesson, Jeremiah 13: 12–19

You shall speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Every wine-jar should be filled with wine. And they will say to you, 'Do you think we do not know that every wine-jar should be filled with wine?' Then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, parents and children together, says the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion when I destroy them.

Hear and give ear; do not be haughty,
   for the Lord has spoken.
Give glory to the Lord your God
   before he brings darkness,
and before your feet stumble
   on the mountains at twilight;
while you look for light,
   he turns it into gloom
  and makes it deep darkness.
But if you will not listen,
   my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
   because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.

Say to the king and the queen mother:
   'Take a lowly seat,
for your beautiful crown
   has come down from your head.'
The towns of the Negeb are shut up
   with no one to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
   wholly taken into exile.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Magnificat anima mea Dominum,
   et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo Salutari meo;
quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae.
   Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes;
quia fecit mihi Magna qui potens est,
   et sanctum nomen eius.
Et misericordia eius, a progenie in progenies
   timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo,
   dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede
   et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis
   et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum,
   recordatus misericordiae suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
   Abraham et semini eius in saecula.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto;
sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; for he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek; he hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

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

Magnificat primi toni a 8, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c 1525–94)

All sit for the second Lesson, Acts 13: 26–35

Paul said, 'My brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
"You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you."
As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
"I will give you the holy promises made to David."
Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
"You will not let your Holy One experience corruption."'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine
   secundum verbum tuum in pace,
quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
   quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum,
lumen ad revelationem Gentium
   et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto;
sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

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

Nunc dimittis a 8, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

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, of Lent, for peace, and for aid against all perils

Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent; create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; 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.

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus. Attendite universi populi et videte dolorem meum, si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus.

All you who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow like as my sorrow. Behold, all you people, and see my sorrow, if there is any sorrow like as my sorrow.

Words: after Lamentations 1: 12
Music: Tomás Luis de Victoria (c 1548–1611)

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

If you attend worship at the Abbey regularly, you may like to add this page to your home screen for easy access to our orders of service.

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.