Our worship begins with the sound of a bell.

Please stand as we sing our first hymn during which flags from uniformed organisations in the area are presented.

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed,
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good:
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heav’n and earth adore,
From men and from the angel-host
Be praise and glory evermore.

Words: William Kethe (d. 1594) from ‘Day’s Psalter’ (1560)
Music: from the ‘Genevan Psalter’ (1551)
Hymn Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH

The president then says:

O Lord, open our lips

and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Let your ways be known upon earth,

your saving power among the nations.

We gather together to worship God
and in thanksgiving
for the seventy years of faithful service
of our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth.
We give thanks for her example of faithfulness
to God and to her people,
and pray God’s blessing on her
that she may continue to fulfil
the promises she has made with generosity and joy.

The president introduces a time of silent prayer with the words ‘Let us pray’. Silence is kept.

Gracious God, we give you thanks
for the reign of your servant Elizabeth our Queen,
and for the example of loving and faithful service
which she has shown among us.
Help us to follow her example of dedication
and to commit our lives to you and to one another,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Please remain standing as the choir sing a setting of

Psalm 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills:
From whence cometh my help?

My help cometh even from the Lord:
Who hath made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
And he that keepeth thee will not sleep.

Behold he that keepeth Israel:
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord himself is thy keeper;
The Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand.

So that the sun shall not burn thee by day:
Neither the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
Yea it is even he that shall keep thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in:
From this time forth for evermore.

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.

Music: Barry Rose (b.1934)
This setting of the psalm was composed
for Her Majesty The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Service
which was held in St Paul’s Cathedral on 7 June 1977

Old Testament Reading

Please sit.

A reading from the book of Proverbs.

Does not wisdom call
    and understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
“To you, O people, I call,
    and my cry is to all who live.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
    acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, for I will speak noble things,
    and from my lips will come what is right,
for my mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
    there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
They are all straight to one who understands
    and right to those who find knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver
    and knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is better than jewels,
    and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
I, wisdom, live with prudence,
    and I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
    and perverted speech I hate.
I have good advice and sound wisdom;
    I have insight; I have strength.
By me kings reign,
    and rulers decree what is just;
by me rulers rule,
    and nobles, all who govern rightly.

Proverbs 8.1–16

Hymn

Please stand.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art,
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,
Be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord,
Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son,
Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight,
Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might,
Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tow’r,
O raise thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Be thou mine inheritance now and always,
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart,
O Sov’reign of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys after vict’ry is won,
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

Words: Irish (c. 8^th century)
Translated by Mary Byrne (1880-1931) and Eleanor Hull (1860-1935)
Hymn Tune: SLANE

New Testament Reading

Please sit.

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew.

So the Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.

Matthew 22.16–22

Sermon

Please sit after the preacher leads us in prayer.

Hymn

Please stand.

Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided,
Urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way,
Sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided:
Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.

Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us,
Speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze,
Teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us:
Lord of the word, receive your people’s praise.

Lord, for our land in this our generation,
Spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care:
For young and old, for commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.

Lord, for our world; when we disown and doubt you,
Loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain,
Hungry and helpless, lost indeed without you:
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.

Lord for ourselves; in living pow’r remake us –
Self on the cross and Christ upon the throne,
Past put behind us, for the future take us:
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.

Words: Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926)
Music: Michael Baughen (b. 1930) arr. David Iliff (b. 1939)
Hymn Tune: LORD OF THE YEARS

The Prayers of Intercession

Following an invitation to pray from the intercessor we kneel or sit and the response to the bidding is:

Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

At the end.

Let us pray with confidence in the words our Saviour taught us;

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.

Anthem

‘In Our Service’

No gilded throne nor gleaming crown of sapphire
Can sure outshine an earthly vow
To serve, to live with dignity.
With humble stewardship and sacrifice,
A pledge of unity: a vow of love.

Though earthly rulers’ roles are often fleeting,
Truth comes to those who nobly dare
To live a life of constancy;
To love as Jesus has commanded us,
A living ministry: an act of love.

So ev’ry day, we strive to do what’s right;
Not choosing spite, nor breeding hate.
A life of faith and honesty.
As courage is the key to progress,
We’ll surely journey on, sustained by love.

The truth is, Christ gives the pattern for our love;
And surely love will life sustain.
With endless grace of heart and mind,
A life lived ever in God’s service:
A faithful Child of God
To show us holy life,
And in eternity,
A vow of love.

Words & Music: Thomas Hewitt-Jones (b. 1984)

Her Majesty The Queen is the Patron of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM). To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee the RSCM commissioned this anthem in her honour. The text includes some extracts from the Queen’s own speeches.

The Act of Dedication

Please stand.

As we give thanks for Her Majesty’s service to us all,
let us dedicate our own lives once again to the love and service of God and neighbour:

Lord of our lives and Father of all,
grant that our thanksgiving
may prove itself in service
to you and to our Queen,
our country and one another,
for your Name’s sake.
Amen.

Hymn

During this hymn the flags are returned.

Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and mind and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mother’s arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son and him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Words: Martin Rinkart (1586-1649)
translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Music: Johann Crüger (1598-1662)
Hymn Tune: NUN DANKET

The Blessing

God grant to the living, grace;
to the departed, rest;
to the Church, the Queen,
the Commonwealth, and all humankind,
peace and concord;
and to us and all his servants, life everlasting;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

The National Anthem

The National Anthem is sung.

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen.
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen!