Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Lord, be gracious unto us, and help us to obtain this blessing. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Grant unto us Thy Holy Spirit, O God, and enable us to obtain all these blessings, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 After a short pause, let the Leader continue in Prayer; saying, GLORY be to Thee, O Christ, who hast opened the kingdom of heaven unto the poor in spirit, and given power to them that believe in Thee to become the sons of God. Deliver us, O Lord, in Thy great mercy, from all the secret sins that hinder us from true blessedness. Strengthen us to keep Thy counsels of perfection, and to walk in the way of Thy commandments. And grant unto us that peace which the world can neither give nor take away, that at the last we may come unto Thee in glory, O Thou most blessed Lord Jesus, our only Saviour. Amen. NOW unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us; unto Him be glory and dominion in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. THE ORDER FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE COMMUNION When the time is come for administration, the Minister shall say, DEARLY beloved, as we draw near to the Lord's Supper to celebrate the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, let us consider earnestly our great need of having our comfort and strength so renewed in this our earthly pilgrimage and warfare; and especially how necessary it is that we come unto the Lord's Table with knowledge, faith, repentance, love, and with hearts hungering and thirsting after Christ. Not unto those who live willingly in transgression and offenses, holding fellowship with hatred, malice, or impurity; nor unto those who cherish pride and self-righteousness in their hearts, trusting secretly in their own works and merits, are these benefits of Christ offered. But all that are truly sorry for their sins and would be delivered from the burden of them, all that humbly put their trust in Christ, and desire His grace that they may lead a holy life, are invited and encouraged in His Name to come to this Sacrament. Let us therefore so come that we may find refreshing and rest unto our souls. Then let the company sing The Table, on which the elements are placed, being decently covered, the bread in convenient dishes, and the wine in cups, and the Communicants orderly and gravely sitting around the Table (or in their seats before it) in the presence of the Minister, he shall say, BELOVED in the Lord, attend to the Words of the Institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, as they are delivered by the Apostle Paul: "I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." And now, in His Name, I take these elements (¶ Here the Minister may lay his hand upon the plate and the cup) to be set apart by prayer and thanksgiving to the holy use for which He has appointed them. Then the Minister shall say, Let us pray. GOD, who by the blood of Thy dear Son hast consecrated for us a new and a living way into the holiest of all; Cleanse our minds, we beseech Thee, by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that, drawing near unto Thee with a pure heart and undefiled conscience, we may receive these Thy gifts without sin, and worthily magnify Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose once offering up of Himself, by Himself, upon the cross, once for all, we commemorate before Thee; We beseech Thee to accept this our spiritual oblation of all possible praise for the same. And here we offer and present, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice, acceptable unto Thee through Jesus Christ Thy Son: And we most humbly beseech Thee, Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, to vouchsafe Thy gracious presence, and the effectual working of Thy Spirit in us, and so to sanctify these elements both of Bread and Wine, and to bless Thine own Ordinance; that we may receive by faith Christ crucified for us, and so feed upon Him, that He may be one with us and we with Him; that He may live in us, and we in Him who hath loved us, and given Himself for us: Even Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be praise and power, might, majesty, and dominion, both now and evermore. Amen. The Bread and the Wine being thus set apart by Prayer and Thanksgiving, the Minister is to take the Bread, and break it, in view of the company, saying, OUR Lord Jesus Christ, on the same night in which He was betrayed, having taken Bread, and blessed and broken it, gave it to His disciples; as I, ministering in His Name, give this Bread unto you; saying, Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. Then the Minister, who is also himself to communicate, is to give the Bread to be distributed. After having given the Bread, he shall take the Cup and say, AFTER the same manner our Saviour also took the Cup; and having given thanks, as hath been done in His Name, He gave it to His disciples, saying, This Cup is the New Testament in My Blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins: drink ye all of it. Then the Minister, who is also to partake of the Cup, shall give it to be administered. After all have communicated, the Minister shall say, Let us pray. ALMIGHTY and ever-living God, we most heartily thank Thee for Thy rich mercy and invaluable goodness, vouchsafed to us in this sacred Communion, wherein we have assurance that we are very members of the 'mystical body of Thy Son, and heirs through hope of Thine everlasting kingdom. And, as we have been made partakers of Christ, so enable us to hold fast that which we have received, that no man may take our crown. Help us, we beseech Thee, to bear about with us continually the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal body; and grant that we may |