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41.

Let us pray.

God, merciful Father, that despiseft not the figh ing of a contrite heart, nor the defire of fuch as be forrowful; Mercifully affift our prayers that we make before thee in all our troubles and adverfities, whenfoever they opprefs us: and graciously hear us, that thofe evils which the craft and fubtilty of the devil or man worketh against us, be brought to nought, and by the providence of thy goodnefs they may be difperfed; that we thy fervants, being hurt by no perfecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church, through Jefus Chrift our Lord.

42. O Lord, arife, help us, and deliver us for thy Name's fake.

43. O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them.

44. O Lord, arife, help us, and deliver us for thine honour. 45. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoft;

PARAPHRASE.

41. Let us now jointly proftrate ourselves before the Almighty, and offer up to him one common prayer. O God, whofe fatherly mercy is ever prompt to fuccour all thy creatures in diftrefs, thou who doft not defpife a forrowful and contrite heart, and from whom no groanings are hid, we beseech thee to grant us the aid of thy holy fpirit, to affilt and quicken the prayers which we pour forth unto thee in the time of our trouble; and be pleafed fo far to hear our prayers favourably, that all the ill defigns which are formed against thy church by devils or wicked men, may be fo baffled and brought to nothing by thy good providence, that, all perfecution being at an end, the church may enjoy a ftate of perfect tranquillity, and praife thee for evermore; which we beg for Jesus Christ's fake. Amen.

42. O Lord do not remain any longer a fpectator only of our fufferings, but rife up with hafte to affift us, and deliver us for the fake of thy name, by which we are called, and for the fake of thy true religion which we profess.

43. Sacred hiftory informs us of the marvellous things which thou haft done for the fake of thy church in times of old;

44. O Lord rife up and deliver us in like manner, in the prefent age, and thereby affert thy own honour in fuccouring thy fervants.

45. All glory be afcribed to God the Father, Gad the Son, and God

the

Anfo. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall

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46. From our enemies defend us, O Chrift. Graciously look upon our afflictions.

47. Pitifully behold the forrows of our hearts. Mercifully forgive the fins of thy people.

48. Favourably with mercy hear our prayers. O Son of David have mercy upon us.

Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ. Graciously bear us, O Chrift; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ.

51.

Prieft. 49. O Lord, let thy mercy be fhewed upon us; Anfw. As we do put our truft in thee.

WE

50. Let us pray.

E humbly befeech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory

PARAPHRASE.

er-bleffed trinity.

the Holy Ghoft, the three Perfons of the everAnfas. As they have exifted in the plenitude of blifs from all eternity, exift at prefent, and will exist for evermore.

46. O dear Saviour, defend us from all our foes, both fpiritual and temporal, and look with compaffion upon us in our prefent deplorable condition, oppreffed with a load of fin, and dreading the punishment which we have incurred.

47. We befeech thee to look with compaffion upon the miferies which we undergo, and upon the forrow which we feel for having offended an omnipetent and good God; and forgive the fins of us who, indeed, by outward profeffion, have acquired a right to be looked upon as thy people, tho' by the enormity of our fins we have moft justly forfeited it.

48. But for relief we apply to thee, O Christ, our blessed Lord and Redeemer; O give ear unto our prayers, do thou intercede for us with thy heavenly Father, and prefent our petitions before him.

49. O Lord, afford us thy mercy, not according to our deferts, for then we should entirely defpair of it; but according to the ardour of our defires, and the fincerity with which we rely upon thee alone, for the pardon of, and deliverance from, our fins.

50. This refponfory devotion being concluded, let us in joint and continued prayer addrefs ourselves to the Almighty;

51. O kind and indulgent Father, we proftrate ourfelves before thee with the utmost humility, intreating thee, thro' the great mercy which thou bearest to all thy creatures, to look with compaffion upon the infir mities and frailties of our nature; whereby we have been led into thofe

of thy Name, turn from us all thofe evils that we moft righteously have deserved: and grant, that in all our troubles, we may put our whole truft and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and purenefs of living, to thy honour and glory, through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A L

A Prayer of St Chryfoftom.

Lmighty God, who haft given us grace, at this time with one accord to make our common fupplications unto thee; and doft promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy name, thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the defires and petitions of thy fervants, as may be moft expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlafting. Amen.

PARAPHRASE.

fins which have excited thy anger, and to avert from as that punishment which we have fo juftly incurred; befeeching thee to grant, that in all the troubles which our fins may draw upon us, if thou, in thy unfathomable wisdom, doft think fit to let them continue, we may not confide in our own arm nor in the affiftance of faints or angels, according to the example of others, but that we may rely entirely upon thy mercy; and tho' thy hand may lie heavy upon us, yet give us grace and perfeverance to ferve thee by an holy and virtuous life, which may tend to thy honour and glory and this we beg, for the fake of Jefus Chrift, whofe interceffion alone will be accepted by the Almighty."

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Paraphrafe on the PRAYER of St Chryfoftom.

O omnipotent Being, to whofe grace and favour we are indebted for this opportunity, of addreffing ourfelves unto thee, in the public fervice of the church, and who, in thy holy word, haft promifed us, that where two or three are gathered together in thy name, thou art in the midst of them (Matt. xviii. 20.) and that what they agree on, fhall be done for them in heaven; (ibid. 19.) depending therefore upon the gracious promife which thou hast thought proper to make to thy church, we humbly petition thee at the throne of grace, to grant us all that we have prayed for, as far (efpecially with regard to temporal matters) as it shall appear to thy unerring wifdom, to be confiftent with our eternal welfare: de. firing thee however of thy goodnefs, to afford us all requifite knowledge in the truths of religion, whilft we remain in this world, and after death, to tranflate us to the immortal glory of heaven. Amen.

my

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2 Cor. 13. 14:

HE grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the love of God, and the God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us 'all evermore. Amen.

Paraphrafe on the Bleffing.

My chriftian brethren, I fhall now conclude this part of the service, with the benediction ufed by St Paul, (2 Cor. xiii. 14.) configning over both you and myself to the care and protection of the ever-bleffed Trinity; befetching the great God, who in one nature unites three perfons, that we may be abfolved by the grace which our bleffed Lord Jefus Chrift has obtained for us by the great work of redemption: that we may be juftifed by the love of the Father, who is now reconciled to us through his blood and finally, that by participating of the communication of the Holy Ghost, we may be fanctified. Amen.

Here endeth the Litany.

PRAYERS and THANKSGIVINGS Upon feveral OCCASIONS,

To be used before the two final Prayers of the Litany, or of Morning and Evening Prayer.

PRAYER S.

For RAIN.

Bath them

God, heavenly Father, who by thy Son Jefus Chrift haft promised to all them that feek thy Kingdom, and the righteoufnefs thereof, all things neceffary to their bodily fuftenance; fend us, we beseech thee, in this our neceflity,

PARAPHRASE.

On the PRAYER for Rain.

O God our Father, whofe habitation is the higheft heaven, and who haft promifed, by thy Son Jefus our bleffed Lord, that all thofe that feek the kingdom of beaven and the righteoufnefs thereof, fhall have all outward things added unto them, we beseech thee to fend us, now that our neceffities require it, now that the ground is parched up for want of moisture, fuch

a kindly

fuch moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth, to our comfort, and to thy honour, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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For fair Weather.

Almighty Lord God, who for the fin of man didft once drown all the world, except eight perfons, and afterward of thy great mercy didft promise never to destroy it fo again; We humbly befeech thee, that although we for our iniquities have worthily deferved a plague of rain and waters; yet upon our true repentance, thou wilt fend us fuch weather, as that we may receive the fruits of the earth in due feafon; and learn both by thy punishment to amend our lives, and for thy clemency to give thee praise and glory, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

In the time of dearth and famine.

God, heavenly Father, whofe gift it is, that the rain doth fall, the earth is fruitful, beafts increase, and

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a kindly rain as may refresh the dry earth, fo that it may yield its accuftomed fruits to the comfort of us, thy poor creatures, who depend upon them for nourishment; that thereby we may be enabled to use them to thy honour and glory; which favour we beg for the fake of our blessed Saviour, Jefus Chrift. Amen.

Paraphrafe on the PRAYER for fair Weather.

O Almighty God, who when thou didst fee that all flesh had corrupted its way upon earth, (Gen. vi. 12.) didit by the deluge, deftroy all the inhabitants of the world, excepting only eight perfons belonging to the family of the righteous Noah, and didft afterwards fix thy bow in the clouds, as a fign that the waters fhould no more become a flood to destroy all flesh (Gen. ix. 15.) we humbly intreat thee, that tho' we, by our fins, have deferved to perifh by a deluge likewife, thou wouldft, upon our repentance, be graciously pleafed to grant us fuch feasonable weather, that the fruits of the earth being ripened by the foftering heat of the fun, we may gather them for our ufe at the proper season, and that we, seriously reflecting upon thy chastisement, may learn to lead more holy lives for the time to come; and in confideration of thy mercy, which has fpared us after fo many reiterated provocations, may be ftill more strongly excited to praise and adore thy goodness, the greatest of all thy attributes; and this favour we pray thee to grant us for the fake of our ever-blessed Saviour Jefus Chrift. Amen.

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