munion office at the time of celebration; or if it be convenient that they be both together, if then the sermon be in the afternoon, the length will be very tolerable. 5. These Prayers being intended only as a charitable ministry to them, who are not permitted to use those which were appointed formerly, there is no necessity upon any one, and he may use as much or as little as he please; and therefore no man will have cause to complain of length or shortness. : For the Offices themselves, I pray God bless them to all those ends whither they are designed, and to which in their own nature they can minister. And as I humbly recommend them to God's blessing, so I do submit them to the judgment of my afflicted mother the Church of England, and particularly to the censure of my spiritual superiors: and I desire that these prayers may no longer be used in any public place, than my lords the bishops, upon prudent inquiries and grave considerations, shall perceive them apt to minister to God's glory, and useful to the present or future necessities of the sons and daughters of the Church of England. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. Say one or more of these Sentences. He that covereth his sins, shall not prosper: but he that confesseth and forsaketh them, shall have mercy. Prov. xxviii. 13. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he hath set before us by his servants the prophets. Dan. ix. 10. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John, i. 8, 9. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psal. li. 17. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart, and a new spirit. For why will ye die? I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. Ezek. xviii. 31, 32. After which say, Draw nigh, therefore, unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you. Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and make a confession of your sins unto him, with a hearty sorrow and an humble hope, begging for pardon at the throne of grace. Let us pray. O ALMIGHTY GOD, great Lord of heaven and earth, we miserable sinners, with fear and shame, cast ourselves down before thee, humbly confessing our manifold sins and unsufferable wickednesses, by which we have deserved thy wrath, and that we should be separated from the sweetest comforts of thy presence for ever. II. We confess, O great God, we have sinned against thee by knowledge and by ignorance, by folly and by surprise, by word and deed, by anger and desires, by night and by day, in private and in public, by the lusts of the flesh, and the vanity and pride of our spirits: our sins of omission are infinite, and the sins of our tongue cannot be numbered; O God, thy words and laws are holy, and thy judgments are terrible; but we have broken all thy righteous laws and commandments, and we have great cause to be afraid of thy severest judgments: and where shall we appear, when thou art angry with us? III. But thou shalt answer for us, O Lord our God: thou art our Judge, but thou art our Redeemer; we have sinned, but thou, O blessed Jesus, art our Advocate. Have mercy upon us; have mercy upon us most miserable sinners; enter not into judgment with us, lest we die; let not thine anger arise, lest we be consumed; but spare us, gracious Lord, spare thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood; O reserve not evil in store for us against the day of vengeance, but show thy goodness in us, and let thy mercies be magnified upon us; deliver us, O Lord, from the power of sin; and preserve us from the punishments of it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Deprecation to be used upon solemn Days, or at the Discretion of him that ministers. I. O LORD our God, whose power is infinite, whose glory is supreme, whose mercy is without measure, whose goodness is unspeakable, despise not thy returning servants, who earnestly beg for pardon and to be reconciled to thee: sanctify, O God, our bodies and souls, search out our spirits, and cast out all iniquity from within us; all weak principles and false arguings, every impure lust and filthy desire, all pride and envy, all hypocrisy and lying, all inordinate love of this world, and base covetousness; all hardness of heart, and unrelenting dispositions, all peevishness and hasty anger, all mindfulness of injuries and revengefulness, all blasphemy and irreligion; and every motion of soul and body, which can withdraw us from thee, and is against thy will and commandment. II. 5 Gracious Father, give us perfect pardon for what is past, and a perfect repentance of all our evils, that, for the time to come, we may, with pure spirits, with broken and contrite hearts, with sanctified lips and holy desires, serve thee religiously; walk humbly with our God; converse justly and charitably with men; and possess our souls in patience and holiness, and our bodies in sanctification and honour, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Prayer of Absolution, to be said by the Minister alone, according to his Piety and Discretion, when he sees cause, not frequently. Our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus, the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, that Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, who promised paradise to the repenting thief, and gave pardon to the woman taken in adultery, - pardon and forgive all your sins known and unknown. O blessed Jesus, in whatsoever thy servants as men bearing flesh about them, and inhabiting this world, or deceived by the devil, have sinned, whether in word or deed, whether in thought or desire, whether by omission or commission, let it be forgiven unto them by thy word and by thy Spirit; and for ever preserve thy servants from sinning against thee, and from suffering thine eternal anger, for thy promise' sake, and for thy glorious name's sake, O blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus. Amen. Then devoutly and, distinctly say the Lord's Prayer. 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. |