it can be, to be made by such as be authorised by the Metropolitan or Bishop of the Diocese, and they to entreat of such matters especially as be meet for this cause of public prayer: or else, for want of such Preacher, to read one of the Homilies hereafter appointed, after the reading of the Gospel, as hath been accustomed. And so the Minister commending the people to God with the accustomed benediction, shall dimiss them.

If there be no Communion, then on every of the said Wednesdays after the Litany, the .x. Commandments, the Epistle, Gospel, the Sermon or Homily done: the general usual prayer for the state of the whole Church shall be read, as is set forth in the book of Common prayer. After which shall follow these two prayers:

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom. &c.

And,

Almighty God, which hast promised. &c. With the accustomed benediction.

¶ The Order for Fridays.

¶ On Fridays shall be only the Morning prayer, and the Litany, with the prayers now appointed to be annexed to the same.

¶ Homilies to be read in order on Wednesdays.

1. First, an Homily entitled, an Homily concerning the Justice of God in punishing of impenitent sinners. &c. Newly now set forth for that purpose.

2. The .viii. Homily of the first Tome of Homilies, entitled, Of the declining from God.

3. The .ix. Homily of the same Tome, entitled: An exhortation against the fear of death.

4. The Homily of Fasting, in the second Tome of Homilies.

5. The Homily of Prayer, in the same Tome.

6. The Homily of Alms deeds, in the same Tome.

7. The Homily of Repentance, in the same Tome also.

When these Homilies are once read over, then to begin again, and so to continue them in order.

After the end of the Collect in the Litany, which beginneth with these words: We humbly beseech thee, O Father. &c. shall follow this Psalm, to be said of the Minister, with the answer of the people.

¶ The Psalm to be said in the Litany, before one of the

out of Dr Williams's MS. do not seem intended to be confined to the Form for 1593, which gave occasion to them, and which was taken from this (see p. 471), but to be applied generally.]

[This Psalm may be seen in Bull's Christian Prayers (p. 162), but copied from the York Form.]

[LITURG. QU. ELIZ.]

31

Psal. 95.

Osee 6.

Acts 3.

Jona. 3.

Psal. 51.

1.

2.

3.

prayers newly appointed. Whereof one verse to be said of the Minister, and another by the people, clerk, or clerks.

O COME, let us humble our selves, and fall down before the Lord, with reverence and fear.

For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hands.

Come therefore, let us turn again unto our Lord; for he hath smitten us, and he shall heal us.

4. Let us repent, and turn from our wickedness: And our sins shall be forgiven us.

5.

6.

7.

Let us turn, and the Lord will turn from his heavy wrath, and will pardon us, and we shall not perish.

For we knowledge our faults: and our sins be ever before us.

We have sore provoked thine anger, O Lord: thy wrath Lament. 3. is waxed hot, and thy heavy displeasure is sore kindled against us.

Thou hast made us hear of the noise of wars, and hast troubled us by the vexation of enemies.

Thou hast in thine indignation stricken us with grievous sickness, and by and by we have fallen as leaves beaten down with a vehement wind.

In deed we acknowledge that all punishments are less than our deserv ings: But yet of thy mercy, Lord, correct us to amendment, and plague us not to our destruction.

For thy hand is not shortened, that thou canst not help: neither is thy goodness abated, that thou wilt not hear.

Thou hast promised, O Lord, that afore we cry thou wilt hear us: whilst we yet speak, thou wilt have mercy upon us.

For none that trust in thee shall be confounded: neither any that call upon thee shall be despised.

For thou art the only Lord, who woundest and dost heal again, who killest, and revivest, bringest even to hell, and bringest back again.

Our fathers hoped in thee, they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them.

They called upon thee, and were helped: they put their trust in thee, and were not confounded.

[The York Form, omitting this, makes the next verse the response, and carries on the change to the end of the Psalm. This was done by the express direction of Grindal. See his Remains, p. 265.]

O Lord, rebuke not us in thine indignation: neither 17. chasten us in thy heavy displeasure.

Psal. 6.

O remember not the sins and offences of our youth: but according to 18. thy mercy think thou upon us, O Lord, for thy goodness.

Psal. 25.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, for we are weak: O Lord, 19. heal us, for our bones are vexed.

Baruc. 3.

And now in the vexation of our spirits, and the anguish of our souls, 20. we remember thee, and we cry unto thee: hear, Lord, and have mercy. Jona. 2. For thine own sake, and for thy holy name sake, incline 21. thine ear, and hear, O merciful Lord.

Dani. 9.

For we do not pour out our prayers before thy face, trusting in our 22. own righteousness: but in thy great and manifold mercies.

Wash us throughly from our wickedness: and cleanse us 23. from our sins.

Turn thy face from our sins, and put out all our misdeeds.

24.

Make us clean hearts, O God: and renew a right spirit 25. within us.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: O deliver 26. us, and be merciful unto our sins for thy name's sake.

Psal. 79.

So we that be thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, shall 27. give thee thanks for ever, and will always be shewing forth thy praise, from generation to generation.

Glory be to the Father. &c.

After this Psalm, shall be said by the Curate or Minister openly and with an high voice, one of these three prayers following. And after that, orderly the rest of the Collects appointed in the Litany. At which time the people shall devoutly give ear, and shall both with mind and speech to themselves assent to the same prayers.

¶ A Prayer, containing also a Confession of sins. Which is to be said after the Litany, as well upon Sundays, as Wednesdays and Fridays.

O ALMIGHTY, most just and merciful God, we here acknowledge our selves most unworthy to lift up our eyes unto heaven; for our conscience doth accuse us, and our sins do reprove us. We know also that thou, Lord, being a just judge, must needs punish the sins of them which transgress thy law. And when we consider and examine all our whole life, we find nothing in our selves, that deserveth any other thing but eternal dampnation. But because thou, O Lord, of

[ Knox's Book of Common Order furnished this Prayer, and almost in the same words. See p. 263, note 4.]

thy unspeakable mercy, hast commanded us in all our necessities to call only upon thee, and hast also promised, that thou wilt hear our prayers, not for any our desert (which is none) but for the merits of thy Son our only Saviour Jesus Christ, whom thou hast ordained to be our only mediator and intercessor: we lay away all confidence in man, and do flee to the throne of thy only mercy, by the intercession of thy only Son our Saviour Jesu Christ. And first of all, we do most lament and bewail, from the bottom of our hearts, our unkindness and unthankfulness towards thee, our Lord, considering, that besides those thy benefits which we enjoy as thy creatures, common with all mankind, thou hast bestowed many and singular special benefits upon us, which we are not able in heart to conceive, much less in words worthily to express. Thou hast called us to the knowledge of thy Gospel. Thou hast released us from the hard servitude of Sathan. Thou hast delivered us from all horrible and execrable Idolatry, wherein we were utterly drowned, and hast brought us into the most clear and comfortable light of thy blessed word, by the which we are taught how to serve and honour thee, and how to live orderly with our neighbours in truth and verity. But we, most unmindful in times of prosperity of these thy great benefits, have neglected thy commandments, have abused the knowledge of thy Gospel, and have followed our carnal liberty, and served our own lusts; and through our sinful life have not worshipped and honoured thee, as we ought to have done. And now, O Lord, being even compelled with thy correction, we do most humbly confess that we have sinned, and have most grievously offended thee by many and sundry ways. And if thou, O Lord, wouldst now, being provoked with our disobedience, so deal with us as thou might, and as we have deserved, there remaineth nothing else to be looked for, but universal and continual plagues in this world, and hereafter eternal death and dampnation, both of our bodies and of our souls. For if we should excuse our selves, our own consciences would accuse us before thee, and our own disobedience and wickedness would bear witness against us. Yea, even thy plagues and punishments, which thou dost now lay upon us in sundry places, do teach us to acknowledge our sins. For seeing, O Lord, that thou art just, yea, even justice itself, thou punishest no people with

out desert. Yea, even at this present, O Lord, we see thy hand terribly stretched out to plague us and punish us. But although thou shouldest punish us more grievously than thou hast done, and for one plague send an hundreth; if thou shouldst pour upon us all those the testimonies of thy most just wrath, which in times passed thou pouredst on thy own. chosen people of Israel: yet shouldst thou do us no wrong, neither could we deny but we had justly deserved the same. But yet, O merciful Lord, thou art our God, and we nothing but dust and ashes: Thou art our Creator, and we the work of thy hands: Thou art our Pastor, we are thy flock: Thou art our Redeemer, and we thy people redeemed: Thou art our heavenly Father, we are thy children. Wherefore punish us not, O Lord, in thine anger, but chasten us in thy mercy. Regard not the horror of our sins, but the repentance thereof. Perfit that work which thou hast begun in us, that the whole world may know, that thou art our God and merciful deliverer. Thy people of Israel often times offended thee, and thou most justly afflicted them: but as oft as they returned to thee, thou didst receive them to mercy. And though their sins were never so great, yet thou always turned away thy wrath from them, and the punishment prepared for them, and that for thy covenant sake, which thou made with thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thou hast made the same covenant with us (O heavenly Father), or rather a covenant of more excellency and efficacy, and that, namely, through the mediation of thy dear Son Jesus Christ our Saviour, with whose most precious blood it pleased thee that this covenant should be, as it were, written, sealed, and confirmed. Wherefore, O heavenly Father, we, now casting away all confidence in our selves, or any other creature, do flee to this most holy covenant and Testament, wherein our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, once offering himself a sacrifice for us on the cross, hath reconciled us to thee for ever. Look therefore, O merciful God, not upon the sins which we continually commit; but

upon our Mediator and peace-maker, Jesus Christ, that by his intercession thy wrath may be pacified, and we again by thy fatherly countenance relieved and comforted. Receive us also into thy heavenly defence, and govern us by thy holy Spirit, to frame in us a newness of life, therein to laud and magnify thy blessed name for ever, and to live every of us