grant unto all us that confess thy holy name, and profess the true and perfect religion of thy holy Gospel, thy heavenly grace to shew our selves in our living, according to our profession that we, truly knowing thee in thy blessed word, may obediently walk in thy holy commandments, and that we, being warned by this thy fatherly correction, do provoke thy just wrath against us no more; but may enjoy the continuance of thy great mercies toward us, thy right hand, as in this, so in all other invasions, rebellions, and dangers, continually saving and defending our Church, our Realm, our Queen and people of England; that all our posterities ensuing, confessing thy holy name, professing thy holy Gospel, and leading an holy life, may perpetually praise, and magnify thee, with thy only Son Jesus Christ our Saviour, and the Holy Ghost: to whom be all laud, praise, glory, and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

XIII.

A FORM OF COMMON PRAYER to be used, and so commanded by authority of the Queen's Majesty, and necessary for the present time and state. 1572. 27. Octob.

The Preface.

FIRST, that all Parsons and Curates shall every Sunday, at convenient times, exhort their parishioners to endeavour themselves to come to the Church, with as many of their family, as may be spared from their necessary business: and they to resort thither, not only upon Sundays and Holydays, but also upon Wednesdays, and Fridays, specially in Cities and great Towns, during these dangerous and perilous times of the troubles in Christendom; exhorting them there reverently and godly to behave themselves, and with penitent minds, kneeling on their knees, to lift up their hearts, and pray to the merciful God, to turn from us of this Realm, and all the rest of Christendom, those plagues and punishments, which we and others through our unthankfulness and sinful lives have deserved.

Secondly, that the said Parsons and Curates, shall then distinctly and plainly read the general confession appointed in the book of service, with the residue of the morning prayer, unto the first Lesson.

Then for the first Lesson shall be read one of the Chapters hereafter following, or so much thereof as is appointed.

Any of these Chapters may be read for the first Lesson, at the disposition of the Minister, in the week days: and upon the Sunday or holy days for the second Lessons.

Matthew the third, the whole Chapter.

Matthew the fifth, (to this place,) Ye are the salt of the earth.

Matthew the sixt, whole.

Matthew the seventh, whole.

Matthew the tenth, (beginning,) Behold, I send you forth as sheep. &c. to the end.

Matthew the sixteenth, whole.

Matthew the four and twentieth, whole.

Matthew the five and twentieth, whole.

Luke the fifteenth, whole.

Luke the seventeenth, (beginning,) When he was demanded of the Pharisees. &c. to the end.

Luke the eighteenth, (unto) They brought unto him also infants. &c.

Luke the one and twentieth, whole.

Acts the ninth, (unto) And it came to pass, as Peter walked through all quarters.

Romans the second Chapter, whole.

Romans the twelfth Chapter, whole.

Romans the thirteenth Chapter, whole.

Ephesians the fifth, (unto) Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands.

Thessalonians. i. Epistle. ii. Chapter, (beginning) For ye brethren became followers of the church of God. to the end. Thessalonians. i. Epistle. iiii. Chapter, (beginning) But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren. to the end.

Thessalonians. i. Epistle. v. Chapter, whole.

Timothy. i. Epistle. ii. Chapter, whole.

After that, in stead of Te Deum laudumus, that is to say, We praise thee, O God, shall be said the li. Psalm, Have mercy upon me, O God. &c.

Then immediately after, upon Wednesdays and Fridays, shall be said the Creed, I believe in God. &c. and after that the accustomed prayers following, unto the end of the morning prayer. And upon Sundays the second lessons shall be read as they are ordinarily appointed, with the rest of the morning prayer.

That done, the Litany shall be said in the midst of the people, unto the end of the Collect in the same Litany, which beginneth with these words, We humbly beseech thee, O Father. &c. and then shall follow one of these Psalms in their order, to be said of the Minister, according to the order of the days, with the answer of the people.

A prayer for the forgiveness of sins1.

:

O COME, let us humble ourselves and fall down before Psal. 95. the Lord our maker, with reverence and fear.

[This prayer may be compared with the psalm in the Service for 1563. See p. 482.]

Osee 6. Acts 3.

Jonas 3.
Osce 6.

Psal. 5[1].

Lam. 51[5].

Psal. 6.

Judith 8. Job 11. Sapi. 11.

Psal. 25.

Psal. 10.

Psal. 25.

Barue. 3.
Jonas 2.

Dan. 9.

Psal. 25.

Psal. 79.

Psal. 79.

Let us repent and turn from our wickedness, and turn again unto our Lord and our sins shall be forgiven us.

:

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

We acknowledge our faults, O Lord and our sins are ever before our sight.

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

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

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

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

Stand not so far off, O Lord: neither hide thy face in the needful time of trouble.

Turn thee unto us, and have mercy upon us for we are desolate and in great misery.

And now in the vexation of our spirits, and the anguish of our souls we remember thee, and we cry unto thee, hear, Lord, and have mercy.

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

For thine own sake, and for thy holy name's sake, incline thine ear, and hear: and be merciful to our sins, for they are great.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy Name: 0 deliver us, and save us for thy name's sake.

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

Glory be to the Father. &c. As it was in the. &c.

Prayers for true repentance and mercy.

MOST merciful Father, who hast in thy holy word, the word of truth, promised mercy unto sinners that do repent

and turn unto thee, and hast by thy terrible examples of thy just anger, being executed upon people and countries round about us, called us, and most mercifully moved us to repentance, and by thy patience and long suffering of us hitherto, hast graciously granted us time and space to repent: grant also, we beseech thee, both to them and us grace truly to repent, and unfeignedly to turn unto thee with amendment of life, and to trust in thy mercies, and safely to rest under thy continual protection from all enemies and evils, both bodily and ghostly, through our Saviour Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God, world without end. Amen,

Another for the same.

We have sinned, Lord, we have sinned grievously, we have done unjustly, we have lived wickedly: we are sorry therefore, O Lord, yea, we are most sorry, that we are no more sorry for our sins: but thou, Lord GOD, Father of all mercies, we humbly beseech thee, be not angry with us for ever for our great and manifold sins, neither deal with us according to our deserts, neither reward us according to our wickedness; but even for thy self, O Lord God, and for thy holy name's sake, for thy most gracious assured promises made unto penitent sinners in thy holy word, the word of truth, for thy infinite mercies which are in thy dearly beloved Son Jesu Christ our Saviour, for his sake, for his death and precious blood, be merciful unto us sinners; and so we, who have most grievously offended thy divine majesty, shall continually magnify thy great and infinite mercy, through our Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. AMEN.

A prayer to be delivered from our enemies.

O HEARKEN to the voice of our prayer, our King and our Psal. 5. God: for unto thee do we make our complaint.

O Lord, the counsel of the wicked conspireth against us: and our Psal. 22. enemies are daily in hand to swallow us up.

They gape upon us with their mouths: as it were ramp- Psal. 22. ing and roaring lions.

But thou, O Lord, art our defender: thou art our health and our sal- Prai. 3. vation.