redemption from sin and misery, thou gavest thy Son, that he, taking upon him our nature, and being born of a virgin, might perform to thee the obedience which mankind owed, and pay the price in which we were indebted, and teach us what thou wouldst have us to do, and convey to us all the good which thou didst design for us; overshadow us with thy Holy Spirit of grace, that we may conceive Christ in our hearts by faith, rely upon him in a holy hope, and express him in an excellent charity; that as he was pleased to take upon him our nature, so we may be born again, and be partakers of the divine nature, that conforming to his image, following his example, and being filled with his Spirit, we may grow in the knowledge and love of God, and live in righteousness, that being thy sons by a holy adoption, we may partake of the inheritance of thy well-beloved Son, the first-born of all the creatures, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. UPON GOOD FRIDAY. Instead of the Psalms of the day, read at Morning Prayer Psalm xxii. xxv. li. The Collect. O MOST blessed, most gracious Saviour Jesus, who, by thy obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, didst become the sacrifice of the world, the great example of patience, the Lord of life, the good Shepherd, laying down thy life for thy sheep, and the Mediator between God and man; let thy wounds heal, thy blood cleanse, thy death make us to live, and thy Spirit make us to work righteousness all our days; that we may, by thy aid, and by thy example, obey our heavenly Father with all our powers and all our faculties, with our reason and our affections, with our souls and with our bodies, with our time and with our estate, in prosperity and adversity; that we may bear our cross patiently, and do thy work cheerfully, and be ready to benefit mankind with great charity and great industry, that being followers of thy life and partakers of thy death, we may receive a part in the resurrection of the just to the joys of God in thy inheritance, O most blessed, most gracious Saviour Jesus. Amen. FOR EASTER-DAY. The Psalms appointed for Morning Prayer, Psalm xxx. xlv. xlvii. The Hymn to be said after the Second Lesson at Morning and In thee, O Lord, I have put my trust; let me never be put to confusion, but rid me and deliver me in thy righteousness; incline thine ear unto me and save me. Be thou my strong hold, whereunto I may always resort: thou hast promised to help me; for thou art my house of defence and my castle. For thou, O Lord God, art the thing that I long for: thou art my hope even from my youth. Through thee have I been holden up, ever since I was born: thou art he that took me out of my mother's womb; my praises shall be always of thee. O let my mouth be filled with thy praise, that I may sing of thy glory and honour all the day long. Thy righteousness, O God, is very high: and great things are they, which thou hast done: O God, who is like unto thee! O what great troubles and adversities hast thou showed me! and yet didst thou turn and refresh me: yea, and broughtest me from the deep of the earth again. Thou hast brought to me great honour, and comforted me on every side. Therefore will I praise thee and thy faithfulness, O God, playing upon an instrument of music: unto thee will I sing upon the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips will be fain when I sing unto thee: and so will my soul, whom thou hast delivered. Blessed be the Lord God, even the God of Israel, which only doth wondrous things. And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever; and all the earth shall be filled with his majesty. Amen, amen. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. The Collect. O most holy, most glorious Saviour and Redeemer Jesu, who for our sakes didst descend from the glories of God to the pains and labours of the earth, and didst pass from a painful life to an ignominious death, from the bitterness of death to the darkness of the grave, and by thy divine power didst raise thyself from death to life again; we give thee thanks for thy infinite love to us and all mankind; we acknowledge thee to be our Lord, and confess thee to be our God; we adore thy majesty, and rejoice in thy mercies; we humbly pray thee to enable us, with thy Spirit, to believe all thy doctrines, and to obey all thy commandments, that after a holy and religious life, spent in doing honour to thy holy name, we may be partakers of thy holy resurrection, passing from death to life, from the darknesses of the grave to the light of heaven, from an imperfect duty to the perfection of holiness in the fruition of the joys of God in thy eternal kingdom, O most holy, most glorious Saviour and Redeemer Jesu. Amen. UPON ASCENSION-DAY. Instead of the Psalms of the day, read at Morning Prayer, Psalm xv. xxi. xxiv. Evening Prayer, Psalm xcii. xcvi. xcvii. The Collect. O BLESSED High Priest, holy Jesus, King of the world and Head of the church, who,-when thou hadst taken upon thee our nature and our sin, and appeased thy Father's wrath, and performed all his will, and overcome death, and rescued all obedient souls from the hand of the enemy,-didst ascend to thy eternal Father, and open the kingdom of heaven to all believers; thou hast espoused thy church unto thyself with the eternal circles of thy providence, with thy love and with thy care, with thy word and with thy Spirit, thy promises and thy holy intercession; thou hadst a feeling of our infirmities, and art our merciful High Priest, making intercession for us for ever; O! be pleased to represent and supply all our wants; excuse all our infirmities; pity all our calamities, pardon our sins, and send down thy Holy Spirit of grace into our hearts, that though we walk upon the earth, yet our conversation may be in heaven, and there also may be our portion and inheritance for ever, through thy mercies, O most gracious Saviour and Redeemer Jesus. Amen. FOR WHITSUNDAY. Psalms for Morning Prayer, Psalm lxxxvii. lxxxix. The Hymn to be said after the Second Lesson at Morning and SING aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old: I will meditate of all thy works, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Vow and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him, bring presents unto him, that ought to be feared. He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. Say unto God, how terrible art thou in thy works; through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. Sion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O Lord. For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. The Collect. O eternal God, the great Father of spirits, the great Lover of souls, who didst send thy Holy Spirit upon thy church in the day of Pentecost, and hast promised that he shall abide with the church for ever, let thy Holy Spirit lead us into all truth, defend us from all sin, enrich us with his gifts, refresh us with his comforts, rule in our hearts for ever, conduct us with his truth, and lead us in the way everlasting, that we, living by thy Spirit, and walking in him, may by him be sealed up to the day of our redemption; O let thy Spirit witness to our spirits, that we are the children of God, and make us to be so for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. UPON TRINITY-SUNDAY. O BLESSED, ineffable, and most mysterious Trinity, how admirable are thy beauties, how incomparable are thy perfections, how incomprehensible are those relations of the three most blessed persons, which we believe, and admire, and adore, but understand not! The angels are amazed in the unimaginable beauties of that glorious presence, and are swallowed up with the ocean of thy infinity. How then can we,-who are in the lowest order of understanding creatures, and have removed ourselves farther from thee, and the participation of thy excellencies, by a sinful life,-praise thee |