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Humbly and reverently compose
yourself, with heart lift up to God, and your head bowed, and meekly
kneeling upon your knees, say the Lord's Prayer: after which use the
following collects, or as many of them as you shall choose.
I. An Act of Adoration, being the song that the angels sing in heaven.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come:
heaven and earth, angels and men, the air and the sea, give glory, and
honour, and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever
and ever. All the blessed spirits and souls of the righteous cast their
crowns before the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power, for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.
Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are
thy ways, thou King of saints. Thy wisdom is
infinite, thy mercies are glorious and I am not worthy, O Lord, to appear
in thy presence, before whom the angels hide their faces. O holy and
eternal Jesus, Lamb of God, who wert slain from the beginning of the
world, thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every nation, and
hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with thee
for ever. Blessing, honour, glory, and power be unto him that sitteth on
the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.
II. An Act of Thanksgiving, being the song of David, for the morning.
Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks to him for
a remembrance of his holiness. For his wrath endureth but the twinkling of
an eye, and in his pleasure is life: heaviness may endure for a night, but
joy cometh in the morning. Thou, Lord, hast preserved me this night from
the violence of the spirits of darkness, from all sad casualties and evil
accidents, from the wrath which I have every day deserved; thou hast
brought my soul out of hell; thou hast kept my life from them that go down
into the pit; thou hast showed me marvelous great kindness, and hast
blessed me for ever: the greatness of thy glory reacheth unto the heavens,
and thy truth unto the clouds. Therefore shall every good man sing of thy
praise without ceasing. O my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Hallelujah!
III. An Act of Oblation, or presenting ourselves to God for the day.
Most holy and eternal God, lord and sovereign of all the creatures, I
humbly present to thy Divine Majesty myself, my soul and body, my thoughts
and my words, my actions and intentions, my passions and my sufferings, to
be disposed by thee to thy glory; to be blessed by thy providence; to be
guided by thy counsel; to be sanctified by thy Spirit; and afterwards that
my body and soul may be received into glory: for nothing can perish which
is under thy custody; and the enemy of souls cannot devour what is thy
portion, nor take it out of thy hands. This day, O Lord, and all the days
of my life, I dedicate to thy honour, and the actions of my calling to the
uses of grace, and the religion of all my days to be united to the merits
and intercession of my holy Saviour Jesus, that in him and for him I may
be pardoned and accepted. Amen.
IV. An Act of Repentance or Contrition.
For as for me, I am not worthy to be called thy servant, much less am I
worthy to be thy son; for I am the vilest of sinners and the worst of men;
a lover of the things of the world, and a despiser of the things of God;
proud and envious, lustful and intemperate, greedy of sin, and impatient
of reproof; desirous to seem holy, and negligent of being so; transported
with interest; fooled with presumption and false principles; disturbed
with anger, with a peevish and unmortified spirit, and disordered by a
whole body of sin and death. Lord, pardon all my sins for my sweetest
Saviour's sake; thou, who didst die for me, holy Jesus, save me and
deliver me; reserve not my sins to be punished in the day of wrath and
eternal vengeance; but wash away my sins, and blot them out of thy
remembrance, and purify my soul with the waters of repentance and the
blood of the cross; that, for what is past, thy wrath may not come out
against me; and, for the time to come, I may never provoke thee to anger
or to jealousy. O just and dear God, be pitiful and gracious to thy
servant. Amen.
V. The Prayer or Petition.
Bless me, gracious God, in my calling to such purposes as thou shalt
choose for me, or employ me in: relieve me in all my sadnesses; make my
bed in my sickness; give me patience in my sorrows, confidence in thee,
and grace to call upon thee in all temptations. O be thou my guide in all
my actions; my protector in all dangers; give me a healthful body, and a
clear understanding; a sanctified and just, a charitable and humble, a
religious and a contented spirit; let not my life be miserable and
wretched; nor my name stained with sin and shame; nor my condition lifted
up to a tempting and dangerous fortune: but let my condition be blessed,
my conversation useful to my neighbours, and pleasing to thee; that when
my body shall lie down in its bed of darkness, my soul may pass into the
regions of light, and live with thee for ever, through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
VI. An Act of Intercession or Prayer for others, to be added to this or
any other office, as our devotion or duty, or their needs, shall determine
us.
O God of infinite mercy, who hast compassion on all men, and relievest the
necessities of all that call to thee for help, hear the prayers of thy
servant, who is unworthy to ask any petition for himself, yet, in humility
and duty, is bound to pray for others.
* * *
Bishop Taylor, 1860
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