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Which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic church: The communion of saints: The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life everlasting. Amen. Minister. The Lord be with you. People. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

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. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Then follows the first Collect, as at Morning Prayer.

I.

O great King of heaven and earth, the Lord and Patron of all ages, receive thy servants approaching to the throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ. Give unto every one of us what is best for us, cast out all evil from within us, work in us a fulness of holiness, of wisdom and spiritual understanding, that we, increasing in the knowledge of God, may be fruitful in every good work; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this.

Save us, defend and keep us in thy fear and love, O thou God of mercy and grace. Give unto us the light of thy countenance; pardon of our sins, health of body, sanctification of our spirits, peace from heaven, and salvation of our souls in the day of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

I.

For Repentance and a Holy Life.

Almighty God, the fountain of holiness and felicity, who

by thy word and thy Spirit dost conduct all thy servants in the ways of peace and sanctity, inviting them by promises, and winning them by love, endearing them by necessities, and obliging them by the perpetual testimonies of thy lovingkindness, grant unto us so truly to repent us of our sins, so carefully to reform our errors, so diligently to watch over all our actions, so industriously to do all our duty, that we may never transgress thy holy laws willingly; but that it may be the work of our lives to obey thee, the joy of our souls to please thee, the satisfaction of all our hopes, and the perfection of our desires, to live with thee in the holiness of thy kingdom of grace and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

II.

For Peace,

O Almighty and most gracious Father, who art the fountain of peace, and the father of unions, we pray unto thee for peace, for love, and for thy salvation. Let a holy peace for ever dwell in our consciences. Let peace and holiness, and God's blessing, for ever adorn, support, and enlarge this family: [or parish, or church, or commonwealth.] Let there be peace and union of minds in all Christian assemblies, one heart, and one voice, the same faith and an eternal charity. Make wars to cease in all the world, that the peace and the design of the Gospel may be advanced, the laws of the holy Jesus may be obeyed, and his name be magnified in all the world, for ever and ever. Amen.

III.

For all Christian Princes, and the Ecclesiastical State.

Almighty God, who rulest in the kingdoms of men, and in all the events of the world, defend those with thy mercy whom thou hast adorned with thy power, lift up the horn, advance the just interests of all Christian kings, princes and states, by the power of thy venerable and life-giving passion.

Give unto all them who serve thee in the ministries of religion, wisdom and holiness, the blessings of peace and great abilities to minister prosperously to the good of souls, by the power and aids of thy Holy Spirit of wisdom.

IV.

Pardon all our sins; take away our iniquities from us all, and preserve us from all danger and trouble, from need and persecution, from the temptations of the devil, from the violence and fraud of all our enemies. Keep us, O God, from sinning against thee, and from suffering thy wrath; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ง.

The Collect for the Evening.

O Almighty Father, who givest the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, vouchsafe to receive us, this night and ever, into thy favour and protection, defending us from all sad casualties and evil accidents, ruling and governing us with thy Holy Spirit, that all darkness and hurtful ignorance, all infidelity and weakness of heart, all inordinate fear and carnal affections, may be removed far from us; that we, being justified by the mercies of God in our Lord Jesus, may be sanctified by thy Spirit, and glorified by thy infinite mercies in the day of the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

VI.

For a blessed Death.

O most gracious and most holy Redeemer, who, by dying for us, becamest the Author of life unto us, and hast subdued all the powers of hell and the grave, taking away the sting of death, and breaking in pieces the powers of darkness; have mercy upon us now and at the hour of death: let thy Holy Spirit govern all our words and actions, our thoughts and designs, our civil intercourse and the duties of religion; and grant to us so perfectly to obey his commandments, and attend his motions all the days of our life, that we may, by holy habits and a constant performance of our duty, wait for the coming of our Lord, and be ready to enter with him at whatsoever hour he shall come.

VII.

O be merciful unto us in the day of our calamity, and

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of thy visitation: strengthen our faith in the day of our sicknesses and trial, when the cloud is thick and the storm is great that we may rely upon thy grace, invocate thy mercies, hope in thy goodness, and receive the end of our hopes, the salvation of our souls. O let us never descend into the dwellings of the wicked, nor into the place of them that know not God; but be pleased here to guide us with thy counsel, and after that receive us with thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this.

O eternal God, thou Fountain of life and pardon, there is no number of thy days nor of thy mercies; be merciful unto us now and at the hour of our death; let not thy servants be arrested with sudden death, that we be neither unready in our accounts, nor snatched hence with an imperfect duty, nor surprised in an act of sin, nor called upon when our lamps are untrimmed; let it be neither violent nor untimely, hasty, nor unblessed, but after the ordinary visitation of men, having in it an excellent patience and an exemplar piety, and the greatest senses and demonstrations of thy eternal mercies. Preserve, O God, our reason and religion, our faith and our hope, our sense and our speech, perfect and useful till the last of our days; and grant that we may die the death of the righteous, and let our last end be like to his, free from debt and deadly sin, having first discharged all our obligations of justice, and made competent provision for our relatives, that none of ours be left miserable and unprovided in our departure; but grant that being blessed by thy providence, and sanctified with thy Spirit, they may for ever be servants of the Lord Jesus.

II.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, shut not up thy merciful eyes and ears unto our prayers; but spåre us, O Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee; but strengthen us with a mighty grace, and support us with an infinite mercy, giving us perfect measures of repentance and great treasures of charity, that at the general resurrec

tion in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight, and receive that blessing which thy well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all them that love and fear thee, saying, 'Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.' This mercy, O most merciful Father, vouchsafe to give unto us and all thy servants, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen.

Here may be inserted any of the portions of the Prayer of Intercession, which is at the end of Morning Prayer.

The Blessing.

The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give

you peace.

The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be amongst you and abide with you, and be your portion for ever and ever. Amen.

To be added to the foregoing Offices upon special Occasions, immediately before the Blessing at Morning or Evening Prayer.

A Prayer before Sermon.

O LORD GOD, Fountain of life, Giver of all good things, who givest to men the blessed hope of eternal life by our Lord Jesus Christ, and hast promised thy Holy Spirit to them that ask him; be present with us in the dispensation of thy holy word [and sacraments ], grant that we, being preserved from all evil by thy power, and, among the diversities of opinions and judgments in this world, from all errors and false doctrines, and led into all truth by the conduct of thy Holy Spirit, may for ever obey thy heavenly calling: that we may not be only hearers of the word of life, but doers also of good works, keeping faith and a good conscience, living an unblamable life, usefully and charitably,

a This clause is to be omitted, if there be no sacrament that day.

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