A FORM OF

PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING

TÓ ALMIGHTY GOD.

For the fruits of the earth, and all the other blessings of his merciful providence; to be used yearly on the first Thursday in November, or on such other day as shall be appointed by the Civil Authority.

¶ The Service shall be as usual, except where it is hereby otherwise appointed.

¶ Among the Sentences at the beginning of Morning Prayer shall be the following:

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[ONOR the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Prov. iii. 9, 10.

The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens: by his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. Prov. iii. 19, 20.

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deut. xxxiii. 27.

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob shall be upon the land of corn and of wine, also his heaven shall drop down dew. Deut. xxxiii. 28.

Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! Deut. xxxiii. 29.

Instead of, O,come let us sing, etc., the following shall be said or sung: RAISE ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.

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The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

He healeth those that are broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

He covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth; he maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains.

He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; Praise thy God, O Zion.

For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.

He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

Then shall be said or sung one of the Selections, or some other portion of the Psalms, at the discretion of the Minister:

The First Lesson shall be Deut. viii, and the Second Lesson shall be 1 Thess. v. 12 to 24.

¶ After the General Thanksgiving, shall be said this which followeth : OST gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew; we yield thee unfeigned thanks and praise, as for all thy mercies, so especially for the returns of seed-time and harvest, and for crowning the year with thy goodness, in the increase of the ground, and the gathering in of the fruits thereof. And, we beseech thee, give us a just sense of this great mercy; such as may appear in our lives, by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The collect to be used instead of that for the day:

MOST merciful Father, who hast blessed the labors of the hus

(), Vos merciful Fathers of the fruits of the earth, we give the

humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to con tinue thy loving-kindness to us; that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Epistle. St. James i. 16.

The Gospel. St. Matt. v. 43.

FORMS OF PRAYER

TO BE USED IN FAMILIES.

MORNING PRAYER.

The master or mistress having called together as many of the family as can conveniently be present, let one of them, or any other whom they shall think proper, say as follows, all kneeling :

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UR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 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, forever and ever. Amen.

Acknowledgment of God's mercy and preservation, especially through the night past:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and

have our being; we, thy needy creatures, render thee our humble praises, for thy preservation of us from the beginning of our lives to this day, and especially for having delivered us from the dangers of the past night. To thy watchful providence we owe it,* (that no disturbance hath come nigh us or our dwelling; but that we are brought in safety to the beginning of this day.) For these thy mercies, we bless and magnify thy glorious name; humbly beseeching thee to accept this our morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for his sake who lay down in the grave, and rose again for us, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

• When disturbances of any kind befall a family, instead of this, say, that notwithstanding our dangers, we are brought in safety to the beginning of this day.

¶ Dedication of soul and body to God's service, with a resolution to be growing daily in goodness.

AND, since it is of thy mercy, O gracious Father, that another day

is added to our lives; we here dedicate both our souls and our bodies to thee and thy service, in a sober, righteous, and godly life: in which resolution do thou, O merciful God, confirm and strengthen us, that as we grow in age, we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer for grace to enable us to perform that resolution:

BUT, O God, who knows the weakness and corruption of our

nature, and the manifold temptations which we daily meet with: we humbly beseech thee to have compassion on our infirmities, and to give us the constant assistance of thy Holy Spirit, that we may be effectually restrained from sin, and excited to our duty. Imprint upon our hearts such a dread of thy judgments, and such a grateful sense of thy goodness to us, as may make us both afraid and ashamed to offend thee, through thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ For grace to guide and keep us the following day, and for God's blessing on the business of the same:

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particular, we implore thy grace and protection for the ensuing day. Keep us temperate in our meats and drinks, and diligent in our several callings. Grant us patience under any afflictions thou shalt see fit to lay on us, and minds always contented with our present condition. Give us grace to be just and upright in all our dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do good to all men, according to our abilities and opportunities. Direct us in all our ways

↑ (and prosper the works of our hands in the business of our several stations.) Defend us from all dangers and adversities; and be graciously pleased to take us, and all things belonging to us, under thy fatherly care and protection. These things, and whatever else thou shalt see necessary and convenient to us, we humbly beg, through the merits and mediation of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

↑ On Sunday morning, instead of this, say, and let thy Holy Spirit accompany us to the place of thy public worship, making us serious and attentive, and raising our minds from the thoughts of worldly to the consideration of spiritual things, that we may fervently join in the prayers and praises of thy Church, and listen to our duty with honest hearts, in order to practise it.

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HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

EVENING PRAYER.

The family being together, a little before bedtime, let the master or mistress, or any other whom they shall think proper, say as follows, all kneeling.

UR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

OUR

Thy king

dom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 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, forever and ever. Amen.

¶ Confession of sins, with a prayer for contrition and pardon:

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OST merciful God, who art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and hast promised forgiveness to all those who confess and forsake their sins; we come before thee in an humble sense of our own unworthiness, acknowledging our manifold transgressions of thy righteous laws. (Here let him who reads make a short pause, that every one may secretly confess the sins and failings of that day.) But, O gracious Father, who desirest not the death of a sinner, look upon us, we beseech thee, in mercy, and forgive us all our transgressions. Make us deeply sensible of the great evil of them; and work in us an hearty contrition; that we may obtain forgiveness at thy hands, who art ever ready to receive humble and penitent sinners; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, our only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

Prayer for grace to reform and grow better

ND lest, through our own frailty, or the temptations which encompass us, we be drawn again into sin, vouchsafe us, we beseech thee, the direction and assistance of thy Holy Spirit. Reform whatever is amiss in the temper and disposition of our souls; that no unclean thoughts, unlawful designs, or inordinate desires, may rest there. Purge our hearts from envy, hatred, and malice: that we may never suffer the sun to go down upon our wrath; but may always go to our rest in peace, charity, and good-will, with a conscience void of offence towards thee, and towards men: that so we may be preserved pure and blameless, unto the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

T The Intercession.

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ND accept, O Lord, our intercessions for all mankind. Let the light of thy Gospel shine upon all nations; and may as many as have received it, live as becomes it. Be gracious unto thy Church, and grant that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may serve thee faithfully. Bless all in authority over us; and so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands, that they may punish wickedness and vice, and maintain thy true religion and virtue. Send down thy blessings, temporal and spiritual, upon all our relations, friends, neighbors. Reward all who have done us good, and pardon all those who have done or wish us evil, and give them repentance and better minds. Be merciful to all who are in any trouble; and do thou, the God of pity, administer to them according to their several necessities, for his sake who went about doing good, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Thanksgiving:

10 our prayers, O Lord, we join our unfeigned thanks for all thy

faculties of soul and body; for our health, friends, food, and raiment, and all the other comforts and conveniences of life. Above all we adore thy mercy in sending thy only Son into the world, to redeem us from sin, and in giving us the knowledge and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless thee for thy patience with us, notwithstanding our many and great provocations; for all the directions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit: for thy continual care and watchful providence over us through the whole course of our lives; and particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past day: beseeching thee to continue these thy blessings to us; and to give us grace to show our thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, through whose merits and intercession we received them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.