The Book of Common Prayer
United States England Scotland Ireland Wales Canada World

    The Proposed Book of Common Prayer (1689)

 

THE LITANY
 

Here followeth the LITANY, or General Supplication, to be said after Morning Prayer upon Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and at other times when it shall be commanded by the Ordinary. The Litany never to be sung.

O GOD the Father, Creator of heaven and earth : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O God the Father Creator of heaven and earth : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O God the Son, Redeemer of the world : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O God the Son, Redeemer of the world : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O God the Holy Ghost, our Sanctifier and Comforter : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O God the Holy Ghost, our Sanctifier and Comforter : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three Persons and one God : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three Persons and one God : have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
    Remember not, Lord, our offenses, nor the offenses of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us forever.
    Spare us, good Lord.
   
Good Lord, preserve and deliver us from all evil and mischief, from sin, from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the peril : from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation.
    Good Lord deliver us.
   
From all infidelity and error, from all impiety and profaneness, from all superstition and idolatry.
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
From pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and revenge; from all rash censure, contention and uncharitableness,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
From drunkenness and gluttony; from sloth, and misspending of our time; from fornication, adultery, and all uncleanness.
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
From lying and slandering, from vain swearing, cursing and perjury, from covetousness, oppression, and all injustice,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from dying suddenly and unprepared,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment.
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation.
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
By thine Agony and bloody Sweat; by thy Passion on the Cross; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension by thy sending of the Holy Ghost; and by thy continual intercession at the right hand of God.
    Good Lord, deliver us.
   
In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our wealth; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment.
    Good Lord, deliver us.

 

    We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in the right way, and this in particular of which we are members.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to guide and strengthen in the true worshipping of thee, in righteousness and holiness of life, thy Servants Wiliam and Mary, our King and Queen.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to rule their hearts in thy faith, fear, and love, and that they may evermore have affiance in thee, and ever seek thy honour and glory,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to be their defender and keeper, giving them a prosperous and happy reign over us.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to bless and preserve Catherine the Queen Dowager, The Princess Anne of Denmark, and all the Royal Family,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to direct and prosper the High Court of Parliament in all their consultations, to the advancement of thy glory, the good of thy Church, the safety, honour, and welfare of Her Majesty and her kingdom.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
   
That it may please thee to take Her Majesty’s forces by sea and land into thy most gracious protection, and to make them victorious over all our enemies.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word; and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth, and shew it accordingly,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to endue the Lords of the Council, and all the Nobility, with grace, wisdom, and understanding,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to bless and keep the Magistrates, giving them grace to execute justice, and to maintain truth,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace and concord,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to give us an heart to love and dread thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace, to hear meekly thy Word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to endue us with the graces of humility and meekness, of contentedness nod patience, of true justice, of temperance and purity, of peaceableness and charity.
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord,
    That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to strengthen such as do stand; and to comfort and help the weak-hearted; and to raise up them that fall, and finally to beat down Satan under our feet,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to succour, help, and comfort all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
   
That it may please thee to preserve such as travel by land or by water, all women labouring of child; all young children, all sick and dying persons;
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to shew thy pity upon all prisoners and captives; upon all that are persecuted for truth and righteousness’ sake; upon all that are in affliction; [especially those for whom our prayers are desired]
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to defend, and provide for, the fatherless children, and widows, and all that are desolate and oppressed,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
    That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, slanderers, and to turn their hearts,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
   
That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so as in due time we may enjoy them,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
   
That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances, and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to thy holy Word,
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Son of God : we beseech thee to hear us.
    Son of God : we beseech thee to hear us.

    O Lamb of God : that takest away the sins of the world;
Grant us thy peace.
    O Lamb of God : that takest away the sins of the world;
    Have mercy upon us.

O Christ, hear us.
   O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
   Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
   Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
   Lord, have mercy upon us.
 

 

Then shall the Minister, and the people with him, say the Lord’s Prayer.

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.
 

    Minister. O Lord, deal not with us after our sins.
    Answer. Neither reward us after our iniquities.

O GOD, Merciful Father, that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as are sorrowful: Mercifully assist our prayers that we make before thee in all our troubles and adversities, whensoever they oppress us; and graciously hear us, that those evils, which the craft and subtilty of the devil or man worketh against us, be brought to nought; and by the providence of thy goodness they may be dispersed; that we thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thy Name’s sake.

    O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them.
    O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thine honour.
    From our enemies defend us, O Christ,
    Graciously look upon our afflictions.

    Pitifully behold the sorrows of our hearts,
    Mercifully forgive the sins of thy people.
    Favourably with mercy hear our prayers.
    O Son of David, have mercy upon us.
    Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ.
    Graciously hear us, O Christ; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ.
    Minister.
O Lord, let thy mercy be shewed upon us;
    Answer. As we do put our trust in thee.

WE humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and for the glory of thy Name turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Then the Minister continuing in his place shall use this Collect: — "Almighty God to whom all hearts, &c. Amen."
    Then shall the Minister rehearse dinctinctly the Ten Commandments, as in the Communion Service.
    Or sometimes the eight Beatitudes, especially on Communion days. See the Communion Service.
    Then shall follow the Collect for the day.
    Then the Epistle and Gospel.
    Then (if there be no Communion) the Nicene Creed,
    Then the general Thanksgiving, &c.

 
A Prayer, commonly called St. Chrysostom's

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

2 Cor. xiii. 14.

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

Then the Minister shall declare unto the people what Holydays or Fasting-days, are in the week following to be observed; and then also, if occasion be, shall notice be given of the Communion, and the Banns of Matrimony published, and Briefs, Citations, and Excommunications read; and nothing shall be proclaimed or published in the Church during the time of Divine Service but by the Minister, nor by him anything but what is prescribed in the rules of this book or enjoined by the King or by the Ordinary of the place, not being contrary to the laws of this Realm.*
 

* This rubric was occasioned by King James' enjoining his Declaration (which was against law) to be read in Churches
 

The Singing Psalm.

Note, That when there is no Communion at all, this shall be read in the same place with the rest of the Service.

Query. Whether the Minister may not here be directed to use in the Pulpit before Sermon The Prayer for the whole state of Christ’s Church, &c., accommodated to that purpose; or some such other Prayer? 

 

Return to the 1689 Proposed Book of Common Prayer

Web author: Charles Wohlers U. S. EnglandScotlandIrelandWalesCanadaWorld