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

    Selections from the 1789 U. S. Book of Common Prayer

 
THE LITANY.

To be used at Morning Service, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 


    O GOD the Father of Heaven; have mercy upon us miserable sinners. 
   O God the Father of Heaven; 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, proceeding from the Father and the Son; have mercy upon us miserable sinners. 
   O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son; 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 offences, nor the offences of our fore-fathers; 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 for ever.
    Spare us, good Lord.
    From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil, from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
    Good Lord deliver us. 
    From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
    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 Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Ghost,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day our 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;
    We beseech thee lo hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bless and preserve all Christian Rulers and 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 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 show it accordingly;
    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 fear 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 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 those who 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 who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation,
    We beseech thee to hear us good Lord.
    That it may please thee to preserve all who travel by land or by water; all women in the perils of childbirth, all sick persons, and young children; and to show thy pity upon all prisoners and captives;
    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 who 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, and 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 that 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, who takest away the sins of the world;
    Grant us thy peace.
    O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world;
    Have mercy upon us. 

    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.

Turn back to page 13. The General Thanksgiving.

 


PRAYERS.

For a Sick Person.

    O FATHER of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need; Look down from heaven, we humbly beseech thee, behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; give him patience under his affliction; and, in thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory. Or else give him grace so to take thy visitation, that, after this painful life ended, he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through . Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For a Person, or Persons, going to Sea.

    O ETERNAL God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; We commend to thy Almighty protection, thy servant, for whose preservation on the great deep our prayers are desired. Guard him, we beseech thee, from the dangers of the sea, from sickness, from the violence of enemies and from every evil to which he may be exposed. Conduct him in safety to the haven where he would be with a grateful sense of thy mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer before going into Battle.

    O MOST powerful and glorious Lord God, the Lord of hosts, that rulest and commandest all things; Thou sittest in the throne judging right, and therefore we make our address to thy Divine Majesty in this our necessity, that thou wouldest take the cause into thine own hand, and judge between us and our enemies. Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come and help us; for thou givest not alway the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few. O let not our sins now cry against us for vengeance; but hear us thy poor servants begging mercy, and imploring thy help, and that thou wouldest be a defence unto us against the face of the enemy. Make it appear that thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

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