give those who have done me any wrong, and to recompense to every one any loss, and to undo any mischief that I have caused them; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to have mercy upon the sick and distressed, and to give them a happy issue out of all their afflictions; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to confer the places of dignity and responsibility in Thy Church upon those who are best fitted for the same; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to guide the hearts of those whom Thou hast endowed with wealth, that they may be self-denying and liberal, and wise in promoting the cause of godliness and true devotion, and in charity to the poor; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to raise up among our commercial people a sense of scrupulous honesty in their dealings; and to check the spirit of idle speculation; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to cause all who employ others to recognise their responsibility to treat their dependents as brethren in Christ; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to repress the extreme luxury of the rich; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to check and root out the dreadful drunkenness of our people; We beseech Thee, etc. Q That it may please Thee to cleanse our towns and villages from the degradation of unchastity; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to comfort and help the poor, and to bring them to eternal life; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to remedy, in Thine own good time, the miserable evils of the crowded dwellings of the poor; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to shed forth Thy Holy Spirit in this parish, and to bring all to repentance and holiness of living; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to convert hardened sinners; to have mercy upon those in error and schism; and to bring them back to Thy fold; We beseech Thee, etc. That it may please Thee to give us true, and earnest, and lifelong repentance, an undoubting trust in Thy Promises, and a sure confidence in Thy Love; We beseech Thee, etc. O Christ, hear us. Amen. For the Use of Clergy and other Special Servants of the Church. For a Parish Priest. No. I. LORD Jesus Christ, my Master and Lord, I kneel before Thee to beg help for Thy service. Give me zeal to minister, as for Thee, Thy Word and Sacraments. Give me knowledge to be sound and accurate in doctrine. Give me courage to maintain the truth boldly; and discretion to declare it seasonably, persuasively, and effectively, so as to correct the peculiar errors of my cure. And guide me by Thy almighty hand to bring in safely those committed to me. Amen. No. 2. LORD our heavenly Father, Who hath LaRed our high a dignity and so weighty an office, print on my remembrance how great a treasure is committed to my charge. Make me, as Thy messenger, energetic and zealous; as Thy watchman, vigilant for the great interests of Thy flock; as Thy steward, faithful in dispensing those treasures of Thy Word and Sacraments which are committed unto me. Grant that I may never cease my labour, nor intermit care and diligence, to do all that lieth in me, according to my bounden duty, to bring all such as are committed to my charge unto the knowledge of God in Christ, that there be no place left among us either for error in religion or for viciousness in life. Enable me so to read and weigh the Scriptures that I may wax riper and stronger in my ministry, and may in Thy strength instruct the people committed to my charge out of them. I desire, O Lord, as Thy instrument, to minister with faithful diligence the doctrine and sacraments of Thy Church; to banish erroneous doctrine; to use private as well as public exhortations to all, both sick and whole; to be unceasing in prayer and diligent in study; to frame and fashion my own self and my family according to the doctrine of Christ, that we may be wholesome examples and patterns to His flock; to maintain and set forward quietness, peace, and love; reverently, and with a glad mind, to obey my ordinary and chief ministers. Give me, O Lord, a hearty will to do all these things. Grant to me the strength and power of Thy most Holy Spirit to perform the same, that He may accomplish the work which He hath begun in me. O Lord, Thou hast promised to be with us always. Thou hast commanded us to cast all our care on Thee. Thou hast declared that, if Thou shalt find Thy servants watching, Thou wilt Thyself most highly honour them. So be it, O Lord, to me, Thy most unworthy servant. Amen. Intercession for Flock. GOD of mercy and truth, I humbly beseech Thee for all the faithful, who, either in the body or out of the body, are linked to me by spiritual ties; for those who have trusted themselves to me either in confession, or in seeking advice; for those whose gifts and alms I have received; and above all, for those who have taken any hurt or hindrance through malice or negligence on my part; stretch out to them Thy merciful hand, and of Thy unutterable goodness give them forgiveness of sins, and bring them to the rest of the blessed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. to Thy Divine Majesty (especially a greater sinner to commend one who has sinned less than himself)! And who would not fear to undertake it? But Thou hast promised that the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and that Thou wilt raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. And now behold, O Lord, we who are unworthy, utterly unworthy, to sue aught for ourselves, yet now, when love and compassion urge us, are enforced to become suitors to Thee for others, even for this our brother. O Lord, that which Thou mightest justly deny to our unworthiness, deny not, we beseech Thee, to the worthiness of Thy dear Son, in Whose Name we come to Thee. |