DEARLY beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places, to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness, and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly Father, but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart: to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same by his infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought at all times, humbly to knowledge our sins before God: yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which be requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul. Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as be here present, to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice, unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying after me:

A General Confession

To be said of the whole congregation
after the minister, kneeling.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways, like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that be penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind, in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name.

    As mediator between the Faithful and the priest, the Poet reads The Church-floore .

The Absolution
[ or Remission of Sins ] *

To be pronounced by the minister alone.

ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live: and hath given power and commandment to his ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins: he pardoneth and absolveth all them which truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel. Wherefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him, which we do at this present, and that the rest of our life hereafter, may be pure and holy: so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
* added in 1604

    The people shall answer. Amen.

    Then shall the minister begin the Lord's Prayer with a loud voice.

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. Amen.

    Then likewise he shall say.

    O Lord open thou our lips.

    Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
    Priest. O God make speed to save us.
    Answer . O Lord make haste to help us.
    Priest. Glory be to the Father, &c.
    As it was in the beginning, &c.
    Praise ye the Lord.

    The Poet's comment and confirmation: Jordan (I).

    Then shall be said or sung this Psalm following.  

O COME let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
    Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving: and show ourself glad in him with psalms.
    For the Lord is a great God: and a great king above all gods.
    In his hand are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of the hills is his also.
    The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands prepared the dry land.
    O come, let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our maker.
    For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hands.
    Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
    When your fathers tempted me: proved me, and saw my works.
    Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said:
    It is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways.
    Unto whom I sware in my wrath: that they should not enter into my rest.
    Glory be to the Father, &c.

    The Poet's Trials and Purpose: Jordan (II) .

    Then shall follow certain Psalms in order as they be appointed in a made for that purpose , except there be proper Psalms appointed for that day. And at the end of every psalm through out the year, and likewise in the end of Benedictus, Benedicite, Magnificat, and Nunc dimittis, shall be repeated , Glory be to the Father, &c.

    The Poet's praise: The Quidditie .

    Then shall be read two Lessons distinctly with a loud voice that the people may hear. The first of the Old Testament, the second of the New, like as they be appointed by the Calendar , except there be proper Lessons assigned for that day. The minister that readeth the Lesson standing and turning him so as he may best be heard of all such as be present. And before every Lesson, the minister shall say thus. The first, second, third, or fourth chapter of Genesis, or Exodus, Matthew, Mark, or other like, as is appointed in the Calendar. And in the end of every chapter he shall say, Here endeth such a chapter of such a book.
    And to the end the people may the better hear, in such places where they do sing, there shall the Lessons be sung in a plain tune after the manner of distinct reading, and likewise the Epistle and Gospel.

    The Poet gives his method of understanding the Scriptures (II) .

    After the first Lesson shall follow Te Deum laudamus, in English, daily through the whole year.

W E praise thee, O God: we knowledge thee to be the Lord.
    All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
    To thee all angels cry aloud: the heavens and all the powers therein.
    To thee Cherubin and Seraphin, continually do cry.
    Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.
    Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
    The glorious company of the apostles, praise thee.
    The goodly fellowship of the prophets, praise thee.
    The noble army of martyrs, praise thee.
    The holy Church throughout all the world, doth knowledge thee:
    The Father of an infinite majesty.
    Thy honorable, true, and only Son:
    Also the Holy Ghost, the comforter.
    Thou art the king of glory, O Christ.
    Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
    When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
    When thou hadst overcomed the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
    Thou sittest on the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
    We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
    We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
    Make them to be numbered with thy saints, in glory ever lasting.
    O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage.
    Govern them and lift them up forever.
    Day by day we magnify thee.
    And we worship thy name, ever world without end.
    Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
    O Lord, have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us.
    O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee.
    O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

    Or this read by the Poet: Praise (I) .

    Or this canticle.

O ALL the works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise ye him and magnify him forever.
    O ye heavens, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye waters that be above the firmament, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye showers and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye winds of God, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye fire and heat, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye winter and summer, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye dews and frosts, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye frost and cold, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye ice and snow, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye nights and days, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye light and darkness, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye lightenings and clouds, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O let the earth bless the Lord: yea, let it praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye mountains and hills, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O all ye green things upon the earth, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye wells, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye seas and floods, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye whales and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord:
praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O let Israel bless the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O ye holy and humble men of heart, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise him and magnify him forever.
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, &c.

    Or the Poet's acknowledgement: Love I. [You may also consider The Pulley.]

    And after the second Lesson shall be used and said, Benedictus, in English, as followeth.

Benedictus

BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people.
    And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David.
    As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets: which have been since the world began.
    That we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hands of all that hate us.
    To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers: and to remember his holy covenant.
    To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us.
    That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies: might serve him without fear.
    In holiness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life.
    And thou child shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways.
    To give knowledge of salvation unto his people: for the remission of their sins.
    Through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us.
    To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

    Or else this Psalm.

Jubilate Deo. Ps. 100

  O BE joyful in the Lord all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladess, and come before his presence with a song.
    Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
    O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and speak good of his name.
    For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, &c.
    As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

   Or else this Poet's Sonnett: Love II .

    Then shall be said the Creed by the minister and the people standing.

 
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord. 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 shall he 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.

    And after that, these prayers following, as well at Evening Prayer as at Morning Prayer, all devoutly kneeling.

    The minister first pronouncing with a loud voice.

    The Lord be with you.
    Answer . And with thy spirit.
    The minister. Let us pray.

Lord have mercy upon us.
    Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us.

    Then the minister, clerks, and people shall say the Lord's Prayer, in English, with a loud voice.

OUR Father which art, &c.

   The Poet reads his personal supplication: The Deniall .

    Then the minister standing up shall say.

    O Lord show thy mercy upon us.

    Answer . And grant us thy salvation.
    Priest . O Lord save the Queen.
    Answer . And mercifully hear us, when we call upon thee.
    Priest . Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
    Answer. And make thy chosen people joyful.
    Priest. O Lord save thy people.
    Answer . And bless thine inheritance.
    Priest . Give peace in our time, O Lord.
    Answer . Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

    Priest . O God make clean our hearts within us.
    Answer. And take not thine Holy Spirit from us.

    Then shall follow three Collects. The first of the day, which shall be the same that is appointed at the Communion. The second for peace. The third for grace to live well. And the two last Collects shall never alter, but daily be said at Morning Prayer throughout all the year, as followeth.

The Second Collect, for Peace

O GOD, which art author of peace, and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us thy humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies, that we surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesu Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Third Collect, for Grace

O LORD, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, which hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy govern ance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A fourth Collect said by Poet, Priest and the Congregation of the Faithful: Mattens. Whether or not it has been said as an introit.