thou art a merciful God, full of compassion, long-suffering, and of great pity. Thou sparest when we deserve punishment, and in thy wrath thinkest upon mercy. Spare thy people good Lord, spare them, and let not thine heritage be brought to confusion. Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is great, and after the multitude of thy mercies look upon us through the merits and mediation of thy blessed Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[(Bp. Cosin, &c.)

GOD, who didst command thy people Israel of old to fast, and afflict their souls, humbling themselves before thee [and who, by the forty days' fast of thy dear Son in the desert hast both sanctified and taught the same,] and by whose divine inspiration thy Church hath in all succeeding ages appointed times of fasting and humiliation before thee; Help us now, O Lord, [and as thou hast shewn how powerfully prayer and fasting, when offered from sincere and contrite hearts, avail with thee,] give us grace rightly to use these blessed means, and as much as the body is mortified, by so much and more also may our souls be sanctified and refreshed in thee, O Blessed Jesus, to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

JR

EMBER-DAYS.

ESUS said unto his disciples: The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth more labourers into his harvest. Matt. ix.

As they ministered unto the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, deActs xiii.

away. parted.

So when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Acts xiv.

Appropriate Psalms.-xcix. cxxii. cxxxii.

IN THE EMBER WEEKS.

To be said every day, for those that are to be admitted into Holy Orders. (The first may be said during the earlier, the second during the latter days of the week.)

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who hast pur

chased to thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of thy dear Son; Mercifully look upon the same, and at this time so guide and govern the minds of thy servants the Bishops and pastors of thy flock, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred Ministry of thy Church. And to those which shall be ordained to any holy function give thy grace and heavenly benediction; that both by their life and doctrine they may set forth thy glory and set forward the salvation of all men: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this. (2.)

ALMIGHTY God, the giver of all good gifts, who of thy divine providence hast appointed divers Orders in thy Church; Give thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, to all those who are to be called to any office and administration in the same; and so replenish them with the truth of thy doctrine, and endue them with innocency of life, that they may faithfully serve before thee, to the glory of thy great Name, and the benefit of thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this.

(Dr. Hickes.)

GOD, by whose Providence thy Church from ancient times hath set apart four solemn seasons of conferring Holy Orders upon chosen persons to supply the faithful with a succession of Priests and Deacons, and enjoined us all with more than usual devotion to implore thy special assistance in a work which so much concerns us all. Hear, we most humbly beseech thee, thy servants, and all who, by the mortification of their bodies, desire to increase the fervour of their prayers. Give the Bishops of ours, and of all other Churches, the grace of discerning spirits, that they may ordain such only as are indeed fit for their sacred functions, and grant us the grace of reverence and due sub

mission to those so ordained, as truly sent by thee for our edification; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God,

A Prayer which may be used on Ember Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

A

(This and the four following Prayers are compiled from the

Prayers of Bp. Cosin.)

LMIGHTY God, from whom we have the beginning and continuance of life; Grant we beseech thee, that we thy humble servants may so consecrate unto thy Divine Majesty the first-fruits of this time and season, beginning it as unto thee, with prayer and fasting, and find thereby such ghostly comfort and strength, that by thy grace we may spend all the remainder of our days on earth, as becometh those who are pilgrims and strangers here, and who look for an abiding city in the heavens purchased for them by the alone merits of Christ our Lord.

Send thy blessing upon the fruits of the land, and to us withal hearts full of gratitude, and mouths filled with praise.

Send us such health of body, and strength of mind, as thou knowest to be needful for us.

Send us, we beseech thee, pardon for the past, and give us all those spiritual supplies which we so much need, for the riches of thy mercy in Christ Jesus. Amen.

For the Ember week in Advent.

GRANT, we most humbly beseech thee, O heavenly

Father, that with holy Simeon and Anna, and all thy devout servants, who waited for the consolation of Israel, we may at this time so serve thee with fasting and prayer, that by the advent and birth of our blessed Redeemer, we may with them be filled with true joy and consolation; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Ember week in Lent.

LORD Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world, who didst foretell to thine Apostles that at the time of thy sufferings they should weep and lament, while the world rejoiced, and that they should be sorrowful,

but their sorrow should be turned into joy; Grant, that during this time wherein thou didst suffer, and wast afflicted with extreme sorrow and anguish for the sins of the whole world, we thine unworthy servants may so weep and lament, and be sorrowful for our sins, the cause of all thy sorrows and sufferings, that on the day of thy triumphant resurrection we may rejoice with that joy which no man can take from us. Grant this, O blessed Lord and Saviour, who didst die for our sins and rise again for our justification, and now livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

For the Ember Week after Pentecost.

LORD Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the Father, at time thy glorious ascension didst com mand thine Apostles to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high; and when in obedience to this thy command they had continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, didst, according to thy promise, send down upon them the Holy Ghost the Comforter; Grant, we beseech thee, that we thy most humble servants, abiding in the unity of thy Holy Catholic Church, the mother of us all, and continually serving thee as thou hast commanded, may evermore be replenished with the heavenly grace of the Holy Ghost, through thy precious merits and most powerful intercession, who livest and reignest with the Father in the unity of the same Spirit. Amen.

For the Ember week in September.

LMIGHTY God, who givest to all life, and breath, and

A all things, and bringest forth foodout of the earth for

use of man, keep us ever in mind that this world, with all the glory of it, fadeth, and the fashion thereof passeth away; and grant that we may so use the fruits of the ground which thou hast now given us, and all other temporal blessings wherewith thou crownest the year, that we abuse them not to the satisfying of our wanton and inordinate appetites, but may evermore serve thee in Christian temperance and sobriety, as it becometh those who, living on earth, have their conversation in heaven, that at the last we may be admitted into thy heavenly kingdom, where we shall never hunger

or thirst again, being satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house, and filled with the abundance of thy pleasures for evermore. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our Lord. Amen.

ROGATION DAYS.

F ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall

John xv.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John xvi.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. Matth. vii. Appropriate Psalms.-iii. iv. xxxiv.

The Prayer.

(Dr. Hickes.)

GOD, who by thy Church hast ordained this solemn

time of supplication for all our necessities, open, we beseech thee, thy gracious ears to the prayers thou inspirest and drawest from our hearts; and by granting us those good things which thy children with humility and resignation ask of thee their Heavenly Father, so encourage our devotion and obedience, and so increase our hope and love, that transcending and looking beyond all particular goods as safely to be trusted in the hands of thy Providence, our whole souls may thirst after thee, and trust in thee, who art our all in all for ever, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest ever one God, world without end. Amen.