Andrewes

2NOW that I have passed through the day,

3I give thee thanks, O Lord.

4The evening draweth nigh,

5grant it bright.

6As is the evening of the day,

7so also is the evening of life;

8The evening of life is old age,

9old age hath overtaken me,

10grant it bright.

11Cast me not off in the time of old age;

12when my strength faileth,

13forsake me not.i

14Be thou the same even unto old age,

15until I grow grey, bear thou with me;

16Do thou it thyself, and thyself bear me,

17and thyself take me up, and

18save me, O Lord.ii

19Abide with me, O Lord,

20for it is now toward evening with me,iii

21and the day is far spent

22of this toilsome life.iv

23Let thy power be made perfect

24in my weakness.v

25The day is gone and passed away,

26and life too passeth,

27life that is no life.

1Night cometh,

2death too cometh,

3death, the undying.

4Nigh, as the end of the day,

5so also the end of life.

6Being mindful, then, we also thereof,

7we beseech thee,

8that the endings of our life

9be Christian, and well-pleasing,

10without sin, without shame,

11(if it seem good to thee) without pain,

12thou wouldest order in peace, O Lord, O Lord,

13gathering us together

14beneath the feet of thy chosen,

15when thou wilt, and as thou wilt,

16only without shame, and

17without sins.

18To be mindful of the days of darkness, that they are many,i

19that we be not cast out into outer darkness.ii

20To be mindful, and to forestall the night,

21working some good thing.iii

22Judgement is at hand:

23A good and acceptable defence,

24at the dread and fearful judgement-seat of JESUS CHRIST,

25grant thou us, O Lord.

26In the night seasons I lift up my hands

27unto the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.iv

28In the day-time the Lord hath commanded his mercy,

1and now in the night his song is with me,

2and a prayer unto the God of my life.i

3So will I bless thee in all my life,

4in thy name will I lift up my hands.ii

5Let my prayer be set forth

6as incense before thee;

7the lifting up of my hands,

8as the evening sacrifice.iii

9Blessed art thou, O Lord our God,

10the God of our fathers,

11who hast made the interchange of day and night,

12who givest us occasions of songs in the night,iv

13who hast delivered us from the evil of this day,

14who hast not cut off my life as a weaver his web,

15nor made an end of me from morning even unto evening.v

16CONFESSION AT EVENING.

17O LORD,

18as day upon our days,

19so also do we add sin upon sin.vi

20Seven times a day shall the righteous fall,vii

21but I, a sinner above measure,

22seventy times seven,viii

23yea, a thing of astonishment and horror, O Lord.ix

24But I turn away

25from my evil ways with groaning,x

26and I turn again unto mine own heart,

27and with my whole heart I turn again unto thee.xi

1O God of them that repent, and Saviour of them that sin,

2even from evening to evening will I turn again,

3from the inmost marrow of my soul,

4and out of the deep my soul crieth unto thee,i

5I have sinned against thee, O Lord, I have sinned grievously against thee,

6ah, ah! alas, alas! O the misery!

7I repent, woe is me, I repent: spare me, O Lord,

8I repent, woe is me, I repent,

9help thou mine impenitence.

10Be thou merciful. | Spare me, O Lord.

11Be thou merciful. | Have mercy upon me.

12I said, Have mercy upon me, O Lord,

13heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.ii

14Have mercy upon me, O Lord, after thy great mercy,

15and according to the multitude of thy compassions

16blot out mine offence.iii

17Forgive the guilt,

18heal the wound,

19blot out the stains,

20deliver me from the turning-aside,

21rescue me from the tyranny,

22and make me not a public example.

23Bring me out of my distresses, O Lord,iv

24cleanse me from my secret faults,

25from other men's sins spare thy servant;v

26the wanderings of the mind,vi

27and idle talk,vii

28lay not to my charge.

29Take away the murky flood, and the

1miry filth of foul and unlawful

2thoughts.

3O Lord,

4my destruction is of myself, from me;i

5whatsoever I have done amiss, of thy grace forgive.

6Deal not with us after our iniquities,

7neither reward us

8according to our sins.ii

9Look mercifully upon our infirmities,

10and for the glory of thy most holy name,iii

11Turn away from us all evils, and all grievous things,

12which by our sins, and to us because of them,

13are most justly and worthily our due.

14PRAYER AT EVENING.

15TO me also, O Lord, being weary, grant rest,

16to me that labour renew my strength.

17Lighten mine eyes,

18that I sleep not in death.iv

19Deliver me from the terror by night,

20from the thing that walketh through in darkness;v

21grant me wholesome sleep, and

22to pass this night through without fear.

23O Keeper of Israel,

24who neither hast slept nor slumbered at any time,vi

25keep me this night from all evil,

26keep my soul, O Lord.

27Visiting me with the visitation of thine own,vii

28reveal to me my mind in visions of the night.viii

1But if not — (for I am not worthy, I am not worthy) —

2yet at the least, O Master, lover of men,

3let my sleep be unto me a respite,

4as from labour, so also from sinning.

5Yea, O Lord.

6And when I sleep, let me imagine nothing

7that angereth thee,

8nor that defileth me.

9Let not my loins be filled with illusions,i

10but rather let my reins chasten me,ii

11yet without dread terror.

12Keep me safe from the gloomy sleep

13of sin,

14and every earthly and evil thought

15lay thou to rest within me.

16Grant me a light sleep,

17and from all imagining,

18fleshly and Satanic,

19clean delivered.

20How sleepless mine unseen enemies are,

21thou knowest well, O Lord,

22and the feebleness of my wretched flesh,iii

23thou that didst fashion me.

24Let the wing of thy mercy

25cover me.iv

26Rouse me up at the fitting time,

27at the time of prayer,v

28And grant me to rise early unto thee,vi

29to give thee glory,

30and to do thee service.

2The Creation, | mankind,

3those that are in

4affliction, | prosperity,

5error, | truth,

6sin, | grace.

7The Church universal,

8Eastern, | Western, | that among us,

9Prelates, | Clergy, | People.

10The states of the earth,

11the Christian, | round about us, | our own.

12the King, | the Queen, | the Prince.

13the nobles,

14Council, | Justice, | Might, | Force.

15the Commons,

16Husbandmen, | Merchants, | Craftsmen,

17down to the meanest trades

18and the beggars.

19Those whom there commend to me

20kindred,

21benefits received,

22the ministering of temporal things,

23a trust committed { of old, / now, }

24moral friendship,

25Christian charity,

26nearness of place,

1my promise,

2their longing,

3the press of business,

4compassion for those in their last extremity,

5some worthy deed to essay,

6well-doing,

7an offence given,

8such as have none to plead for them.

9Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend myself,

10my spirit, my soul, my body,

11thou didst create, and thou didst redeem them,

12O Lord, thou God of truth.i

13And with me, mine own, and all that is mine;

14thou hast freely given them to me, O Lord,

15in thy goodness.ii

16Keep my lying-down, and

17my rising-up,iii

18from this time forth and even for evermore.iv

19To be mindful of thee upon my bed,v

20to search out my spirit,vi

21to awake, and

22to be still with thee.vii

23In peace will I both lay me down,

24and sleep;

25for thou, Lord, only,

26shalt make me dwell in hope.viii

1The world, | the inhabited earth,

2the Church, | the Kingdom,

3the Throne, | the Altar,

4the Council-house, | the Court of law,

5the Schools, | the Workshops.

6Infants, | Men,

7Children, | those advanced in years,

8Youths, | those in old age,

9the young, | and in feebleness.

10The possessed, | Wayfarers,

11The faint-hearted, | Voyagers by sea,

12The sick, | Women with child,

13those in Bonds, | Women that give suck,

14Orphans, | those in bitter servitude,

15Widows, | those that dwell in loneliness,

16Strangers, | the heavy-laden.

3O LORD,

4I am not worthy, neither sufficient,i

5That thou shouldest come in under the unclean roof of the house

6of my soul,

7For it is all desolate and fallen down,

8and thou hast with me no place worthy

9whereon to lay thy head.ii

10But as thou vouchsafedst

11to be laid in a cave and in a manger of the unreasoning beasts;iii

12As thou disdainedst not

13to be received also in the house of Simon the Leper;iv

14As thou disdainedst not

15her that was as I, the harlot, the sinful woman,

16drawing near to thee and touching thee;v

17as thou didst not abhor

18that foul and accursed mouth of hers,vi

19neither the thief upon the cross

20that confessed thee;vii

21So vouchsafe unto me also,

22the abandoned, the wretched,

23the sinner above measure,

24To be received unto the touching and partaking

25of the immaculate, dread, life-giving,

1and saving mysteries

2of thy most holy body,

3and of thy precious blood.

4Attend, O Lord our God,

5out of thy holy habitation,

6and from the throne of the glory of thy kingdom,

7and come to sanctify us.

8Thou that sittest on high together with the Father,

9and art here invisibly present with us,

10come to sanctify these gifts set forth,

11and them for whom, and by whom, and the ends for which

12they are offered.

13And give us communion

14Unto

15{ faith unashamed,i

16love unfeigned,

17the keeping of the commandments,

18a sober watch over every spiritual fruit,

19the averting of all that is adverse,

20the healing of soul and body,

21a token of the congregation,ii

22a memorial of the Dispensation,iii

23a showing-forth of thy death,iv

24a communion of body and blood,v

25a partaking of the Spirit,

26remission of sins,vi

27a safeguard against the adverse powers,vii

28rest of conscience,viii

29the blotting-out of debts,ix

30the cleansing of stains,x

31the healing of the soul's infirmities,xi

1a renewing of the covenant,i

2a viaticum of the spiritual life,ii

3an increase { of strengthening grace, / of soul-refreshing comfort, }

4the compunction of repentance,iii

6a schooling in humility,v

7a seal of faith,vi

8a fulness of wisdom,vii

9a bond of love,viii

10a fit reckoning of the collection,

11an arming of patience,ix

12a soberness of thanksgiving,

13boldness in prayer,

14a mutual indwelling,x

15a pledge of the resurrection,

16an acceptable defence at the judgement,xi

17a testament of inheritance,xii

18a type of perfection.xiii

19That we also, with all the saints

20who from the beginning of the world have pleased thee,

21may be made partakers

22of thine incorruptible and eternal good things,

23which thou hast prepared for them that love thee, O Lord,

24wherein thou art glorified

25unto the ages.

26O Lamb of God,

27that takest away the sin of the world,

28take away mine also, that am a sinner

29utterly.

1Remembering therefore, O Master, we also,

2in the presence of thy holy Mysteries,

3the saving sufferings of thy Christ,

4the life-giving Cross,

5the most precious Death,

6the three-days' Burial,

7the Resurrection from the dead,

8the Ascension into the heavens,

9the Sitting at thy right hand, O Father,

10his glorious and fearful

11coming again,

12We beseech thee, O Lord,

13that in the pure witness

14of our conscience

15receiving the portion

16of thy hallowed gifts,

17we may be made one with the holy Body and Blood

18of thy Christ;

19and receiving them not unworthily,

20may have Christ dwelling

21in our hearts,i

22and may become a temple of thy Holy

23Spirit;ii

24Yea, O our God.

25And make thou none of us guilty

26of these thy dread and

27heavenly Mysteries,

28neither weak in soul or body,

29through partaking of them

30unworthily.iii

1But give us,

2even unto our last and

3latest breath,

4worthily to receive the hope

5of thy hallowed gifts,

6Unto

7sanctification, illumination, strength,

8the lightening of the burden of my many

9sins,

10A safeguard against all working of the devil,

11A warding-off and a hindrance of my evil

12conscience,

13A mortifying of the passions,

14A keeping of the commandments,

15An increase of thy divine grace,

16and the making-mine-own of thy Kingdom.

18IT is accomplished and finished,

19so far as lieth in our power,

20O Christ our God,

21the mystery of thy Dispensation.

22For we have kept the memorial of thy death,

23we have seen the figure of thy resurrection,

24we have been filled with thine unending life,

25we have had the fruition of thine inexhaustible delight,

26whereof, in the age to come also,

27be pleased to count us all

28worthy.

1THE Lord, the good God,

2make atonement

3for every heart

4that setteth itself to seek

5the Lord, the God

6of his fathers,

7though not according to the purity

8of the sanctuary.i

1I. WHAT shall I do, that I may inherit

2eternal life?i

31. Keep the commandments.

4II. What shall we do?

52. Repent, and be baptized every one

6of you.ii

7III. What must I do, that I may be saved?

83. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.iii

9IV. What then shall we do?iv

101. He that hath two { coats, / meats, } { let him impart / to him that hath none. } } To the multitudes.

112. Exact no more than that which is

12appointed you. } To the publicans.

133. Do violence to no man,

14neither accuse any falsely.

154. Be content with your wages. } To the soldiers.

16Knowledge and Faith,

17of Righteousness, | of Mercies,

18unto

19fear, | hope,

20humility, | comfort,

21repentance, | thanksgiving,

22fasting, | alms,

23prayers, | hymns,

24patience, | obedience,

25as

26a sacrifice. | an offering.