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Prayers and Thanksgivings upon Several Occasions, to be used before the two final prayers of morning and evening service.

¶ That we may put our Trust wholly in God.

O Lord God, thou art our refuge and our hope: on thee alone we rest; for we find all to be weak and insufficient but thee. Many friends cannot profit, nor strong helpers assist, nor prudent counsellors advise, nor the books of the learned afford comfort, nor any precious substance deliver, nor any place give shelter, unless thou thyself dost assist, strengthen, console, instruct, and guard us. To thee, therefore, do we lift up our eyes; in thee, our God, the Father of mercies, do we put our trust. Bless and sanctify our souls, that they may become thy holy habitation, and the seat of thine eternal glory; and let nothing be found in us displeasing in thy sight. Protect and keep us amidst all dangers; and, accompanying us by thy grace, direct us along the way of peace to thine everlasting home. Amen.

¶ In Time of Trouble

O God, thou art our hope and our strength, a very present help in time of need. Look down upon us with thy fatherly pity, and give us hearts wholly resigned to thy
divine will. May we have such firm confidence in thy good providence as not to increase our trouble by our own infirmities. Take from us gloomy forebodings and a spirit of fear. Blessed be thy name, our sorrows are finite and temporal, less than our sins, and infinitely less than thy mercies. O may it be our great care to please thee, our only fear lest we should sin against thee. Let thy loving-kindness be our portion, thy Spirit our guide, thy law the rule of our conduct; and so with patience may we wait till this cloud is passed over. Amen.

¶ In Time of Mourning.

Almighty God, who governest all things in heaven and on earth with infinite wisdom and mercy, and dost encourage us to fly to thee as our refuge in distress; Refresh thy sorrowing children with the light of thy countenance, and the consolations of thy Holy Spirit. Be thou now to us, we humbly beseech thee, what thou lovest to be, a Father to those who are in trouble and a God of comfort to those who mourn. Grant that we thy servants may not weep as those who are without hope, nor complain of anything but ourselves, nor desire anything but that thy will may be done, nor do anything but what is agreeable to thy holy word and commandment. O heavenly Father, when thou smitest us, not less than when thou pourest out blessings on us, may our love to thee increase; and when the few years of our earthly pilgrimage are ended, may we be gathered to our fathers in thy peace, and in the blessed hope of a joyful resurrection, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ In Time of Adversity.

O Holy Father, help us to labor for those enduring riches which consist in the knowledge of thee, and in the glory of thy gracious presence. Suffer us not, we pray thee, so to limit thy power as to think that thou art not now able to supply our real wants, though blessings which we were wont to enjoy are taken from us. Restrain, we beseech thee, our desires; teach us willingly to submit ourselves to thy wisdom. Let thy promises and providence be our storehouse; let it be enough for us to believe as we do, that, though we lose all we possess, yet, inasmuch as thou hast once loved us in Christ, we shall never lose thy favor. Through him be ascribed unto thee glory and dominion, world without end. Amen.

¶ That we may commit those whom we love to the Keeping of our heavenly Father.

O Lord God of heaven and earth, for those who belong to us may we neither be without care, nor yet taken up with care, as if we bad not thee to care for us. But let us assure ourselves that thou wilt be our God, and the God of our children; and wilt not leave them destitute of earthly blessings for whom thou bast provided an eternal inheritance. With this confidence may we go on our way with cheerfulness, fulfilling every duty as it arises, and leaving all events trustfully to thee, our merciful God and Father. Amen.

¶ For a Fruitful Season: to be used in Spring.

O God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, who causest the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; who bringest forth fruit out of the earth, and dost bless the springing thereof; Be pleased graciously to look down from thy holy habitation in heaven upon us, thy people, and upon the land wherein we dwell; that both it may become fruitful and yield its increase, and we may grow in wisdom and in goodness, bringing forth plenteously the fruit of good works, as disciples of him who came to sow in us the seeds of eternal life. Amen.

¶ Thanksgiving for a Fruitful Season.

Almighty and eternal Lord God, who art infinite in power and wisdom and goodness; with hearts deeply sensible of thy tender care and concern for us, we most hum­
bly beseech thee to accept our tribute of thanks and praise for the return of that joyous season in which thou makest our fields to yield an abundant increase. On thy fatherly protection and kindness we will steadfastly rely for the supply of our wants; for thou carest for us. But, O heavenly Father, while we rejoice in thy outward bounty, do thou keep us ever mindful that man’s life consiseth not in the abundance of the things which be possesseth: and grant that we may not cease to labor more earnestly for those everlasting blessings which thou hast vouchsafed to us in thy beloved Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ All Saints.

O Almighty God, who hast knit together all generations of the faithful in one communion and fellowship, in thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; Grant us grace to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living; and make us partakers with them of those unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee. Amen.

¶ The Ordination of Ministers.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thine infinite love and goodness bast firmly established the Church of thy Soil on earth; Raise up, we beseech thee, a constant succession of faithful Ministers ; and give them grace to remember that the servants of the Lord ought not to strive, but to be gentle to all, apt to teach, patient, instructing in meekness him that opposeth. May they become examples to their flocks in holy living, teaching not only by their doctrine, but also by their practice. Thou, O gracious Father, knowest what things are needful for this high calling: multiply these gifts on thy servants; and crown their labors with thy blessing, that the work of the great shepherd of souls may prosper in their hands. Amen.

¶ In Behalf of a Sick Person for whom the Prayers of the Congregation are requested.

Almighty and ever-blessed God, our refuge and our hope; Stretch forth, we we pray thee, thy healing hand on thy servant, for whom in his sickness our prayers are desired: but, O heavenly Father, grant that he may so acknowledge thy fatherly love in this and all his trials, that whatsoever thou mayest appoint concerning him, he may be wholly resigned to thy gracious will. Amen.

¶ In Time of General Sickness.

Almighty and ever-blessed God, in the midst of life we are in death: of whom shall we seek for succor but of thee, O Lord? Stretch forth thy band, we beseech thee, and turn from us this great sickness and mortality with which we are now visited. But, O merciful Father, as thou dost never chasten us but for our good, may we be still more anxious for a humble and teachable heart than for immediate relief from bodily danger; not doubting thy desire to bring all our afflictions to a speedy and happy end. In every time of trouble give us grace, O Lord God, to help and comfort one another in the spirit of thy son Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ When General Health is restored.

Blessed be thy goodness, O Lord, which hath preserved so many of us alive in the midst of a great mortality, and hath restored health to our land. Thou hast been our refuge and our fortress, our God in whom we trust. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may devote our renewed strength to thee with increased zeal and earnestness, as true disciples of thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ In Time of War.

O Lord our Creator and Preserver, who hast made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth; We cry to thee in our distress, and beseech thee to look down in mercy on the terrible conflicts which are destroying the lives and estranging the hearts of thy children. O breathe upon thy people the spirit of thy Son; and grant that the work of righteousness may be peace, and the effect of righteousness quiet and assurance forever. Amen.

¶ When Peace is restored.

Blessed be thou, O God, who stillest the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. We praise and thank thee for our deliverance from those great evils and dangers wherewith we were compassed; and we most earnestly beseech thee to fill us with the spirit of kindness and forbearance; that no bitterness may remain in our hearts, and that we may lead henceforth a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ For this Nation.

Almighty God, who rulest over all the nations of the earth, and on whose gracious providence we depend evermore for preservation and prosperity; Extend, we beseech thee, thy paternal goodness to the people of this nation. Our necessities and dangers are all known to thee. Vouchsafe to guide us continually with thy counsel, and strengthen us with thy power; and so direct and sanctify our hearts, that, looking up to thee as our only safeguard and the supreme author of all blessings, we may have the unspeakable blessing of thy almighty protection and thy heavenly favor. Amen.

¶ For all Mankind.

Most gracious Father, let thy blessing rest on every member of thy great human family. May every one be a partaker of thy gospel in Jesus Christ. Grant that the bright beams of thy truth may shine upon those who are walking in darkness; till all the kindreds of thy people shall know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Amen.