Some of the orignal prayers of Lancelot Andrewes

Glory be to Thee, 0 Lord, glory to Thee.

Glory to Thee who givest me sleep to recruit my weakness,

and to remit the toils of this fretful flesh.

To this day and all days,

a perfect, holy, peaceful, healthy, sinless course,

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

The Angel of peace, a faithful guide,

guardian of souls and bodies,

to encamp around me,

and ever to prompt what is salutary,

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

Pardon and remission of all sins and of all offences

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

To our souls what is good and convenient, and peace to the world,

Repentance and strictness

for the residue of our life,

and health and peace to the end,

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

Whatever is true, whatever is honest,

whatever just, whatever pure,

whatever lovely, whatever of good report,

if there be any virtue, if any praise,

such thoughts, such deeds,

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

A Christian close, without sin, without shame,

and, should it please Thee, without pain,

and a good answer

at the dreadful and fearful judgment-seat

of Jesus Christ our Lord,

Vouchsafe 0 Lord.

Confession

Essence beyond essence, Nature increate,

Framer of the world,

I set Thee, Lord, before my face,

and I lift up my soul unto Thee.

I worship Thee on my knees,

and humble myself under Thy mighty hand.

I stretch forth my hands unto Thee,

my soul gaspeth unto Thee as a thirsty land.

I smite on my breast and say with the Publican,

God be merciful to me a sinner, the chief of sinners;

to the sinner above the Publican,

be merciful as to the Publican.

Father of mercies,

I beseech Thy fatherly affection,

despise me not an unclean worm,

a dead dog, a putrid corpse,

despise not Thou the work of Thine own hands,

despise not Thine own image

though branded by sin.

Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,

Lord, only say the word, and I shall be cleansed.

And Thou, my Saviour Christ,

Christ my Saviour,

Saviour of sinners, of whom I am chief,

despise me not, despise me not, 0 Lord,

despise not the cost of Thy blood,

who am called by Thy Name;

but look on me with those eyes

with which Thou didst look upon

Magdalene at the feast,

Peter in the hall,

the thief on the wood ;

that with the thief I may entreat Thee humbly .

Remember me, Lord, in Thy kingdom;

that with Peter I may bitterly weep and say,

0 that mine eyes were a fountain of tears

that I might weep day and night;

that with Magdalene I may hear Thee say,

Thy sins be forgiven thee,

and with her may love much, for many sins yea manifold

have been forgiven me.

And Thou, All-holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit,

despise me not, Thy breath,

despise not Thine own holy things;

but turn Thee again, 0 Lord, at the last,

and be gracious unto Thy servant.

Commendation

Blessed art Thou, 0 Lord,

Our God, the God of our Fathers;

Who turnest the shadow of death into the morning;

and lightenest the face of the earth;

Who separatest darkness from the face of the light ;

and banishest night and bringest back the day;

Who lightenest mine eyes,

that I sleep not in death;

Who deliverest me from the terror by night,

from the pestilence that walketh in darkness;

Who drivest sleep from mine eyes,

and slumber from mine eyelids;

Who makest the outgoings of the morning

and evening to praise Thee;

because I laid me down and slept and rose up again,

for the Lord sustained me; because I waked and beheld,

and my sleep was sweet unto me.

Blot out as a thick cloud my transgressions,

and as a cloud my sins;

grant me to be a child of light, a child of the day,

to walk soberly, holily, honestly, as in the day,

vouchsafe to keep me this day without sin.

Thou who upholdest the falling and liftest the fallen,

let me not harden my heart in provocation,

or temptation or deceitfulness of any sin.

Moreover, deliver me to-day

from the snare of the hunter

and from the noisome pestilence;

from the arrow that flieth by day,

from the sickness that destroyeth in the noon day.

Defend this day against my evil,

against the evil of this day defend Thou me.

Let not my days be .spent in vanity,

nor my years in sorrow.

One day teileth another,

and one night certifierh another.

0 let me hear Thy loving-kindness betimes

in the morning,

for in Thee is my trust;

shew Thou me the way that I should walk in,

for I lift up my soul unto Thee.

Deliver me, 0 Lord, from mine enemies,

for I flee unto Thee.

Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth Thee, for Thou art my God:

let Thy loving Spirit 1ead me forth into the land of righteousness.

Quicken me, 0 Lord, for Thy Name's sake,

and for Thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble:

remove from me foolish imaginations,

inspire those which are good and pleasing in Thy sight.

Turn awav mine eyes lest they behold vanitv :

let mine eyes look right on,

and let mine eyelids look straight before me.

Hedge up mine ears with thorns

lest they incline to undisciplined words.

Give me early the ear to hear,

and open mine ears to the instruction of Thy oracles.

Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth,

and keep the door of my lips.

Let my word be seasoned with salt,

that it may minister grace to the hearers.

Let no deed be grief unto me nor offence of heart.

Let me do some work

for which Thou wilt remember me, Lord,

for good,

and spare me according to the greatness

of Thv mercy.

Into Thine hands I commend mv spirit, soul, and body,

which Thou hast created, redeemed,

regenerated,

0 Lord, Thou God of truth:

and together with me

all mine and all that belongs to me.

Thou hast vouchsafed them to me,

Lord, in Thy goodness.

Guard us from all evil,

guard our souls,

I beseech Thee, 0 Lord.

Guard us without falling,

and place us immaculate

in the presence of Thy glory

in that day.

Guard my going out and my coming in

henceforth and for ever.

Prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy

in the sight of those who meet him.

0 God, make speed to save me,

0 Lord, make haste to help me. 0 turn Thee then unto me,

and have mercy upon me;

give Thy strength unto Thy servant,

and help the son of Thine handmaid.

Show some token upon me for good,

that they who hate me may see it and be ashamed,

because Thou, Lord, hast holpen me

and comforted me.

The day is gone,

and I give Thee thanks, 0 Lord.

Evening is at hand,

make it bright unto us.

As day has its evening so also has life;

the even of life is age, age has overtaken me,

make it bright unto us.

Cast me not away in the time of age;

forsake me not when my strength faileth me.

Even to my old age be Thou He,

and even to hoar hairs carry me ;

do Thou make, do Thou bear, do Thou carry and deliver me.

Abide with me, Lord, for it is toward evening,

and the day is far spent of this fretful life.

Let Thy strength be made perfect in my weakness.

Day is fled and gone, life too is going, this lifeless life.

Night cometh, and cometh death, the deathless death.

Near as is the end of day, so too the end of life.

We then, also remembering it, beseech of Thee for the close of our life,

that Thou wouldest direct it in peace,

Christian, acceptable, sinless, shameless,

and, if it please Thee, painless, Lord, 0 Lord,

gathering us together under the feet of Thine Elect,

when Thou wilt, and as Thou wilt, only without shame and sins.

Remember we the days of darkness, for they shall be many, lest we be cast into outer darkness.

Remember we to outstrip the night doing some good thing.

Near is judgment;

a good and acceptable answer at the dreadful and fearful judgment-seat of Jesus Christ vouchsafe to us, 0 Lord.

By night I lift up my hands in the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.

The Lord hath granted His loving-kindness in the day time;

and in the night season did I sing of Him,

and made my prayer unto the God of my life.

As long as I live will I magnify Thee on this manner,

and lift up my hands in Thy Name.

Let my prayer be set forth in Thy sight as the incense,

and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

Blessed art Thou, 0 Lord, our God, the God of our fathers,

who hast created the changes of days and nights,

who givest songs in the night,

who hast delivered us from the evil of this day

who hast not cut off like a weaver my life,

nor from day even to night made an end of me.

Confession

Lord,

as we add day to day, so sin to sin.

The just falleth seven times a day; and I, an exceeding sinner,

seventy times seven; a wonderful, a horrible thing, 0 Lord.

But I turn with groans from my evil ways,

and I return into my heart, and with all my heart I turn to Thee,

0 God of penitents and Saviour of sinners;

and evening by evening I will return

in the innermost marrow of my soul;

and my soul out of the deep crieth unto Thee.

I have sinned, 0 Lord, against Thee,

heavily against Thee; alas, alas, woe is me!

for my misery. I repent, 0 me!

I repent, spare me, 0 Lord, I repent, 0 me, I repent,

help Thou my impenitence.

Be appeased, spare me, 0 Lord;

be appeased, have mercy on me ;

I said, Lord, have mercy upon me,

heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee.

Have mercy upon me, 0 Lord, after Thy great goodness,

according to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences.

Remit the guilt, heal the wound, blot out the stains,

clear away the shame, rescue from the tyranny,

and make me not a public example.

0 bring Thou me out of my trouble, cleanse Thou me from secret faults,

keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins.

My wanderings of mind and idle talking

lay not to my charge.

Remove the dark and muddy flood

of foul and wicked thoughts.

0 Lord, I have destroyed myself;

whatever I have done amiss, pardon mercifully.

Deal not with us after our sins,

neither reward us after our iniquities.

Look mercifully upon our infirmities;

and for the glory of Thy All-holy Name,

turn from us all those ills and miseries,

which by our sins, and by us through them,

are most righteously and worthily deserved.

Commendation

To my weariness, 0 Lord, vouchsafe Thou rest,

to my exhaustion

renew Thou strength.

Lighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death.

Deliver me from the terror by night,

the pestilence that walketh in darkness. Supply me with healthy sleep,

and to pass through this night without Fear.

0 keeper of Israel, who neither slumberest nor sleepest,

guard me this night from all evil,

guard my soul, 0 Lord.

Visit me with the visitation of Thine own,

reveal to me wisdom in the visions of the night.

If not, for I am not worthy, not worthy, at least, 0 loving Lord,

Let sleep be to me a breathing time as from toil, so from sin.

Yea, 0 Lord, nor let me in my dreams imagine what may anger Thee,

what may defile me.

Let not my loins be filled with illusions,

yea, let my reins chasten me in the night season,

yet without grievous terror.

Preserve me from the black sleep of sin;

all earthly and evil thoughts put to sleep within me.

Grant to me light sleep, rid of all imaginations

fleshly and satanical.

Lord, Thou knowest how sleepless are mine unseen foes,

and how feeble my wretched flesh,

Who madest me ;

shelter me with the wing of Thy pity;

awaken me at the fitting time, the time of prayer;

and give me to seek Thee early,

for Thy glory and for Thy service.

Into Thy hands, 0 Lord, I commend myself, my spirit, soul, and body:

Thou didst make, and didst redeem them;

and together with me, all my friends and all that belongs to me.

Thou hast vouchsafed them to me, Lord,

in Thy goodness.

Guard my lying down and my rising up,

from henceforth and for ever.

Let me remember Thee on my bed, and search out my spirit;

let me wake up and be present with Thee;

let me lay me down in peace, and take my rest:

for it is Thou, Lord, only that makest me dwell in safety.

Comprecation

Deliver me, O Lord, from the terror by night,

from the pestilence that walketh in darkness.

Give me to seek Thee early,

even for thy praise and service.

Preserve my lying down and my uprising

from this time forth even for evermore.

Discover me my mind for meditation by night,

So as to remember Thee upon my bed;

in the night to commune with mine own heart

and to search out my spirit:

and to keep my spirit:

but if not this

(for I am not worthy,

I am not worthy, O Lord)

yet at leastwise,

O Lord Thou lover of man, let my sleep be to me a respite,

as from toiling, so from sinning withal.

Yea, O Lord, I beseech Thee, look upon me,

and put to sleep in me

every earthly and evil thought.

The sleeplessness of mine unseen foes, Thou wottest, O

Lord :

the slackness of my wretched flesh

Thou knowest, which didst form me.

Let the wing of thy goodness shelter me:

lighten mine eyes that I never sleep in death.

Give me, O Lord, a good life, a good death,

and deathlessness:

for I know not, I know not, O Lord,

how soon is the putting off of my tabernacle.

Wherein grant me, O Lord, that the end of life be Christian,

sinless, shameless, and, if it like Thee, painless;

and a good defence at the appalling and fearful judgment-seat of Jesus Christ; that I may hear the most sweet voice.

Come ye blessed,

and that I may enter into thy joy

and get fruition of the vision

of our Father which is in heaven.

Grant me sleep, O Lord, for repose of weakness

and for relief of the toils of this travailling flesh.

Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend myself

and all things mine:

preserve me, o Lord, Thou that art the keeper of Israel,

that didst neither slumber nor sleep ever yet.

Blessing, thanksgiving and doxology

Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers,

that didst create changes of days and nights, that hast delivered us from the evil of this day, that hast bestowed on us occasions of songs in the evening

and to get us through the night fearlessly in hope:

for Thou art our light, salvation and strength of life

of whom then shall we be afraid ?

Glory be to Thee, O Lord, glory be to Thee,

for all thy divine perfections,

for thine inexpressible and unimaginable goodness and mercy,

unto sinners and unworthy,

and to me sinner, of all most unworthy

yea, O Lord,

glory and praise and blessing and thanksgiving

by the voices and concert of voices

as well of angels as of men and of all thy saints in heaven

and of all thy creation withal on earth,

and under their feet of me the sinner unworthy and wretched,

world without end.

On going to bed

Let me think upon thy name in the night season,

And keep thy law;

Let the evening prayer go up unto Thee,

And thy pity come down unto us,

O Thou which givest songs in the night,

Which makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise Thee,

Which givest thy beloved wholesome sleep.

As for me, I will come into Thy house, even upon the multitude of Thy mercy; and in Thy fear will I worship towards Thy holy Temple. Psal. v. 7.

O Lord, hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto Thee; when I hold up my hands toward the mercy-seat of Thy holy Temple. Psal. xxviii. 2.

We wait for Thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of Thy Temple. Psal. xlviii. 8.

Be mindful of the brethren who are present, and join together in prayer with us now:

Remember their devotion and their zeal.

Be mindful of them also who upon good cause are absent:

And have mercy upon them and us, according to the multitude of Thy mercies, O Lord.

We bless Thee

for our ( Godly Princes ,

(Orthodox Prelates,

and for the founders of this Thy holy habitation.

Glory be to Thee, O Lard, glory be to Thee; glory be to Thee, because Thou hast glorified them; for and with whom we alb glorify Thee.

Let Thine eyes be open, and Thine ears graciously attent,

to hear the prayer which Thy servant prayeth in this place,

wherein Thy Name is called upon. 2 Chron. vi. 20, 33, 40.

Woe is me, I have sinned against Thee, O Lord,

I have sinned against Thee:

O how evilly have I done;

And yet Thou hast not requited me,according to my sins.

H Job xxxiii. 27. secund. LXX.

But I am ashamed,

And turn from my wicked ways,

And return to my own heart,

And with all my heart I return to Thee,

And seek Thy face;

And pray unto Thee:

saying,

I have sinned, I have done perversely, I have committed wickedness;

Lord, I know the plague of my own heart, and, behold, I return unto Thee with all my heart, and with all my might.

And now, O Lord, in Thy dwelling place, the glorious throne of Thy kingdom in heaven, hear the prayer and supplication of Thy servant. (King Solomon's Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple, 1Kings 8. & 2Chron.6)

And be merciful unto Thy servant, and. heal his soul. Psal. xli. 4.

I dare not so much as lift up mine eyes unto heaven, But standing afar off,

I smite upon my breast,

And say with the publican,

God be merciful to me a sinner. S. Luke xviii. 13.

To me, a greater sinner than the publican, be merciful as

to the publican.

The earnest desire of man shall be to Thy praise, and the continuance of that desire shall hold a festival to Thee. Ps. lxsvi. 10..secund. LXX.

Lord, I believe

In Thee, the (Father, )

Word,

) One God.

Spirit, )

l. That by Thy love and power all things were created.

2. That, by Thy goodness and love to mankind, were

gathered together in one all things in Thy Word.

Who,

For us men, and for our Salvation, was made flesh;

Conceived and Born;

Did Suffer,

was Crucified;

Did Die,

was Buried;

Did Descend;

and Rose again;

Did Ascend,

and Sitteth;

Shall

Return, Reward.

3. That by the illumination and operation of the Holy

Spirit, a peculiar people is called, out of the whole world, to

be a corporation,

According to (The belief of the truth. 2 Thess. ii. 13.

(Holiness of conversation. 1 S. Pet. iii. 2.

By whom we are made partakers

Of the

Communion) of (Saints,

Remission

) (Sins,

in this present world ; By whom we look

For (Resurrection of the flesh,

(Eternal Life

in the world to come.

This most holy faith, once delivered to the Saints, (S. Jude, ver. 3,)

Lord, I believe;

Help Thou mine unbelief, S. Mark ix. 24.

Supply the defects of my weak faith. S. Luke xvii. 5.

Grant me also,

To (Love the Father for His tender love.

(Adore the Almighty, for His power.

To commit the keeping of my soul to Him, in well-doing,

as unto a faithful Creator. 1 S. Pet. iv. 19.

Grant me to enjoy

(Jesus, Salvation,

From (Christ, Anointing,

. (the only-begotten Son,

Adoption.

To serve the Lord,

For His Conception,

in faith.

For His Nativity,

in humility.

For His Sufferings,

in patience and antipathy to sin.

For His Cross,

in crucifying all occasions of sin.

For His Death,

in mortifying the flesh.

For His Burial,

in burying my bad purposes by good works.

For His Descent,

in meditation upon hell.

For His Resurrection,

in newness of life.

For His Ascension,

in setting my affections on things above. For His Session,

in seeking those better things at His right hand.

For His Return,

in awe of His second coming.

For His Judgment,

in judging myself, before I come to be judged.

From the Spirit,

To receive

The breath of saving grace.

To be partaker

In the Church,

of vocation;

In the Holy Church,

of sanctification;

In the Catholic Church,

of distribution and communication,

Holy mysteries,

Of the (Prayers,

(Fastings, groans,

(Watchings, tears,

and suffering of afflictions.

To a firm persuasion of the remission of my sins.

To a confident hope

Of (Resurrection ) to life eternal.

(Translation )