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← Holy Living and Holy Dying/Book 1 · The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living
Chapter 15HolyLiving.1.15

An Exercise to be used at any time of the day.

A Liturgy of Praise

A structured sequence of invocations, psalms, and doxologies designed to focus the heart on God's greatness.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and so on. The Lord's Prayer, and so on. The hymn, taken from the Psalms, which recounts the excellence and greatness of God. Be joyful in God, all you lands; sing praises to the honor of his name; make his name glorious. Come and see the works of God—how wonderful he is in what he does for the children of men. He rules with his power forever. Psalm 66.1 1, 4, 6. He is the Father of the fatherless, and he defends the cause of the widow—even God in his holy dwelling.✦ He is the God who makes people of one mind in a household, and brings the prisoners out of captivity; but he lets the rebels continue in scarcity.✦2 Psalm 29.✦ 3, 4. It is the Lord who commands the waters; it is the glorious God who makes the thunder; it is the Lord who rules the sea. The voice of the Lord is a glorious voice. Psalm 65. 5.✦ Let all the earth fear the Lord; stand in awe of him, all you who live in the world.✦ You will show us wonderful things in your righteousness, O God of our salvation—you who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of those who remain on the broad sea.✦ Psalm 68.3 5, 6. Glory be to the Father, etc. Or this: O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you. I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things; your ancient plans are faithfulness and truth.✦ Isaiah.✦ 25.✦ 1. By your strength, you make the mountains firm and are girded with power.✦ You still the raging of the sea, and the noise of its waves, and the uttermost parts of its people.4 Psalm 65.5 6, 8. They also who live in the farthest parts of the earth will stand in awe of your signs; you make the dawn and the evening go forth to praise you. O Lord God of Hosts, who is like you?✦ Your truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side. Psalm 86.6 8, 9. Among the gods there is none like you; O Lord, there is none who can do as you do. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.✦7 Psalm 96.8 3. God is to be feared very greatly in the council of the saints, and held in reverence by everyone around him.✦ Psalm 124. 8. Righteousness and equity are the foundation of your throne; mercy and truth go before your face.9 Glory and worship are before him; power and honor are in his sanctuary. Psalm 89.10 9. Lord, you are the one I long for; you are my hope, even from my youth. Through you I have been held up ever since I was born; you are the one who took me from my mother's womb; my praise will always be of you. Psalm 71.11 5, 6. Glory be to the Father, etc.

Scripture and Meditation

The transition from vocal praise to the reading of Holy Scripture and quiet meditation.

After this, you might read a portion of Holy Scripture—from the New Testament or the wisdom books of the Old Testament, such as:12 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and so on. because these are of great help to piety and to civil conduct.13 When you have meditated on this for a while, humbly settling yourself on your knees, say as follows:

Petitions for Grace

A series of short, focused prayers seeking divine guidance, protection, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Short prayers.14 My help comes from the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Shine the light of your face upon your servant, and I will be safe. Psalm 31.15 6.16 Do good, O Lord, to those who are true of heart, and always defend them with your might.✦ Psalm 125. 4. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my Savior and my great master.✦ Psalm 25. 5.✦ Keep me from sin and eternal death, and from my enemies, both visible and invisible. Give me grace to live a holy life, and your favor, so that I may die a godly and happy death. Lord, hear your servant's prayer and give me your Holy Spirit.

The Comprehensive Prayer

A detailed, formal prayer covering the petitioner's life, conduct, and ultimate hope in God.

The Prayer. O eternal God, merciful and gracious, grant your favor and your blessing to your servant: let love for your mercies, and the dread and fear of your majesty, make me careful and eager to seek your will, diligent to do it, and steadfast in the practices of a holy life, even to the last of my days.✦ Keep me, O Lord, for I am yours by creation; guide me, for I am yours by purchase. You have redeemed me by the blood of your Son and loved me with a father's love, for I am your child by adoption and grace. Let your mercy pardon my sins, your providence keep me safe from the punishments and evils I have deserved, and your care watch over me so that I may never again offend you. Make me a child in malice, but in understanding, piety, and the fear of God, let me be a mature man in Christ—innocent and prudent, readily equipped and trained for every good work.1718 Keep me, O Lord, from the destroying angel and from the wrath of God. Don't let your anger rise against me, but let your rod gently correct my foolishness and guide me in your ways, and let your staff support me in every suffering and change. Protect me from broken bones; from noxious, infectious, and severe sicknesses; from great blows of fortune and sudden shocks. Keep all my senses whole until the day of my death, and don't let my death be sudden, untimely, or unprepared. Let it come in the ordinary way of human beings, with nothing extraordinary in it except an extraordinary piety, and the manifestation of your great and miraculous mercy.1920 Don't let riches ever make me forget myself, and don't let poverty ever make me forget you: let no hope or fear, no pleasure or pain, no external accident, no internal weakness, hinder or unsettle my duty, or turn me from the ways of your commandments.2122 O, let your Spirit dwell with me forever, and make my soul just and charitable, full of honesty, full of religion, resolute and constant in holy purposes, but inflexible toward evil.23 Make me humble and obedient, peaceful and pious; let me never envy anyone's goods, nor deserve to be despised myself: and if I am, teach me to bear it with meekness and charity. Give me a tender conscience; a way of life that is careful and friendly, modest and patient, generous and ready to help; a body chaste and healthy; enough to live on for my station; contentment in every condition; a will resigned to yours and affections mortified—so that I may be as you would have me, and my portion may be in the lot of the righteous, in the brightness of your face, and the glories of eternity.✦✦2425 Amen.

The Trisagion

A final, solemn acclamation of God's holiness and a plea for mercy.

Our God is holy. The Almighty is holy. The Immortal is holy.✦ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, have mercy on me.✦26

Read the original Latin

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, etc. Our Father, etc. The Hymn, collected out of the Psalms, recounting the Excellences and Greatness of God.

O be joyful in God, all ye lands; sing praises unto the honour of his name, make his name to be glorious. O come hither, and behold the works of God, how wonderful he is in his doings towards the children of men. He ruleth with his power for ever. Psalm ixvi. 1, 4, 6.

He is the Father of the fatherless, and defendeth the cause of the widow, even God in his holy habitation. He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in a house, and bringeth the prisoners out of captivity; but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness. Psalm xxix. 3, 4.

It is the Lord that commandeth the waters; it is the glorious God that maketh the thunder; it is the Lord that ruleth the sea. The voice of the Lord is a glorious voice. Psalm lxv. 5.

Let all the earth fear the Lord: stand in awe of him, all ye that dwell in the world. Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation; thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea. Psalm Ixviii. 5, 6.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

Or this:

O Lord, thou art my God, I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Isa. xxv. 1.

Thou, in thy strength, settest fast the mountains, and art girded about with power. Thou stillest the raging of the sea, and the noise of his waves, and the uttermost parts of his people. Psalm 1xv. 6, 8.

They, also, that remain in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens; thou, that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee.

O Lord God of Hosts, who is like unto thee? thy truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side. Psalm 1xxxvi. 8, 9. Among the gods there is none like unto thee: O Lord, there is none that can do as thou doest For thou art great, and doest wondrous things; thou art God alone. Psalm xcvi. 3.

God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all men that are round about him. Psalm cxxiv. 8.

Righteousness and equity are in the habitation of thy seat; mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Glory and worship are before him; power and honour are in his sanctuary. Psalm 1xxxix. 9.

Thou, Lord, art the thing that I long for; thou art my hope even from my youth. Through thee have I been holden up, ever since I was born; thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb; my praise shall be always of thee. Psalm 1xxi. 5, 6.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

*After this may be read some portion of Holy Scripture, out of the New Testament, or out of the Sapiential books of the Old, viz. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc. , because these are of great use to piety and to civil conversation. Upon which when you have awhile meditated, humbly composing yourself upon your knees, say as followeth:

Ejaculations.

My help standeth in the name of the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth.

Show the light of thy countenance upon thy servant, and I shall be safe. Psalm 1xxx. 6.

Do well, O Lord, to them that be true of heart, and evermore mightily defend them. Psalm cxxv. 4.

Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou are my Saviour, and my great master. Psalm xxv. 5.

Keep me from sin and death eternal, and from my enemies visible and invisible.

Give me grace to live a holy life, and thy favour, that I may die a godly and happy death.

Lord, hear the prayer of thy servant, and give me thy Holy Spirit.

The Prayer.

O eternal God, merciful and gracious, vouchsafe thy favour and thy blessing to thy servant: let the love of thy mercies, and the dread and fear of thy majesty, make me careful and inquisitive to search thy will, and diligent to perform it, and to persevere in the practices of a holy life, even till the last of my days.

Keep me, O Lord, for I am thine by creation; guide me, for I am thine by purchase; thou hast redeemed me by the blood of thy Son; and loved me with the love of a father, for I am thy child by adoption and grace: let thy mercy pardon my sins, thy providence secure me from the punishments and evils I have deserved, and thy care watch over me, that I may never any more offend thee: make me, in malice, to be a child; but in understanding, piety, and the fear of God, let me be a perfect man in Christ, innocent and prudent, readily furnished and instructed to every good work.

Keep me, O Lord, from the destroying angel, and from the wrath of God: let thy anger never rise against me, but thy rod gently correct my follies, and guide me in thy ways, and thy staff support me in all sufferings and changes. Preserve me from fracture of bones, from noisome, infectious, and sharp sicknesses; from great violences of fortune and sudden surprises: keep all my senses entire till the day of my death, and let my death be neither sudden, untimely, nor unprovided: let it be after the common manner of men, having in it nothing extraordinary, but an extraordinary piety, and the manifestation of thy great and miraculous mercy.

Let no riches make me ever forget myself, no poverty ever make me to forget thee: let no hope or fear, no pleasure or pain, no accident without, no weakness within, hinder or discompose my duty, or turn me from the ways of thy commandments. O, let thy Spirit dwell with me for ever, and make my soul just and charitable, full of honesty, full of religion, resolute and constant in holy purposes, but inflexible to evil. Make me humble and obedient, peaceable and pious; let me never envy any man’s goods, nor deserve to be despised myself: and if I be, teach me to bear it with meekness and charity.

Give me a tender conscience; a conversation discreet and affable, modest and patient, liberal and obliging; a body chaste and healthful, competency of living according to my condition, contentedness in all estates, a resigned will and mortified affections; that I may be as thou wouldst have me, and my portion may be in the lot of the righteous, in the brightness of thy countenance, and the glories of eternity. Amen.

Holy is our God. Holy is the Almighty. Holy is the Immortal. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabbaoth, have mercy upon me.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Ps.68.5 — Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts — his name is Yah — and exult before him.
  2. ↩Ps.68.6 — A father of orphans and a judge of widows is God in his holy dwelling.
  3. ↩Ps.68.5-Ps.68.6;Ps.29.3-Ps.29.4 — Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts — his name is Yah — and exult before him. Ps.68.6 — A father of orphans and a judge of widows is God in his holy dwelling. Ps.29.3 — The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is over many waters. Ps.29.4 — The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
  4. ↩Ps.65.5 — Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts. We are satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
  5. ↩Ps.33.8;Ps.68.5-Ps.68.6 — Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Ps.68.5 — Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts — his name is Yah — and exult before him. Ps.68.6 — A father of orphans and a judge of widows is God in his holy dwelling.
  6. ↩Ps.65.5;Ps.68.5-Ps.68.6 — Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts. We are satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. Ps.68.5 — Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts — his name is Yah — and exult before him. Ps.68.6 — A father of orphans and a judge of widows is God in his holy dwelling.
  7. ↩Isa.25.1 — O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things—plans formed long ago, in faithfulness and steadfastness.
  8. ↩Isa.25.1 — O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things—plans formed long ago, in faithfulness and steadfastness.
  9. ↩Isa.25.1 — O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things—plans formed long ago, in faithfulness and steadfastness.
  10. ↩Ps.65.6 — With awesome deeds in righteousness you answer us, O God of our salvation, the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
  11. ↩Ps.89.8 — God is greatly revered in the council of the holy ones, and awesome is he above all who surround him.
  12. ↩Ps.86.8 — There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, and there are no works like yours.
  13. ↩Ps.89.7 — For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of gods is like the LORD?
  14. ↩Ps.125.4 — Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in their hearts.
  15. ↩Ps.25.5 — Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
  16. ↩Ps.25.5 — Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
  17. ↩Exod.34.6 — And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.'
  18. ↩Ps.16.5;Ps.125.3 — The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; you hold fast my lot. Ps.125.3 — For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous send forth their hands to wrongdoing.
  19. ↩Ps.4.6;Ps.89.15;Num.6.25 — Offer sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD. Ps.89.15 — Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before your face. Num.6.25 — The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
  20. ↩1Tim.1.17 — Now to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
  21. ↩Isa.6.3;Rev.4.8 — And one called to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the fullness of the earth is his glory. Rev.4.8 — And the four living creatures, each having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. And they have no rest day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Source reads 'Psalm ixvi.'; treated as a garbled Roman-numeral form of lxvi (66), matching the quoted Psalm 66 verses in this section.
  2. 2 ↩Source “runagates” is archaic for deserters/rebels (those who flee or turn away); rendered “rebels.” “Scarceness” rendered “scarcity” (want).
  3. 3 ↩Source prints 'Psalm Ixviii.'; read as Roman lxviii (= 68), with capital I treated as a long-s/l rendering of l.
  4. 4 ↩Source 'his waves' / 'his people' follows archaic neuter 'his' for the sea; rendered as 'its'. The third object, 'the uttermost parts of his people,' is an odd parallel to raging/noise (standard Coverdale/KJV lines have 'madness' or 'tumult of the people') and may be corrupt or conflated with the next verse's 'uttermost parts of the earth.'
  5. 5 ↩Source reads 'Psalm 1xv.'; treated as the Roman numeral lxv (65), with leading 'l' misread as '1'.
  6. 6 ↩Source reads 'Psalm 1xxxvi.'—almost certainly OCR of Roman 'lxxxvi' (86). The quoted lines in s1–s2 match Coverdale Ps 89:8 more closely than Ps 86; citation and content may be misaligned in the source.
  7. 7 ↩Source runs 'doest For' without a period; restored as a natural sentence break before causal 'For'.
  8. 8 ↩Source cites 'Psalm xcvi' (96), but the quoted lines in s5 align with Psalm 86 (lxxxvi), not Psalm 96. Left as written; later reference resolution should check.
  9. 9 ↩Source 'habitation of thy seat' is Coverdale/BCP throne language; rendered as 'foundation of your throne' for contemporary clarity while keeping the court-of-God sense.
  10. 10 ↩Source 'Psalm 1xxxix.' is a garbled roman numeral (l read as 1); normalized as Psalm 89 (lxxxix), matching the chapter's citation pattern.
  11. 11 ↩Source reads 'Psalm 1xxi.' (likely a misread 'l' as '1' for Roman numeral lxxi); rendered as Psalm 71 to match the quotation content and standard English numbering.
  12. 12 ↩Source 'Sapiential books' rendered as 'wisdom books' (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and related wisdom literature).
  13. 13 ↩Source 'civil conversation' means orderly social life and manners, not casual talk; rendered 'civil conduct'.
  14. 14 ↩Source heading 'Ejaculations' means brief, spontaneous prayers (the older devotional sense), not the modern sexual meaning; rendered as plain English.
  15. 15 ↩Source reads 'Psalm 1xxx.' Most plausible intended form is Psalm xxxi (31); the leading '1' is almost certainly a typo/OCR corruption of Roman numbering (xxxi), not Psalm 1xxx.
  16. 16 ↩Source gives verse '6.' For the preceding petition, common English psalm numberings place the nearest matches at Ps 31:16 (KJV) or nearby Coverdale/BCP verse numbers, not always 6. Left as printed pending witness check.
  17. 17 ↩Early modern sense: free of spite and evil intent—childlike innocence toward harming others (echoing 1 Cor 14:20), not childishness in general.
  18. 18 ↩Kept as the classical redemption term (bought/paid-for ownership), parallel to 'by creation' and leading into the blood-redemption clause.
  19. 19 ↩Rendered as unprepared: not bare lack of material provision, but death without spiritual readiness (ars moriendi sense).
  20. 20 ↩noisome = noxious/foul-harmful; sharp = acute/severe pain or violence of illness. Modernized for sense without softening the petition.
  21. 21 ↩Source 'forget myself' is kept as the plain older sense of losing self-knowledge or becoming swollen with pride, not mere social embarrassment.
  22. 22 ↩'Accident without' is rendered as chance or trouble outside the self, not a traffic accident in the modern sense; 'discompose' as unsettle rather than merely annoy.
  23. 23 ↩'Religion' here is kept in Taylor's sense of ordered piety and devout practice, not generic 'a religion' as a worldview label.
  24. 24 ↩Seventeenth-century 'conversation' means manner of life and dealings with others, not mere talk; rendered as 'way of life'.
  25. 25 ↩'Competency' here means a sufficient livelihood, not skill or qualification.
  26. 26 ↩Source 'Sabbaoth' is the traditional form Sabaoth (Hebrew for 'hosts'); rendered as 'Hosts' for contemporary readability while preserving the Sanctus sense.

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