This entry is part 7 of 11 in the series THE DEVOTIONS of BISHOP ANDREWS

O GOD, thou art my God, early will
I seek thee.

Blessed art thou, O Lord, who didst
as on this day, gather together the wa-
ters into one place, and command the
dry land to appear.

Who didst then also bring forth the
herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree
yielding fruit after his kind.

To which almighty operation we
stand indebted for the wonders of the
great deep, and the sea shut up as it
were with bars; for lakes, rivers, and
fountains; for earth, continents, and
islands; mountains, little hills, and val-
leys; arable land and meadows, pas-
tures and forests, which yield us grass,
corn, and hay, herbs and flowers, and
plants, for food, for pleasure, for physic;
fruitful trees for wine, oil and spices:
The bowels of the earth, out of which
proceed drugs and minerals, stenes and
metals, fuel and fire.

An Act of Confession.

Who can tell how oft he offendeth?
O cleanse thou me from my secret
faults.

Keep thy servant also from presump-
tuous sins, lest they get the dominion
over me.

For thy name’s sake O Lord, be mer-
ciful to my sin, for it is great.

My sins have taken such hold upon
me, that I am not able to look up: Yea,
they are more in number than the hairs
upon my head, and my heart hath fail-
ed me.

O Lord, let it be thy pleasure to de-
liver me. Make haste, O Lord, to help
me.

Shew me thy marvellous loving-kind-
ness; thou that art the Saviour of them
who put their trust in thee.

I said, Lord, be merciful unto me,
heal my soul, for I have sinned against
thee.

I have sinned, I have done perverse-
ly, I have committed wickedness. But
lo! I bethink myself, and return unto
my God with all my heart, and with all
my soul.

Now, therefore, hear thou my prayer,
and my supplication from heaven, thy
dwelling-place, and, when thou hearest,
forgive.

God be merciful to me a sinner;
have pity. Lord, on me, the chief of
sinners.

Father, I have sinned against Hea-
ven, and before thee, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son; make me
as one of thy hired servants, though but
the very least and lowest of thy servants.

What profit is there in my blood if
I go down in the pit? Shall the dust
give thanks unto thee, or shall it declare
thy truth ?

Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon
me; Lord, be thou my helper.

Turn, I beseech thee, my heaviness
into joy: Put off my sackcloth, and
gird me with gladness.

So shall every good man sing of thy
praise without ceasing; and I will give
thee thanks for ever.

Prayer for Grace.

Turn, i most humbly pray thee, my
levity and vain imaginations into seri-
ousness and watchfulness; my sinful
gaiety into holy indignation; my hardi-
ness to offend into prudent and godly
fear; my wanderings and coldness into
vehement desire and zeal; my wilful
defilements into severity and self-re-
venge.

An Act of Faith, as on Sunday. An Act of Intercession as on Sunday.

[Then proceed thus,]

The Lord be my keeper: The Lord
be my defence upon my right hand:
The Lord preserve me from all evil,
and set a watch over my soul. The
Lord preserve my going out and my
coming in, from this time forth for-
evermore.

O Lord, thou understandest, thou
canst accomplish, thou dost truly and
earnestly desire the safety and good of
my soul: I, wretched man, have nei-
ther understanding to discern, nor pow-
er to effect, nor, as I ought to have,
even will to desire and seek my true and
best good: Do thou, therefore, I in-
treat thee, O my God, of thy unspeaka-
ble tenderness and love, vouchsafe to
direct and guide, to govern and dispose
of me, and all my concerns, in such a
manner as thy wisdom knows will be
most agreeable to thee, and most expe-
dient for me.

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