The Lord preserveth the simple: I was in misery, and he helped me.

Turn again then unto thy rest, O my soul: for the Lord hath

rewarded thee.

And why? thou hast delivered my soul from death : mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

I will walk before the Lord : in the land of the living.

I believed, and therefore will I speak; but I was sore troubled I said in my haste, All men are liars.

:

What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?

I will receive the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.

I will pay my vows now in the presence of all his people in the courts of the Lord's house, even in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

15. May any other Psalm be used on this occasion ? Yes; the hundred and twenty-seventh.

16. Repeat the hundred and twenty-seventh Psalm.

Psalm 127. Nisi Dominus.

EXCEPT the Lord build the house build it.

:

their labour is but lost that

Except the Lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is but lost labour that ye haste to rise up early, and so late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children and the fruit of the womb gift that cometh of the Lord.

are an heritage and

Like as the arrows in the hand of the giant

young children.

even so are the

they

of them

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

17. When is this Psalm very seasonable?

As the hundred and sixteenth Psalm is most proper when we respect the pain and peril which the mother has gone through,

so this last ought to be used when an heir is born, or a child bestowed on those who desired one. And as it enlarges upon the blessings of a numerous family, it tends to quiet the murmurings of those who find it difficult to provide for their increasing offspring.

1 18. When these Psalms or hymns of thanksgiving are concluded, what follows?

The priest exhorts all present to the duty of prayer; and before saying the Lord's Prayer uses a short Litany, or supplication, addressed to the three Persons in the Holy Trinity, in these words: Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us,
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

19. What follows the Lord's Prayer?

The Intercessions, consisting of some short responses made for the woman's safety and defence.

20. Repeat them.

Min. O Lord, save this woman thy servant;

Ans. Who putteth her trust in thee.

Min. Be thou to her a strong tower;

Ans. From the face of her enemy.
Min. Lord, hear our prayer.

Ans. And let our cry come unto thee.

21. With what part of Scripture does the first response cor

respond?

With the words used by David.

"Preserve my soul; for I am

holy 0 thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee." (Ps. lxxxvi. 2.)

22. Where is the second response found?

In Psalm 1xi. 3.

"Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong

tower from the enemy."

23. Where do you find the third response?

In Psalm 1xi. 1. "Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer."

24. How does this service conclude?

With a short and pious Collect, consisting of a devout mixture of prayer and praise, and peculiarly suited to the occasion.

25. Repeat the Collect.

Minister. Let us pray.

O ALMIGHTY God, we give thee humble thanks for that thou hast vouchsafed to deliver this woman thy servant from the great pain and peril of Child-birth; Grant, we beseech thee, most merciful Father, that she, through thy help, may both faithfully live, and walk according to thy will, in this life present; and also may be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

26. For what do we thank God in this Collect?

For that He hath vouchsafed to deliver the woman from the great pain and peril of child-birth. "I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord." (Ps. cxvi. 17.)

27. What do we beseech God to grant?

That through his help she may both faithfully live and walk according to his will in this life present. " Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live and keep thy word. Order my steps in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." (Ps. cxix. 17. 133.)

28. Of what do we pray she may be a partaker?

Of everlasting glory in the life to come. "If ye do these things ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. i. 10, 11.)

29. Repeat the concluding Rubric.

The Woman, that cometh to give her Thanks, must offer accustomed Offerings; and, if there be a Communion, it is convenient that she receive the holy Communion.

30. What is the accustomed offering?

It is not to be considered as a reward to the minister for the performance of the service, but as a thank-offering to God. A something set apart from her worldly substance, as an acknowledgment to God for his late mercies vouchsafed unto her.

31. Ought the woman to make any other offering?

Yes; that of herself, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice to God. For the Rubric declares, that if there be a Communion, it is convenient (or proper) that she receive the holy Communion, that being the most solemn way of praising God for Jesus Christ, by whom she received both the present and all other mercies, and a means also to bind herself more strictly to spend those days in his service, which, by this late deliverance, He hath added to her life.

THE END.

GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London.