PRIME, OR THE FIRST HOUR.' Sunday. THE LORD'S DAY. Before Prime is said inaudibly the Lord's Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, and the Apostles' Creed. UR Father, Who art in hea OUR ven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. HA AIL, Mary, full of grace; The Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. BELIEVE in God the Father I Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in JESUS Christ, His Only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell: the third day He rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence He Ceaseless praise to Thee be given, Then is said the following: THE star of morn to night succeeds, May wrath and thoughts that gender shame Ne'er in our breasts abide, And painful abstinences tame Of wanton flesh the pride; 1 Prime is the first service of the Church for the day-time, Mattins and Lauds being for the middle and close of night. Its proper hour is when the sun has fairly risen, and day begun, which is reckoned to be about 6 a.m., about which time it is generally said in choirs. Sometimes Mattins, Lauds, and Prime are said together early in the morning, forming the complete morning service of the Church. It is from this aggregation that the "Morning Prayer" of the Anglican Prayer Book is derived. 2 Translation by Dr. Newman. after my soul: * and have not set God before them.2 Behold, God is my Helper: * and the Lord upholdeth my soul. Reward Thou evil unto mine enemies and cut them off in Thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: *and praise Thy Name, O LORD, for it is good. For Thou hast delivered me out of all trouble:* and mine eye hath seen [his desire upon] mine enemies. The following Psalm, "O give thanks unto the LORD," is said only on Sun. days, when the Office is of the Sunday, nor is it said from Easter to Pentecost, both inclusive. Moreover it is not said on or after Septuagesima Sunday till Easter, but then is substituted for it Psalm xcii., "The LORD reigneth," (p. 86.) 1 The superscription of this Psalm, after some words which are probably a musical direction, proceeds "[A Psalm] of David, when the Ziphim came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?" This was during the same period of his life in the South in which he composed Ps. lxii. The Ziphim, or peasantry of the neighbourhood of Ziph, betrayed him twice to Saul, and both times, especially the first, he was in imminent peril. 1 Kings (Sam.) xxiii. 19—29, xxvi. 2 SLH. * From some verses it seems that this Psalm was written for the Feast of Tabernacles, and perhaps as a processional at the entry of the King (David ?) into the place of worship. Not in the Hebrew. The LORD is on my side1: * and I shall see [my desire upon] them that hate me. It is better to put confidence in the LORD,* than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD, * than to trust in princes. All nations compassed me about: *but in the Name of the LORD !2 for I will destroy them. They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me about: * but in the Name of the LORD! for I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees; they burnt out as the fire of thorns:* in the Name of the LORD! for I will destroy them. They thrust sore at me, that I might fall: * but the LORD helped I shall not die, but live, * and declare the works of the LORD. The LORD hath chastened me sore: *but He hath not given me over unto death. teousness; I will go into them and praise the LORD.* This is the gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise Thee, for Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing: * and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made: * let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save me now, O Lord! O Lord, send Thou prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the LORD! We have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.* God is the LORD Which hath showed us light: Keep the solemn feast-day with leafy boughs, even unto the horns of the Altar.3 Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee:* Thou art my God, and I will exalt Thee. [I will give thanks unto Thee, for Thou hast heard me, * and art become my salvation.] O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good: * for His mercy endureth for ever. Psalm CXVIII.6 BLESSED are the undefiled in way, * who walk in the Open to me the gates of righ- law of the LORD. 1 Supply from the Hebrew: "with my helpers." 2 Probably a war cry. "And 3 The allusion is to the ceremonial of the Feast of Tabernacles. Lev. xxiii. 40. ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days." V. 42, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days." These two verses were quoted by our Lord. Matth. xxi. 42; Mark xii. 10. S Not in the Hebrew. This long poem in praise of the Divine Law, which the Church recites every day and all day, is A B C Darian. Its 176 verses are divided into twenty-two sections, of eight verses each, in each of which sections all the verses begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The first eight, therefore, begin with Aleph, which somewhat corresponds to A. I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in Thy precepts, * and have respect unto Thy ways. I will delight myself in Thy statutes: * I will not forget Thy word. Continuation of the same Psalm. DEAL bountifully with Thy * and servant, quicken me, I will keep Thy word. Open Thou mine eyes,* that I My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen Thou me according unto Thy word. Remove from me the way of lying: * and grant me Thy law graciously. * I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I not forgotten. I have stuck unto Thy testimonies, O LORD: * put me not to shame! I have run the way of Thy commandments, * since Thou hast enlarged my heart. The following Creed is only said on 1 Here begins the letter Beth, somewhat represented by B. Sundays when the Office is of the Sunday, and on Trinity Sunday. The exceptions are Easter and Pentecost Sundays, when it is not said, because they are treated as Festivals. THE CREED OF ST. ATHANASIUS. * And yet They are not Three Almighties, but One Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, * and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet They are not Three WHOSOEVER will be saved, Gods, * but One God. before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, * without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this, *that we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Sub stance. * So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, * and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords, but One Lord. For, like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be Three Gods or Three Lords. The Father is made of none, * neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone: *not made, nor created, but Begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son: * neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but Proceeding. So there is One Father, not Three Fathers; One Son, not Three Sons; One Holy Ghost, not Three Holy Ghosts. * * And in this Trinity None is afore or after Other, None is greater or less than Another; but the whole Three Persons are Co-eternal together, and Co-equal. * So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, * must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord JESUS Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our |