A SHORT FORM OF THANKSGIVING TO GOD for ceasing the vII. contagious sickness of the plague, to be used in Common prayer, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in stead of the Common prayers, used in the time of mortality. Set forth by the Bishop of London, to be used in the City of London, and the rest of his diocese, and in other places also at the discretion of the ordinary Ministers of the Churches.

After the end of the Collect in the Litany, which beginneth with these words: We humbly beseech thee, O Father. &c. shall follow this Psalm, to be said of the Minister, with the answer of the people.

LORD1o, thou art. become gracious unto thy Land, thou 1. hast turned away the afflictions of thy servants.

Psal. 85.

Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure, and turned thyself from 2. thy wrathful indignation.

For if thou, Lord, hadst not helped us, it had not failed, 3. but our souls had been put to silence.

Psal. 94.

But when we said, our feet have slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, helped 4.

us up.

In the multitude of the sorrows that we had in our hearts, 5. thy comforts have refreshed our souls.

Our souls waited still upon the Lord, our souls hanged upon his help, 6. our hope was always in him.

Psal. 62. 63.

In the Lord's word did we rejoice, in God's word did we 7. comfort ourselves.

For the Lord said: Call upon me in the time of trouble, and I will 8. hear thee, and thou shalt praise me.

Psal. 50.

So when we were poor, needy, sickly, and in heaviness, 9. the Lord cared for us: he was our help and our Saviour ac- Psal. 40. 69. cording to his word.

In our adversity and distress he hath lift up our heads, and saved us 10. from utter destruction.

Psal. 27.

He hath delivered our souls from death, he hath fed us in 11. the time of dearth, he hath saved us from the noisome pesti- Psal. 33. 91. lence.

[10 The psalm has been reprinted once before in Bull's Christian Prayers, p. 164. It occurs, too, in a Form for 1625, put forth on a similar occasion.]

[LITURG. QU. ELIZ.]

33

Psal. 27.

Psal. 106.

12.

13.

14.

Psal. 86. 103.

15.

Psal. 57. 108.

Psal. 103.

Psal. 71.

Psal. 98.

Psal. 47.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

Therefore will we offer in his holy Temple the oblation of thanksgiving with great gladness: we will sing and speak praises unto the Lord our Saviour.

We will give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious, and his mercy endureth for ever.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and pity.

His mercy is greater than the heavens, and his gracious goodness reacheth unto the clouds.

Like as a father pitieth his own children: even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him.

Therefore will we praise thee and thy mercies, O God; unto thee will we sing, O thou holy one of Israel.

We will sing a new song unto thee, O God, we will praise the Lord with psalms of thanksgiving.

O sing praises, sing praises unto our God: O sing praises, sing praises unto our king.

For God is the King of the Earth, sing praises with understanding. We will magnify thee, O God our King, we will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Every day will we give thanks unto thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever.

Our mouth shall speak the praises of the Lord, and let all flesh give thanks to his holy name for ever and ever.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever: and blessed be the name Psal. 21. 72. of his Majesty, world without end. Amen. Amen.

After this Psalm, shall be said by the Minister openly, and with an high voice, the Collect following.

The Collect.

O HEAVENLY and most merciful Father, what mind or what tongue can conceive or give thee worthy thanks for thy most great and infinite benefits, which thou hast bestowed, and dost daily bestow upon us, most unworthy of this thy so great and continual goodness and favour, though we should bestow all our life, power, travail, and understanding thereabouts only and wholly? When we were yet as clay is in the potter's hands, to be framed at his pleasure, vessels of honour or dishonour of thy only goodness without our deserving (for how could we deserve any thing, before we were any thing?) thou hast created and made us of nothing, not dumb

beasts void of reason, not vile vermins creeping upon the earth; but the noblest and most honourable of all thy worldly creatures, little inferior to thy heavenly Angels, endued with understanding, adorned with all excellent gifts, both of body and of mind, exalted to the dominion over all other thy earthly creatures, yea, the sun and the moon with other heavenly lights appointed to our service, enriched with the possession of all things, either necessary for our use, or delectable for our comfort. And as thou hast made us so excellent of nothing, so hast thou restored us, being lost, by thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, dying for us upon the cross, both more marvellously and mercifully than thou didst first create us of nothing; besides that thou dost continually forgive and pardon our sins, into the which we do daily and hourly fall most dangerously, yea, deadly also, dampnably, and desperately, were not this thy present and most ready help of thy mercy. And what have we, that we have not by thee? or what be we, but by thee? All which unspeakable benefits thou hast, like a most loving father, bestowed upon us, that we thereby provoked might, like loving children, humbly honour and obediently serve thee, our good and most gracious Father. But forsomuch as we have dishonoured thee by and with the abusing of thy good gifts, thou dost even in this also, like a father correcting his children whom he loveth, when they offend, no less mercifully punish us for the said abuse of thy gifts, than thou didst bounteously before give them unto us; scourging us sometime with wars and troubles, sometimes with famine and scarcity, sometime with sickness and diseases, and sundry other kinds of plagues, for the abusing of peace, quietness, plenty, health, and such other thy good gifts, against thy holy word and will, and against thy honour and our own health, to thy great displeasure and high indignation: As thou now of late terribly, but most justly and deservedly, plagued us with contagious, dreadful and deadly sickness; from the which yet thou hast most mercifully, and without all deservings on our part, even of thine own goodness, now again delivered us and saved us. By the which thy most merciful deliverance, and especially1 in

[This passage respecting the queen was inserted by the positive direction of Cecil. Grindal's Remains, p. 268.

The following two prayers, as not being devoid of interest, are

that, amongst other thy great and manifold benefits, it hath pleased thee of thine eternal goodness, most mercifully and added here from the Bibl. Lans. 116. articles 25, 28. The first is expressly stated to be in 'Mr Threasorer [of Elizabeth's household], Sr Joh. Mason's hand.' The second, written probably by the same individual, ends with a notice, which clearly shews, that Cecil (whose corrections they both exhibit) had ordered them to be composed: 'I haue sent yo' honour this prayer againe, because nowe I haue made it, as you woulde me to doo.' Strype has given them in the Appendix to the first volume of his Annals, and says (p. 517), they were 'used, I suppose, with the rest at the accustomed Times of Prayer before her.'

An English prayer for Quene Eliz. being recouered of dangerous

sicknes. 1568.

O MOST mercifull Sauiour Jesu Christe, who being here vppon the earthe, by curing of all kinde of bodilie diseases, and perdoning the synnes of all suche as beleaued in the, didest declare vnto the worlde that thou art the onlie Phisician both of the bodie and the soule: and whan thou waste rebuked by the Pharisies for accompaninge of synfull persons, thou didest planelie by expresse words testifie the same, saynge that sooche as were hoole had noo nede of a Phisician, but those that were sycklie: behold here, O most gracious Jesu, a cure mete for thie diuine power and mercie, a person vppon whom euen from her infancie thou hast bestowed great and innumerable benefites, and haste sett her in high honour and estate in thys worlde, and that of thie speciall grace and goodnes onlie, wth out anie her deseruinge at all: but now, O Lorde, ether to the ende that moche worldlie prosperitie shulde not make her to forgett her feeffe and her duitie towards the, or els for that, that she beinge by thie goodnes maide a prince ouer thie people, hath not in dede soo well as she ought to haue done remembred and acknowleged that she was thie subiecte and handmayden; nether hath, accordinge to her bonden duitie, bene thankfull to the as her most louinge and beneficiall Sauiour, nor obedient to the as her most gracious and soueraigne lorde : or for other causes to thie diuine wisdome best knowen, thou hast now of late, o lorde, for her admonition and correction striken thie said seruante wth dangerous syknes and bodilie infirmitie euen to the vere poynt of deathe, and hast withall abashed her soule allsoo wth dyvers trobles and terrors of mynde, and by her danger hast terrified the holle realme and people of England, whose quietnes and securitie dependeth, nexte after the, vppon the healthe of thie saide seruant. And yet in thie iudgement thou hast, O Lorde, according to thie accustomed goodnes, remembred thie mercie, delyueringe thie said seruant, aboue all humane reason and liklihoode, from the present danger of deathe: declaring as well by her soodan and great sycknes, as by thie steadie healpe and succoure in danger allmost desperat, thie diuine power ioyned wth thie vnspekable goodnes and mercie. Finishe, O most mercifull Sauiour, the worke of thie seruant's healthe weh thou hast graciouslie begonne: accom

miraculously, not only heretofore to deliver our most gracious Queen and governour from all perils and dangers, yea, even from the gates of death; but now also to preserve her from this late most dangerous contagion and infection. Like as thou hast exceedingly comforted our sorrowful hearts: so we for the same do yield unto thee, as our bounden duty is, our most humble and hearty thanks, O most merciful Father, by thy dear Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray thee to continue this thy gracious favour towards us, and stay us in thy grace, defending us against the assaults of Sathan, that we continually enjoying thy favour, with the plishe the cure wch thou hast mercifullie taken in hande; heale her soule by perdoninge her vnthankfulnes towards the, her forgettfullnes of the, and all other her synnes committed ageinst the: cure her mynde by framinge it to the obedience of thie wyll, with pacient takinge and quiett acceptation of this sycknes, sent from the, to her iust ponishment for disobeyinge the, and to her holsome and necessarie admonition, for her forgettfulnes of the and vnthankfullnes towards the: and wth all make her bodie also throughlie hoole and sounde from all this sycknes and infirmitie: that thie seruant obteininge perfect healthe as well of mynde, as bodie, she, and wth her all thie people of England, may bothe be instructed by this danger to acknolege and feare thie iuste iudgements, and for her delyuerie from the said danger, and the obteininge of perfecte healthe, may continuallie magnifie thie mercie, rendering all laude, prayse and thanksgyvinge to the, and thin heauenlie Father, wth the hoolie gohste, one immortall maiestie of the most glorious God, to whom belongeth all dominion, honour and glorie worlde wth out ende. Amen.

A prayer for ye Quene being sicke. 21 July, 1568.

O MOST iust God and mercyfull Father which of thy iustice doest punnishe vs with sicknes for our synnes, and yet of thy mercy wilst not vs to dye for the same, and therfore of thy mere goodnes hast delyuered thy seruant our most gracious Quene from hir extreme danger of deathe, which she and we have deserued for our synnes, and wherunto of thy iustice and power she hath bene browght in token, if thow so woldest, thow couldest, iustly haue suffred hir to dye in the same: we most hartely thanke thee that thow woldest not doo against hir as thow mightest of thy iustice, but what thow wilst of thy mercye in releeuing hir of hir sicknes. And most earnestly we besech thee, O Lord, make hir to growe into perfect health, and hir and vs alwaye to be most thankfull for it, she and we in praysing thee contynually for thy infynit mercye shewed herein, and in folowing thy holy commaundmentes, we with hir taking this hir sicknes to be thy louing chasticement to calle vs all from synne wholy to obey thee and thy worde through Jesus Christ thy Sonne and our Lord. Amen.