MATIN SERVice.

(a.) Invitatory.

Psalm 95.

O Lord, open Thou my lips :

And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise.

O God, make speed to save me.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. Amen. Hallelujah.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, is crowned, and triumphs in heaven: come, let us worship.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, &c.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, is crowned, and triumphs in heaven: come, let us worship. For the Lord is a great God: and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the corners of the earth and the strength of the hills is his also.

Come, let us worship.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, is crowned, and triumphs in heaven: come, let us worship. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;

When your fathers tempted me: proved me, and saw my works.

(b) Hymn [Deus tuorum militum.]

Come, let us worship.

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said it is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways;

Unto whom I sware in my wrath: that they should not enter into my rest.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, is crowned,

and triumphs in heaven: come, let us worship.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. Amen.

Come, let us worship.

Blessed Laurence, the Martyr of Christ, is crowned, and triumphs in heaven: come, let us worship.

O God, of Thy soldiers

The Portion and Crown,
Spare sinners, who hymn

The praise of the Blest;
Earth's bitter joys,

Its lures and its frown,
He weighed them and scorned,
And so is at rest.

Thy Martyr he ran

All valiantly o'er

A highway of blood

For the prize Thou hast given.

We kneel at Thy feet,

And meekly implore,

Our pardon may wait

On his triumph in heaven.

Honour and praise

To the Father and Son

And the Spirit be done

Now and always. Amen.

(c) Antiphon.

Psalm 1. (1)

(c) Antiphon.

(d) Antiphon.

Psalm 2. (2)

NOCTURN I.

Whither speedest thou without thy son, O my father? Whither, holy Priest, hurriest thou without attendant?

Blessed is the man, that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners: and hath not sat in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law will he exercise himself day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the water-side: that will bring forth his fruit in due season.

His leaf also shall not wither and look, whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper.

As for the ungodly, it is not so with them: but they are like the chaff, which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth.

Therefore the ungodly shall not be able to stand in the judgement: neither the sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

But the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; and the way of the ungodly shall perish. Glory be, &c.

Whither speedest thou, without thy son, O my father? whither, holy Priest, hurriest thou without attendant?

Forsake me not, O holy Father, for I have just laid out those treasures which thou gavest me in trust.

Why do the heathen so furiously rage together: and why do the people imagine a vain thing?

The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together: against the Lord, and against his Anointed. Let us break their bonds asunder: and cast away their cords from us.

He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Yet have I set my King: upon my holy hill of Sion.

I will preach the law, whereof the Lord hath said unto me: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Desire of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance: and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

(d) Antiphon.

(e) Antiphon.

Psalm 3. (3)

(e) Antiphon.

Thou shalt bruise them with a rod of iron; and break them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be learned, ye that are judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord in fear and rejoice unto him with re

verence.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and so ye perish from the right way: if his wrath be kindled, (yea, but a little) blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Glory be &c.

Forsake me not, O Holy Father, for I have now laid out those treasures which Thou gavest me in trust.

I desert thee not, O my son, neither do I forsake thee; but a higher conflict for the faith of Christ is in store for thee.

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me: many are they that rise against me.

Many one there be that say of my soul: There is no help for him in his God.

But thou, O Lord, art my defender: thou art my worship, and the lifter up of my head.

I did call upon the Lord with my voice; and he heard me out of his holy hill.

I laid me down and slept, and rose up again: for the Lord sustained me.

I will not be afraid for ten thousands of the people: that have set themselves against me round about.

Up, Lord, and help me, O my God: for thou smitest all mine enemies upon the cheek-bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: and thy blessing is upon thy people. Glory be, &c.

I desert thee not, O my son, neither do I forsake thee; but a higher conflict for the faith of Christ is in store for thee.

(f) Verse and Response.

The Lord's Prayer (privately.)

Absolution 1.

Thou hast crowned him with glory and worship.

And makest him to have dominion of the works of Thy hands.

Our Father, &c.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

O Lord Jesus Christ, hearken unto the prayers of thy

servants, and have mercy upon us, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

Benediction 1.

Lesson 1.

Ecclus. li. 1-5.

Reader.-Sir, pray for a blessing.

Minister.-The Father everlasting bless us with a perpetual blessing. Amen.

I will thank Thee, O Lord and King, and praise Thee, O God my Saviour, I do give praise unto Thy name ;

For Thou art my defender and helper, and hast preserved my body from destruction, and from the snare of the slanderous tongue, and from lips that forge lies, and hast been mine helper against mine adversaries :

And hast delivered me, according to the multitude of Thy mercies and greatness of Thy name, from the teeth of them that were ready to devour me, and out of the hands of such as sought after my life, and from the manifold afflictions which I had;

From the choking of fire on every side, and from the midst of the fire which I kindled not,

From the depth of the belly of hell, from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from an unrighteous tongue.

But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Thanks be to God.

Response 1.

Benediction 2.

Lesson 2.

Ecclus. li. 6-9.

Laurence, the Deacon, wrought a good work, who enlightened the blind by the sign of the Cross: and gave the treasures of the Church to the poor.

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor, and his righteousness remaineth for ever.

And he gave the treasures of the Church to the poor.

Reader. Sir, pray for a blessing.

Minister. The only begotten Son of God vouchsafe to bless us and help us. Amen.

My soul shall praise the Lord even unto death, my life was near to the hell beneath.

They compassed me on every side, and there was no man to help me: I looked for the succour of men, but there

was none.

Then thought I upon Thy mercy, O Lord, and upon Thy acts of old, how Thou deliveredst such as wait for Thee, and savest them out of the hands of the enemies.