Grace before and after Meals,

ADAPTED FROM ANCIENT SOURCES.

In those families where the Responses are not thought desirable or only occasionally said, the Prayer or Blessing can be used alone.

BEFORE MEAT.

Benedicite-Benedicite.

The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord;
And thou givest them their meat in due season.
Thou openest thine hand;

And fillest all things living with plenteousness.

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which of thy bounty we partake, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

OR THIS.

Bless, O God, what thy bounty has provided, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.

AFTER MEAT.

Let us give thanks to God.
Let us give thanks.

All thy works confess thee, O God.
And thy saints give thanks unto thee.
Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c.

For these and all thy blessings we give thee thanks, O Lord, who livest and reignest for ever and ever.

Amen.

OR THIS.

For these and all his mercies God's holy name be blessed and praised, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The following Prayer may well be learnt by the children of a family, and said from time to time either before or after meals, on Fast Days, or when engaged in any works of charity.

Bp. Andrewes.

O LORD, who on earth didst vouchsafe to comfort the sons of men, and heal their infirmities,

Fill our hearts with all pious affections, that we may account the miseries of others our own, and supply their necessities according to our ability, and be merciful unto us.

In the following Prayers for Journeys no special mention is made of voyages at sea, but some of the prayers are taken from the Sea Service in the Common Prayer Book, and, with a little care, all may be more or less adapted to such an occasion. (See page 8.)

Prayers before and upon a Journey and after the same.

Some of these following Prayers may be usefully adapted to the case of a Family during a long absence from home, or when providentially removed from it, or without a fixed place of abode.

They may also be used when the children are leaving the parental roof for school (see page 211.)

The Master of the Family should exercise his discretion in the choice of texts and adaption of the Prayers according to cir

cumstances.

Before à Journey.

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. S. John xiv.

My presence shall go with thee, and I will give Exod. xxxiii.

thee rest.

He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. Ps. xci.

He maketh the storm to cease. Ps. cvii.

APPROPRIATE PSALMS.

91, 121, (and the Benedictus). At Sea, 66, 107.

SUFFRAGES.

O Lord, save thy servants;

Who put their trust in thee.

Send us help from thy holy place;

And strengthen us out of Zion.

Shew us thy ways, O Lord;

And teach us thy paths.

O Lord, hear our prayer;
And let our crying come unto thee.

COLLECT.

PREVENT us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER.

(Bp. Jer. Taylor, Bp. Patrick, &c.)

O ALMIGHTY God, who fillest all things

with thy presence, and art a God afar off as well as near at hand; who didst send thy angel to bless Jacob in his journey, and didst lead the children of Israel through the Red Sea, making it a wall on the right hand and on the left; who didst open to the wise men a way to thee by the leading of a star; be pleased to let thy angel go out before us, and guide us on our journey, preserving us from dangers of robbers, from violence of enemies, from sudden and sad accidents, and falls and errors, and prosper our journey to thy glory, and to all our purposes; and preserve us from all sin, that we (may return in peace and holiness with thy favour and thy blessing, and) may serve thee in thankfulness and obedience all the days of our pilgrimage. [Bless this habitation also which we leave, and all that remain in it, that at whatsoever distance we be from one another, we may all live and walk in the same spirit of faith and holiness and love;] and in the end of our pilgrimage bring us (all together) into that blessed rest which thou

hast prepared for thy people, through thy mercy in Christ Jesus, to which we commend ourselves, and all ours, both now and for evermore.

CONCLUDING PRAYER.

Amen.

ASSIST us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Upon a Journey.

The Sentences used before a Journey are appropriate, but in the many cases which occur in families of long absences from home, and of widows and others without fixed homes, the following may be occasionally used.

THE foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. S. Matth. viii.

Here have we no continuing city; but we seek one to come. Heb. xiii.

ON ANY SAINT'S DAY.

These all confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb. xi.

Suffrages, as before a Journey. (p. 233.)

COLLECTS.

"Prevent us, O Lord," &c. (p. 234.)
"O God the Protector," &c. (p. 228.)