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O everlasting God,
let the light of Thine eternity
now fall upon my passing days.
O holy God,
let the light of thy perfect righteousness
fall upon my sinful ways.
O most merciful God,
let the light of Thy love
pierce to the most secret corners of my heart
and overcome the darkness of sin within me.
John Baillie
of blessed memory
I have deferred repentance,
and Thou hast prolonged patience,
O Thou that art mercy,
Thou that art a fountain inexhaustible.
Lancelot Andrewes
HOLY WISDOM,
in Thy loving kindness
Thou didst create and restore us when we were lost:
indwell within us and inspire us with Thy Truth,
that we may love Thee with our whole minds
and run to you with open hearts,
through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
adapted from Alcuin of York, alt.
The Mass of Wisdom
LORD, who hast died for us,
beside whose awful mercy we confess
that he who is not burned with love
needeth to be purged with tears:
Grant us such penitence
as may be no reproach to us
before Thine Angels,
and such love as shall carry us
into their Choirs;
which praise Thee
with the Father
and the Holy Ghost,
God most glorious, for ever. Amen.
Eric Milner-White
A Cambridge Bede Book
2 Recent Anglican Prayers of Confession in Simple Language
Merciful God,
we have sinned
in what we have thought and said,
in the wrong we have done
and in the good we have not done.
We have sinned in ignorance:
we have sinned in weakness:
we have sinned
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry.
We repent and turn to you.
Forgive us, for our Saviour Christ's sake,
and renew our lives
to the glory of your name.
A New Zealand Prayer Book
God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.
Enriching Our Worship 1
The Episcopal Church USA, 1997
Christ, The Book of Kells |
O HOLY JESUS CHRIST,
grant us so to perfect our repentance
that our sins may be buried in Thy Grave;
and our hearts be prepared to greet Thee
with loving joy
on the morning of Thy resurrection,
Who didst die and wast buried
and didst rise again for us,
our only Lord and Saviour. Amen.
Author unknown
God of unchangeable power, when you fashioned the world the Morning Stars sang together and the Host of heaven shouted for joy;
open our eyes to the wonders of creation and teach us to use all things for good, to the honour of your glorious Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A New Zealand Prayer Book, page 569