But thou, O Lord, have MERCY-upon-us,

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mìserable offenders. Spáre-thou' thém'-O-God,

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which confess-their-faults. Restore-thou' thém that are pénitent; According to thy promises'

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declared unto mankind, in Christ Jesu our Lòrd. And gránt,, Ō most mèrciful Fáther, for hills

-have mercy upon us, &c.] This sentence appears to be equivalent to "Have mercy upon us, miserable offenders that we are:" in which construction us would not be accented. Or, if the ellipsis were supplied in the following manner, "Have mercy upon us (who are) miserable offenders," the relative 'who' does not modify the meaning of the antecedent, (as in Rule xxix.) but merely echoes its meaning; in this mode of explaining the construction, still the word us does not require an accent. The principal stress would be given to mercy, with a very slight secondary accent to the preposition upon.]

Spáre thou' thém] Be careful to observe the pause between thou' and 'them.'

-conféss-their-faults] The inflection which begins upon 'confess' is continued over 'their faults,' because the word 'faults' has been previously implied.

-them that arè pénitent] In this and the preceding clause the pronoun them' is equivalent to us;' for the petition is not made in behalf of any persons in general' which confess their faults, and that are penitent,' but of us in particular. The meaning may be rendered more clear by delivering the latter clause thus: Réstore-thou' them that arè pénitent; i. e. really penitent.

And gránt,, O most mèrciful Father] This invocation is

sake,, That we may hereafter live' a godly,

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righteous, and sóber-life, To the glory of thy holy name. Amen.

generally introduced without sufficient pause before and after it. The same remark is applicable, throughout the service, to those invocations which are not placed at the beginning of a sentence.]

Amen.] Wheatly thinks that when Amen is printed in Italics, the minister is to leave it to be said by the people: when it is in Roman letters, he is to pronounce 'Amen' himself, and thus to direct the people to do the same. Shepherd, however, is of opinion, that as the Lord's Prayer, Confessions, and Creeds, are to be repeated by the people as well as by the minister, there was no occasion for distinguishing 'Amen' after those parts of the service by a different character, as is necessary after Absolutions, Collects, &c. which are to be repeated by the minister alone. This author conceives, that the minister is left at perfect liberty, either mentally or vocally to utter Amen; or to leave it entirely to the people.

THE ABSOLUTION.

ALMIGHTY GOD, the Father of our Lord'

Almighty God, the Fáther, &c.] In pronouncing the Absolution, it is usual to begin it in the same manner and tone of voice, as if it were a prayer, addressed to the Almighty, instead of speaking of him, and delivering a commission in his

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Jesus Christ,, who desíreth' nót the death-of-asinner, but rather' that he may tùrn-from-his

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wickedness, and live; and hath given power

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and commandment to his ministers, to declare

name.

The words as they stand, have indeed the same air as several prayers beginning in the same manner: which probably has betrayed most into the same mode of delivering them. But whoever will suppose them to be preceded by the article 'The,' which is understood, as thus, The Almighty God,' &c. will immediately see the necessity of using a tone very different from that of supplication, and will easily bring himself to the use of it. SHERIDAN. The tones required are the fullest that the voice can command; but they must be smooth and even, solemn and dignified, with somewhat of an authoritative manner until the commencement of the hortatory part, Wherefore let us beseech him,' &c. After suspending the voice on the word 'Wherefore,' a considerable pause may be introduced, followed by a change of manner corresponding with the sentiment. In delivering the concluding words, the minister should take care to be particularly solemn, deliberate, and impressive. He must likewise studiously mark the transition from pronouncing the Absolution to joining in prayer. Having spoken with a dignity suitable to the Ambassador of Heaven, he must prepare himself for uniting with his fellow-sinners, in the tones which befit the humble supplicant.]

-who desireth' not the death, &c.] The pause should be inserted before the negative, to show that the verb 'desireth' is implied in the following member of the sentence; 'but (desireth) rather,' &c. For the pronunciation of the word 'rather,' see Appendix.

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and pronounce to his people-being pénitent-the

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ABSOLUTION and REMI"SSION-of-their-sins;-HE" pardoneth and absólveth' áll them that TRU'LYrepent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.

Wherefore let us beseech-him' to grant ús' TRU'E-REPE`NTANCE, and his HOLY SPIRIT; that thóse-things may pléase-him, which we dò at thìs présent,, and that the rèst-of-our-life hereúfter, may be pure and holy;-só that at the

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-being penitent] These words express the condition on which the Absolution is pronounced; and therefore, says Sheridan, should it not have the solemnity of a pause, both before and after it, accompanied by a suitable depression of voice, to give it its due weight?

remission-of-their-sins] Be careful to adopt the highest rising inflection at this part of the sentence; and on 'remission,' rather than on 'sins.' The latter word is equivalent to the word 'wickedness,' which has already been expressed; and therefore the word 'sins' will pass under the inflection which commences on the word 'remission.']

HE" pardoneth] The verbs' pardoneth' and ' absolveth' are so far removed from the nominative 'Almighty God,' that, for the sake of perspicuity, the pronoun 'He' is inserted. A pause after it is necessary: it will then convey this meaning; 'HE' (i. e. that Almighty Being, whose merciful disposition has been now described) pardoneth and absolveth,' &c.]

—to grant ús] i. e. ús who are here assembled.

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last, we may come to his ETE'RNAL JOY, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

-through Jesus] Beware of the error of giving stress to the preposition, and slurring over the following word, thus ; "through-Jesus' Ch'rist our Lòrd."]

THE LORD'S PRAYER *.

Our Father-which-art-in-héaven!-hállowed'

Longer pauses are required between the several parts of the Lord's prayer, than of other prayers, both because it contains so many distinct petitions, and because each petition, though brief, embraces so much meaning. The mind requires a little time to be enabled to keep pace with these rapid transitions, and to embrace this plenitude of signification. Whereas, other prayers generally present only one or two leading ideas, with which the secondary sentiments are closely connected, and which they tend to explain and enforce.]

And as this prayer is to be repeated aloud by the people with the minister, longer pauses will likewise tend to stop occasionally that confusion and indistinctness of delivery which generally prevail throughout the whole; and the slow and deliberate manner of speaking, adopted by the minister as most suitable to prayer, will gradually be acquired by the congregation.

Our Father] The three principal parts of which this prayer consists, should be clearly distinguished by pausing