O God, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, rebuke us not in thine anger. Have pity upon thy people, O Lord, and save us from all evil. We have sinned against thee, O Lord: forgive, we beseech thee, according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, O God.
O God, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, hide not thy face from us. Have pity upon Israel, thy people, and deliver us from all evil. We have sinned against thee, O Lord; forgive, we beseech thee, according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, O God.
ORDER OF READING THE LAW.
The following to "as of old," p. 87, forms part of the Service when Prayers are said with a Congregation on Mondays and Thursdays, and also, with the exception of "May it be the will," etc., to "Amen," p. 85, on Sabbath Afternoons, New Moon, the Intermediate Days of Passover and Tabernacles, and on Fast Days (Mornings and Afternoons).
The Ark is Opened.
Reader and Cong.—And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, O Lord, and thine enemies shall be scattered, and they that hate thee shall flee before thee. For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Blessed be he who in his holiness gave the Law to his people Israel.
The Reader takes the Scroll of the Law, and says:—
Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Reader and Cong.—Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and the supremacy as head over all. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool: holy is he. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mount; for the Lord our God is holy.
May the Father of mercy have mercy upon a people that have been borne by him. May he remember the covenant with the patriarchs, deliver our souls from evil hours, check the evil inclination in them that have been carried by him, grant us of his grace an everlasting deliverance, and in the attribute of his goodness fulfil our desires by salvation and mercy.
The Scroll of the Law is placed upon the desk. The Reader unrolls it, and says the following:—
And may his kingdom be soon revealed and made visible unto us, and may he be gracious unto our remnant and unto the remnant of his people, the house of Israel, granting them grace, kindness, mercy and favor; and let us say, Amen. Ascribe, all of you, greatness unto our God, and render honor to the Law.
Here the Reader names the Person who is to be called to the Reading of the Law.
Blessed be he, who in his holiness gave the Law unto his people Israel. The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The Lord will give strength unto his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a shield unto all them that trust in him.
Cong. and Reader.—And ye that cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.
Those who are called to the Reading of the Law say the following Blessing:—
Bless ye the Lord who is to be blessed.
Cong.—Blessed be the Lord, who is to be blessed for ever and ever.
The Response of the Congregation is repeated and the Blessing continued:—
Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast chosen us from all peoples, and hast given us thy Law. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who givest the Law.
After the Reading of a Section of the Law, the following Blessing is said:—
Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast given us the Law of truth, and hast planted everlasting life in our midst. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who givest the Law.
Persons who have been in peril of their lives, during journeys by sea or land, in captivity or sickness, upon their deliverance or recovery say the following, after the conclusion of the last Blessing:—
Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who vouchsafest benefits unto the undeserving, who hast also vouchsafed all good unto me.
The Congregation respond:—
He who hath vouchsafed all good unto thee, may he vouchsafe all good unto thee for ever.
After the Reading of the Law, the Scroll is held up, and the Congregation say the following:–
And this is the Law which Moses set before the children of Israel, according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. It is a tree of life to them that grasp it, and of them that uphold it every one is rendered happy. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Length of days is in its right hand; in its left hand are riches and honor. It pleased the Lord, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the Law and to make it honorable.
On those Mondays and Thursdays when the Prayers, pp. 70 to 81, are said, the Reader adds the following, previous to the Scroll of the Law being returned to the Ark:—
May it be the will of our Father who is in heaven to establish the Temple, the house of our life, and to restore his divine presence in our midst, speedily in our days; and let us say, Amen.
May it be the will of our Father who is in heaven to have mercy upon us and upon our remnant, and to keep destruction and the plague from us and from all his people, the house of Israel; and let us say, Amen.
May it be the will of our Father who is in heaven to preserve among us the wise men of Israel; them, their wives, their sons and daughters, their disciples and the disciples of their disciples in all the places of their habitation; and let us say, Amen.
May it be the will of our Father who is in heaven that good tidings of salvation and comfort may be heard and published, and that he may gather our banished ones from the four corners of the earth; and let us say, Amen.
As for our brethren, the whole house of Israel, such of them as are given over to trouble or captivity, whether they abide on the sea or on the dry land,—may the All-present have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from trouble to enlargement, from darkness to light, and from subjection to redemption, now speedily and at a near time; and let us say, Amen.
On returning the Scroll of the Law to the Ark, the Reader says:—
Let them praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is exalted:
Congregation.—His majesty is above the earth and heaven; and he hath lifted up a horn for h, people, to the praise of all his loving ones, even of the children of Israel, the people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm xxiv.
A Psalm of David: The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For it is he that hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not set his desire upon vanity, and hath not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek after him, that seek thy face, (O God of) Jacob! (Selah.) Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who, then, is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who, then, is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Selah.)
While the Scroll of the Law is being placed in the Ark, the following to "as of old" is said:—
And