“The blessed David, the great king and servant of God most high, gave us the rule of singing, how man should pour forth prayers to God at certain stated hours. ‘Seven times a day,’ he says, ‘do I praise Thee,’—that is, at the first hour of the day, the second, third, sixth, ninth, the evening hour, and the twelfth. David the king, then, gave praise to God at these seven hours. The holy Daniel, the prophet, at the third, sixth, and ninth hour of the day, went into his chamber to pray to the Lord, and with hands stretched upward to Heaven entreated God for himself and for the people of Israel. The same David said[228] further, ‘I will make mention of Thy righteousness only.’ And again, ‘At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,’ that is, at the hour of night. And again he says, ‘I have thought upon Thy name in the night season,’ that is, at cock-crow. And, ‘Have I not remembered Thee in my bed, and thought upon Thee when I was waking?’ Here are three courses of the office during the night, and seven by day, making the ten courses which we sing, following the number of the ten laws of Moses. But you have asked me to write to you in a net form the order in which a layman in active life should pray to God at the stated hours. You live after a Christian fashion, and you desire to do Christian deeds; you are not ignorant how prayer should be made to the Lord; but at your request I will briefly state my opinion. When you have risen from your bed, say first ‘O Lord Jesu Christ, son of the living God, in Thy name will I lift up my hands, make haste to deliver me.’ Say this thrice, with the psalm ‘Ponder my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. O hearken thou unto the voice of my calling, my king and my God, for unto Thee will I make my prayer. My voice shalt thou hear betimes, O Lord, early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee.’ Then, ‘Our Father,’ and the prayers, ‘Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day,’ ‘Perfect my steps,’ ‘Praised be the Lord daily,’ ‘Direct and sanctify,’ ‘O Lord let Thy mercy lighten upon us.’ Then, rising, begin the verse ‘Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord’. When that is ended, with the Gloria, begin the psalm ‘Lord how are they increased’. Then follows ‘God be merciful unto me’. Then ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord’. Then psalms, as many as you will.” We have two letters of Alcuin which were certainly written to Charles the king, the eldest son of Charlemagne. The first was written in 801 to congratulate Charles on his anointment as king by Leo III on the same day (Christmas Day, 800) that saw his father crowned as emperor. [Sidenote: Ep. 162.]