What was the Commination service?

After the Reformation the English introduced a service into the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) called the Commination Service. This service "consists of an exhortation, clearly intended for use by a non-preaching clerygy (during which the Curses are solemnly recited), Psalm 51, suffages, and prayers. It is now seldom used." [source: Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church]