Imatges de pàgina
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We believe also, O God, that this is not the last scene on which thy perfections are to be displayed; for we have been instructed to look for a new heaven and a new earth, when all sublunary things shall have passed away,—and we believe that a period is approaching to those who do thy will, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and when this mortal shall be clothed with immortality.

Blessed be the name of God, that, to keep up the sense of all that he has done, and is yet to do for mankind, he has been pleased, from the earliest ages, to set apart this day of recollection and of rest. Surely, O Lord, thou art ever mindful of the works of thy hands,-thou continuest thy care for man and for beast,-and when they are wearied with the labour which thou hast ordained for them, thou hast appointed unto them a season in which they may repose from their toils, and taste that tender mercy which is over all thy works. Grant, O heavenly Father, that my soul as well as my body may this day repose from all vain and worldly anxieties, that the calm of this Sabbath morning may diffuse itself over all my thoughts, and feelings, and hopes, and that, throughout the day, no

thought or emotion may be awakened within me but such as is well-pleasing in thy sight.

This, O Lord, is the day which thou hast appointed, not only for rest, but for devout contemplation; and this day I desire to meditate on all thy works, and on all thy wonderful ways towards the children of men. Enable me to see thy perfections in every thing that surrounds me upon earth,-to adore thy wisdom, and love, and power, as they are displayed by the things which thou hast made; and, considering this universe as a temple dedicated to thy glory, and man as the priest whom thou hast consecrated to thy service, may it be my study at all times so to order my life, that, in all that I think, and wish, and do, I may offer unto thee an acceptable sacrifice, through Jesus Christ, thy Son.

And grant also, O Lord, that this day may ever be viewed by me as an earnest of that greater Sabbath which shall never end: may my soul be this day filled with a firm belief and with a delightful anticipation of that eternal life which thou hast set before all those who do well their part in time,— and with this hope in me, may I study, at all times,

to purify myself as thou art pure,—that, finally, I may be qualified to be the associate of those blessed spirits who have always delighted to do thy commandments.

For this purpose, O Lord, send this day thy good spirit into my heart, for I feel that of myself I am not able to think or to do any thing which thou canst approve. I feel, O God, that I am dead in trespasses and sins, that my imagination is unholy, and my heart hard; and that I carry about with me a body of sin and of death. O send forth thy light and thy truth,-let them lead me and guide me, and bring me to thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacle,—may they inspire a new life into my heart,—and, by their operation, may my soul and body be made a temple fit for the habitation of the Holy Ghost.

Make me joyful this day in thy house of prayer. May my praises and thanksgivings ascend as sweet incense from thine altar, and may my heart be opened to hear what God the Lord will speak unto me. Forgive, O heavenly Father, my former imperfections in public worship,-cast me not away from thy sight, because I have presumed to tread

thy courts with unhallowed feet; but may the remembrance of my past failures strengthen me for a more zealous and perfect discharge of my duty in all future times.

Hasten the time when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,-when the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose,—it shall blossom abundantly, the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,-when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them ;— and when there shall be nothing to hurt or to destroy in all thy holy mountain.

Put an end to cruelty and crime over all the earth; may rational liberty, and pure religion, and liberal knowledge everywhere prevail; and by their influence may the time soon come when men shall live everywhere as fellow-servants of the same God, and fellow-heirs of one blessed immortality.

Grant that where the religion of thy Son is already established, it may be more and more purified

from all error and vain superstition; may it gradually attain nearer to that perfection in which it was preached by him who came in the name of the Lord to teach and to redeem us; and may brotherly love and Christian charity everywhere unite those who acknowledge their relation to one Saviour and one God, and who hope, when all the darkness and imperfections of time are past, to be associated together in the eternal felicities of thy heavenly kingdom.

Hear, O heavenly Father, these my earnest prayers, and answer me in mercy, for the sake of him whom thou hearest always; and to whom, with thee, O Father, and the blessed Spirit, be ascribed all glory, dominion, and praise, world without end. Amen.

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