THE OFFICE OF
OUR
BLESSED SAVIOR.
This may be said
on all the Feasts of our Savior, as CHRISTMAS, NEWYEAR'S DAY, and on other
occasional Commemorations of the great benefits we receive by Him, according
as any one's particular devotion may direct.
MORNING
PRAYER.
Come, let us adore our GOD that redeemed us.
PSALM
1.
BRING TO OUR LORD, all you his servants,
bring to our LORD, the sacrifice of praise; bring to our LORD, all ye nations
of the earth, bring hymns of glory to his great name.
Come let us adore
our GOD that redeemed us.
He is our GOD and we his people,
created by his goodness to be happy for ever; he is our Redeemer, and we
his purchase, restored by his death to a better eternity.
Today let us adore
our GOD that redeemed us.
Let us learn of him, and he will
teach us his ways; let us follow him, and we shall walk in the light; for
the law and its types were given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by JESUS CHRIST.
Today let us adore
our GOD that redeemed us.
Come let us ascend to the house of
our LORD, where he is truly worshipped, and celebrated this day with a holy
joy, imploring his mercies for all we need, and blessing his bounty for all
we have.
Today let us adore
our GOD that redeemed us:
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
HYMN 1
JESU, who from
thy FATHER'S throne To this low vale of tears came
down,
In our poor nature
dress'd!
O may the charms
of that sweet love, Draw up our souls to thee above,
And fix them there
to rest. JESU, whose high and humble birth, In heaven
the angels, and on earth
The faithful shepherds
sing;
O may our hymns,
which here run low, Shoot up aloft, and fruitful grow,
In
the eternal spring.
JESU, who took'st
that heavenly name, Thy blessed purpose to proclaim,
Of saving lost
mankind!
O may we bow our
heart and knee, Bright King of Names, to glorious thee,
And thy hid sweetness
find Jesus, who thus began our bliss, You carried'st
on our happiness!
To thee all praise
be paid.
O may the great
mysterious Three, For ever live, and ever be,
Ador'd,
belov'd, obey'd.
Amen.
PSALM II.
COME now, and hear, ye that fear the LORD, and
I will tell you what he has done for my soul.
Hear, and I will tell you what he has done for
yours; and the wonders of his bounty to all the world.
When we lay asleep in the shades of darkness,
of nothing, his mighty hand awaked us into being:
Not that of stones, or plants, or beasts, over
which he has made us absolute LORDs:
But of an accomplished body and immortal spirit, little inferior to
his glorious angels.
He printed on our souls his own similitude, and
promised to our obedience his own felicity.
He endued us with appetites to live happily;
and furnished us with means to satisfy those appetites.
Creating a whole world to serve us here, and
providing a heaven, the purchase of his own merits, to glorify us hereafter.
Thus didst you favor us, O infinite Goodness!
but we, what return did we make unto thee?
Blush, O my soul, for shame, at so strange a
weakness; and weep for grief at so extreme an ingratitude.
We fondly embraced a little present satisfaction,
before the pleasure of Paradise and the eternity of heaven.
Behold the unhappy source of all our miseries,
which still increased its streams as they went further on;
Till at last they exacted a deluge of justice,
to drown their deluge of iniquity.
And here, alas, had been an end of man; a sad
and fatal end of the whole world:
Had not our wise Creator foreseen the danger,
and in time prevented the extremity of the ruin:
Reserving for himself a few choice plants to
replenish the earth with more hopeful fruit.
Yet they quickly grew wild, and brought forth
sour grapes, and their children's teeth were set on edge.
Quickly they aspired to an intolerable pride
of fortifying their wickedness against the power of Heaven.
Justice was now provoked to a second deluge,
and to bring again a cloud over the earth.
But mercy discovered a bow in the cloud, and
our faithful GOD remembered his promise:
Allaying their punishment with a milder sentence;
only catterin.; the m from the place of their conspiracy:
Which yet his providence turned into a blessing,
by making it an occasion of peopling the world.
Still their rebellious nature disobeyed again,
and neither feared his judgments, nor valued his mercies.
Then he selected a private family, and increased
and governed them with a particular tenderness.
Giving them a law by the hand of angels, and
engaging their obedience by a thousand favors.
But they neglected too their GOD, and heaven,
and fell in love with the ways of death.
When you hadst thus, O LORD, tried every remedy, and found our disease
beyond all cure:
When the light of nature proved too weak a guide,
and the general flood too mild a correction:
When the miracles of MOSES could not soften their
hearts, nor the law’of angels bring any to perfection:
When all was reduced to this desperate state
and no imaginable hope left to recover us:
Behold the eternal Wisdom finds a strange expedient
of salvation, the last and highest instance of almighty love.
Himself he resolves to clothe with our flesh,
and come down among us to die a cursed death, and bear our sins in his body
on the tree.
Wonder, O my soul, at the mercies of thy LORD,
how infinitely transcending even our utmost wishes.
Wonder at the admirable providence of his counsels,
how exactly fitted to their great design.
Had he been less than GOD, we could never have
believed the sublime mysteries of his heavenly doctrine, especially those
of his incarnation, and our redemption.
Had he been other than man, we must have wanted
a suffering Redeemer, as well as the powerful motive of his holy example.
Had he been only GOD, he could never have died
upon the cross, or suffered the least of those afflictions he so gloriously
overcame.
Had he been merely man, his sufferings had wanted
their infinite merit, and he could never have overcome those infinite afflictions
he so patiently suffered, to accomplish our redemption.
O blessed JESUS! both these you art in thyself;
be you both these to us.
Be you our GOD,
and make us adore thee; be you our leader, and make us follow thee.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 3.
SOON as the blessed decree was made of sending
the SON of GOD to redeem mankind;
Immediately his goodness was ready to come amongst
us, had the world been ready to receive him.
But we are as yet too gross and sensual, and
utterly uncapable of so pure a law.
We are immersed in cares and pleasures, and wholly
indisposed for so fair an obedience.
While we were thus unfit for thee, O you GOD
of pure and perfect holiness
You graciously wert pleased to stay for us; and
all that time prepare us for thy presence:
From the beginning entertaining us with hope;
and through every age confirming our faith.
How early, O my GOD, didst you engage to relieve
us; " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head."
How often didst you repeat thy promise to ABRAIIAM,
" In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed!"
How many ways did thy mercy invent, by unquestionable
tokens to give notice of thy coming!
" Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear
a son, and his name shall be called IMMANUEL.
" There shall come forth a rod out of the
stem of JESSE, and a branch shall grow out of his roots,
" And the SPIRIT of the Lotto shall rest
upon him; the SPIRIT of wisdom and understanding;
" The SPIRIT of counsel and might; the SPIRIT
of knowledge, and the fear of the LORD.
" The LORD thy GOD shall raise up unto thee
a Prophet
of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken."
Hark how the Almighty FATHER introduces his SON,
commanding first all the angels of GOD to worship him:
" You art my SON, my dearly beloved SON; this day have
I begotten thee: You art my Son, and I will be thy FATHER.
" I will give thee the Heathen for thine
inheritance; and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
" And is it a light thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of JACOB, and restore the preserved of ISRAEL?
" I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that you
may be my salvation to the ends of the earth."
Hark how the ancient Prophets rejoice in the
Messiah, and in soft and gentle words foretel his sweetness:
" He shall come down as rain into a fleece
of wool, and as drops of dew distilling on the earth.
" He shall feed his flocks like a shepherd;
and gently lead those that are with young.
" He shall gather the lambs with his arms,
and carry them in his bosom.
" The bruised reed shall he not break, nor
quench the smoking flax.
" Righteousness and peace shall flourish
in his days; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
" Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,
and the ears of the deaf be made to hear.
" Then shall the tongues of the dumb be
loosened; and the lame shall leap as a hart."
Thus did thy holy Prophets prophesy of thee;
thus did their children sing thy praises.
"Blessed be the LORD our GOD, who only does
wondrous things; and blessed be the name of his Majesty for ever,
" His dominion shall reach from the one
sea to the other, and from the river to the ends of the world.
" They who dwell in the wilderness shall
kneel before him; his enemies shall lick the dust.
" The Kings of Tarshish, and
of the isles, shall bring presents; the Kings of Sheba
and Saba shall offer gifts.
" Yea, all Kings shall fall down before him; all nations
shall serve him.
" He shall spare the simple and needy when
he cries; the poor also, and him that has no helper.
" He shall redeem their soul from deceit
and violence and precious shall their blood be in his sight."
O you eternal King of heaven, make good to thy
servants these happy predictions.
So rule us here, that we may obey thy grace;
so favor us hereafter, that we may enjoy thy glory.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM 5.
IT was not thy joys alone, O dearest LORD, that
thou inspiredst into thy holy Prophets:
But you revealedst to them thy sorrows too, and commandedst
to publish them with tender care:
That they, not only should speak thy words, but,
the more to affect us, put on thy person.
O let our eyes run down with water, and our hearts
faint away with grief;
While we remember the sufferings of our LORD,
and hear his sad complaints.
" I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from spitting.
" My enemies whisper together against me, and say, When shall he die
and his name perish?
" My familiar friend, that did eat of my
bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
" But you upholdest
me, O LORD, and settest me before thy face for ever.
" Behold, I am poured forth like water;
I am taken away as a shadow when it declineth:
" My heart within me is as melted wax, and
all my bones are out of joint:
" My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
and my tongue cleaveth unto the roof of my mouth.
I expected some to pity me, and behold there
was none; I looked for comforters, but I found not one.
" My GOD, my GOD, how far have you forsaken
me! You have even brought me to the dust of death. "Our fathers called
to thee, and were delivered; they
trusted in thee, and were not forsaken.
" But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach
of men, and despised of the people.
"All that see me, laugh me to scorn; they
shoot out their lips, they shake the head, saying:
" He trusted in the Lone, let him deliver
him; let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
"Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
for there is none to help me.
" The assembly of the wicked have enclosed
me, and pierced my hands and my feet.
" I may tell my bones; they look and stare
at me.
" They parted my garments among them, and
cast lots upon my vesture.
"They gave me gall for my meat, and in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
All these sad things, O Loren, thy Prophets foretold,
to prepare our faith for such incredible truths.
All these, indeed, they expressly foretold; but,
ah! could there be found such wretches, as would ever ant them?
Yes, O my Lone! Thine
own nation conspired against thee, and with innumerable affronts most barbrously
murdered thee.
This too, even this thy cruel' death you plainly
foreshewedst: " The
inhabitants of Jerusalem shall look upon me, whom they have pierced."
But, O ye holy Prophets! what was the dismal
cause that shed the blood of this spotless lamb?
"He had," they quickly answer, "done
no iniquity, nor could any guile be found in his mouth.
" But he was smitten for the sins of, the
people, and taken away from the land of the living.
" He delivered himself up unto death, and
was numbered with the wicked;' he bore the sins of many, and prayed
for his persecutors.
" He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon
him, and with his stripes we are healed."
O blessed JESUS, who tookest
upon thee our infirmities, to, bestow on us thine
own perfections!
Heal us, you great Physician of our souls, and
let us sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon us.
Heal us, by the mystery of thy holy incarnation,
and the meekness of thy humble birth.
Heal us, by the precious blood of thy circumcision,
and the sweet and everblessed name of JESUS.
Heal us by thy gracious manifestation to the
Gentiles, and the powerful influence of all thy miracles.
Heal us by the exemplary obedience of thy presentation
in the temple; heal us by the sovereign balsam of thy
passion.
Heal us by the joys of thy victorious resurrection,
and the triumph of thy glorious ascension.
Heal us by the memory of thy blessings; heal
us by the memory of this day's mercy.
Heal us, you great Physician of our souls, and
let us sin no more, let a worse thing befall us.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
AT
NOON.
PSALM
5.
PRAISE the LORD, all ye nations of the earth;
praise him with the voice of joy and thanksgiving.
Praise him with the well tuned strings of your
heart, praise him with the sweetest instrument, obedience.
Let every one that pretends to felicity sing
immortal praises to the GOD of our salvation.
He is our full and all sufficient Redeemer: He
has perfectly finished what he graciously undertook.
For all our trespasses he made satisfaction:
For all our forfeitures he has paid the ransom.
We by disobedience were banished from paradise,
and he has received us to his own kingdom.
We wandered up and down in the wilderness of
error, and he has guided us into the ways of truth.
We were by nature children of wrath, and he has
mediated our peace with his offended FATHER.
We were become the slaves of sin, and he has
bought our freedom with his own blood.
We were in bondage to the dominion of SATAN,
and he has overcome him, and confined his power.
We were in danger of sinking to hell, and he
has saved us from that bottomless pit.
The gates of heaven were shut against us, and
he went up himself and opened them to all believers:
Dissolving for ever the terrors of death, and
rendering it now but a passage into life.
O gracious LORD, who madest
us when we were not, and restoredst us again when we had undone ourselves,
Who wouldest at any rate redeem us from misery, at any rate procure
our felicity,
How came we wretches to be so considered? How
came we sinners to obtain such favor?
That from thy throne of glory, where Seraphims
adored thee, you should descend on our earth, where slaves affronted thee.
That you should lead a life of poverty and labor,
and die a,death with shame and sorrow.
That you should do all this for such worms as
we, without the least concern or benefit to thyself.
Only to raise us up from our humble dust, and
to set us to shine with thy glorious angels.
O infinite Goodness, the bounteous Author of
all our hopes, and strong Deliverer of us from all our fears!
What shall we say to this thy excessive love?
What shall we render for these thy unspeakable mercies?
We search over all we have, and find nothing
to return thee, but what thyself has freely given us.
We search over all you have given us, and find
nothing you expectest; but that we use thy gifts
to make ourselves happy.
O may our souls perpetually bless thee; and every
minute of our time be spent in thy service.
Let us not live, O LORD, but to love thee; nor
breathe, but to speak thy praise; nor be at all, but to be all thine.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 6.
SING on, my soul, the praises of thy LORD, sing
on the mercies of thy GOD:
Whose wisdom has contrived so compendious a method,
to redeem mankind by one short word.
He saw, the only cause of all our ruin was our
love misplaced on this present world.
He saw, the only remedy of all our misery was
to fix our love on the world to come.
This therefore was his great intent, and in this
concentered he all his merits;
To change the bias of our wrongset
hearts, by establishing amongst us new motives of love:
By revealing to us the mystery of his sufferings,
and thence discovering the highest motives of love.
Such as might strongly incline our affections,
and efficaciously draw us to love our true good:
Such as might gain by degrees upon all mankind,
and render salvation easy and universal.
For this he came down from his FATHER'S bosom,
to show us the rules of eternal life, the purchase of his blood:
That we might firmly believe those sacred truths,
which GOD himself with his own mouth had told us.
For this he also conversed so long on our earth,
to encourage and provoke us by his own example;
That we might confidently embrace those unquestionable
virtues, which GOD himself, in his own person, had practiced.
For this he endured those sharp and many afflictions,
and became at last obedient even to death; so making atonement for our sins:
That we might patiently hence suffer whatever
should befall us, when GOD himself was so treated by his creature.
For this he often preached the joys of heaven,
and set them before us in so clear a light;
That seeing so rich a prize hang at the race's
end, we might run, and strain our utmost force to gain it.
For this he ordained the mysteries of grace,
and left us a sacrifice made up of mercies:
That he might breed, and nourish us in the life
of love,
and ravish our hearts with the sweetness of his
presence.. For this he established a perpetual church, and sent the
HOLY GHOST to inspire, and govern it:
That it might flourish for ever in truth, and
sanctity, and plant the same heavenly seed over all the world.
For this he assumed those strange endearing names
of Friend, and Brother, and Spouse to us wretches:
Doing far more for us than all those names import,
far more than all our hearts can wish.
Blessed, O glorious JEsu!'
be the wisdom of thy mercy, that has found so sweet and short a way for us
(though painful to thee) to save us.
You art, O LORD, the cause of our love, and love
the cause of our happiness.
By love we fulfil all thy commands, and by making us love you fulfillest all thy FATHER'S.
By love we are reconciled from enemies to friends,
by love we are translated from death to life.
By love we are delivered from the fear of hell,
by love we are adopted to be heirs of heaven.
By love we are disposed for that blissful vision,
by love we are secured of the enjoyment of our GOD:
Who by the sole perfection of his own free goodness,
eau never deny himself to any that love him.
Else would their very loving him be the cause
of their misery, since the misery of a soul is the want of what it loves.
Thus, LORD, whatever thy holy books record of
thee, in expressions suited to our low capacities,
Whatever they say of thy wonderful conception
and birth; whatever they relate of thy holy life or meritorious death;
Whatever they tell of thy glorious resurrection,
or triumphant ascension into heaven;
Whatever they teach of the corruption of our
sinful nature and of the new principle of life, by the inspiration of thy
HOLY SPIRIT;
Whatever they speak of thy intercession for us
at thy FATHER'S right hand, and of the heavenly sanctuary and altar;
Whatever we read in them of the resurrection
of the dead, of the judgment to come, and of thy kingdom both in heaven and
earth:
Lastly, whatever they say of thy restoring all
things, and repairing again the ruins of mankind:
All is exactly verified by this one line, which
may our thankful hearts repeat with joy:
" Heaven is attained by love alone, and
love alone by thee."
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c. Hallelujah.
PSALM
7.
STILL, O my soul, let us sing to him, whose mercies are no fewer than infinite:
To him, whose pity took us by the hand, and kindly
led us into his own light:
To thee, O blessed JESUS, our LORD and our Gov!
who alone art the Source of all our happiness.
The world, till you earnest, sat wrapt
in darkness, and few discerned so much as a shadow of thee.
They followed their appetite, sense, and humor,
and placed their felicity in being prosperous here:
Little considering the life to come; but less
the joys that entertain that life.
This was, alas! their miserable state; and, worse
than this,. they had no power to help it.
How could they believe what they never heard,
or love what they never believed?
How could they desire what they never loved,
or be glad to receive what they never desired?
It was You, O LORD, first taughtest
us our true end, the blissful vision of the eternal Deity.
It was you first taughtest
us the true means to attain that end, by a hearty love, and desire to attain
it.
O the blessed changes which thy hand has wrought!
O the happy improvements which thy coming has produced!
Now every woman and illiterate man can discourse
familiarly of the highest truths:
The' creation of the world, and the fall of Adam,
the incarnation of GOD, and the redemption of man:
The mystery of the Trinity, and the miracle of
the resurrection, the day of judgment, and the state of eternity.
All these we know; but it was You, O LORD, who
taughtest us, and didst, by thy holy Church and
word, first spread them over the world.
Now you have opened our eyes, we plainly see
what unassisted nature could never have reached.
We see the framing right our affections here,
is the measure of our happiness hereafter.
If we supremely esteem the goods of the future
life, we shall find them there, and be happy.
If we love heaven with our whole soul, and press
on strongly with all our force:
We shall enter into its glories with a surprising
delight, and possess them for ever in a perpetual ecstasy.
We see our souls are made to know, and perfect
themselves by the worthiest object.
We see their nature is free and unconfined, and
nothing can fill them but that which is infinite.
All other knowledge enlarges our faculties, and
breeds new desires to know still more,
Which, if unsatisfied, we yet are miserable,
since none can be happy who want their desire.
Only the sight of GOD fills us to the brim, and
infinitely overflows our utmost capacities.
It fills and overflows all the powers of our
souls with joy and wonder, and inconceivable sweetness.
O blessed and glorious sight! when will the happy
day appear, and open to my soul that beauteous prospect! You art my full and
high felicity, and alone sufficient
for me.
O make me ardently love thee, that I may eagerly
desire thee; and eagerly desire thee, that I may enjoy thee in all the transports
of divine love.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
HYMN 2.
SWEET JESUS! why,
why dost you love Such worthless things as we?
Why is thy heart
so much towards us, Who seldom think on thee?
Thy bounty gives
us all we have; And we thy gifts abuse:
Thy bounty gives
us even thyself; And we thyself refuse.
And why, my soul,
why do we love
Such wretched
things as these; These that withdraw us from the LORD,
And his pure eyes
displease?
Break off, and
raise thy manly eye Up to those joys above:
Behold all those
thy LORD prepares, To woo and crown thy love.
Alas, dear LORD!
I cannot love, Unless you draw my heart;
You who so kindly
makes me know, O make me do my part.
Still do you love
me, O my LORD,
That I may still
love thee:
Still make me
love thee, O my GOD,
That you mayst
still love me.
To thee, great
GOD, to thee alone,
One coeternal
Three,
All power and
praise, all joy and bliss,
Now, and for ever
be.
Blessed be thy holy name, O glorious
Son of God! and blessed be thy mercy for ever: You
have perfectly fulfilled all thy Prophets foretold, and infinitely transcended
all the wonders they admired: You have done enough to convince us into faith,
and suffered abundantly to inflame us with thy love. Most gracious LORD,
who have so loved the world, that you gayest thyself to redeem it, and humbly
tookest upon thee our nature, that you might suffer
as man for the sins of men, and in it familiarly teach us the truth of our
salvation; and might invincibly also fortify us against all persecutions,
and efficaciously draw us after thee into thine own kingdom, by thy holy life, and precious death, and,
glorious resurrection: Do you fill our souls with a sense of this wonderful
love, that we may live in thy obedience, die in thy favor, and rise again
to rejoice with thee for ever in thy glory: Who, with the FATHER and the HOLY
GHOST, live and reignest, GOD and King, world without
end. Amen.
IN THE AFTERNOON.
PSALM 8.
LIFT up thy voice, O Jerusalem, and be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah, Behold
your GOD.
Behold the LORD your GOD is come with a strong
hand, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
DEVOTIONS FOR THE. GREAT FESTIVALS. 39:3
He is come to bring redemption to all the world,
and graciously offers it first to you his people.
But ye refused the Holy One, and the Just, and
desired a murderer to be granted unto you.
Hark, with how sweet compassion thy kind Redeemer
complains of thy ingratitude
" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that killest
the prophets, and stonest them who are sent unto thee!
" How often would I have gathered thy children together,
as a hen does her chickens under her wings, and you wouldest not."
Hark with how tender a reproof thy LORD unwillingly
withdraws from thee his favor:
"O hadst you known, even You, at least in that thy day, the things
which belonged unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."
Hearken, however, once more; and if his kindness
cannot move thy love, let his anger work upon thy fear.
Gird thee with sackcloth, O Jerusalem, and he
down in ashes; cover thee with mourning, and bitterly lament:
" For the day shall come upon thee, that
thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and
shall compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side:
"And shall lay thee even with the ground,
and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone
upon another, because you knewest not the time of
thy visitation."
But how long, LORD, holy and merciful, how long
wilt you be angry with them? For ever?
Have you not said, He that scattereth
Israel shall gather them again, and
keep them as a shepherd does his flock?
Remember thy ancient promises, O LORD, and save
the remnant of thy onceloved Israel.
Let them yet have hope in thee, for with thee
is mercy, and with thee is plenteous redemption. O LORD, redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
Takeaway the veil from before their eyes, that
they may see thy truth and embrace it.
Take away the hardness of their stony hearts,
that they again may be thy people, and you again their GOD.
The kingdom we expected deserves not thatname,
a short, a vain, a troublesome prosperity.
Thy dominion, O LORD, is holiness and peace,
and of thy kingdom there shall be no end.
Such was the kingdom you promisedst
to David, "They shall live and reign with thee for ever."
O make us love, dear LORD, this eternal kingdom,
and all things else shall be added unto it.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM 9.
RISE, holy spouse of the Son of God! rise, and
put on the robes of joy.
Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the
glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and Kings
to the brightness of thy rising.
Lift up your eyes round about, and see, they
all gather themselves together, they come to thee.
Thy sons come from far, and thy daughters shall
be nursed at thy side.
Then shall you see, and How in abundance; thy
hearts shall wonder, and be enlarged with gladness.
When the multitude of the islands shall be converted
to thee, and the strength of the Gentiles submit to thy laws. The sons of
strangers shall build up thy walls, and their Kings shall minister unto thee.
For in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor
I had mercy on thee. .
Therefore thy gates shall be open continually,
they shall not be shut day nor night.
And they shall call upon thee, the city of the
LORD, the Son of the Holy One of Israel.
For our LORD shall he thy everlasting light,
and the days of thy mourning shall end in glory.
Thy foundation shall be laid on a firm rock,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against thee.
With thee shall be the tabernacle of GOD, and
he will dwell with thee, and the gates of thy city shall not be shut at all
by day.
Thy rock cannot be shaken, thy light can never
be extinguished, and even the blind eyes shall be made to behold it.
And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge
of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
All this we read, all this we firmly believe,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one
tittle of his word shall pass away, till all be
fulfilled.
Many of the sacred prophecies are already fulfilled,
abundantly sufficient to assure us of the rest.
Already a virgin has brought forth a son, and
given him the gracious name of JESUS.
The wise men of the East have been led to him
by a star, and offered him gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
His holy parents have presented him in the temple,
and the devout SIMEON was overjoyed to see him.
He confirmed his doctrine with innumerable miracles,
and defended the truth to the last drop of his blood.
He rose again victoriously from the grave, and
ascended in triumph to the right hand of his FATHER.
And there, O glorious JESU, may you sit and reign,
till all thy enemies become thy footstool!
Nor has thy judgment slept, O dreadful LORD!
but with a swift and terrible vengeance crushed them into ruin.
Jerusalem was long since made a heap of stones;
and the children of thy crucifiers ran wandering over the world.
Nevertheless whilst you art thus severe in the
predictions of thy justice, you have not forgotten those of thy mercy.
Thousands of that ungrateful people have acknowledged
thee their LORD, thousands of that perverse generation
have submitted to thy sceptre.
Whole nations of the Gentiles have embraced the
faith, and remotest islands received thy law.
Blessed for ever be thy name, O LORD! and blessed
he the sweetness of thy mercy;
Who revealest thyself to those that knew thee not, and art found
of those that sought thee not;
Who often followest those that flee from thee, and never refusest any that come unto thee.
O you in whom, while we remain, we live, and
from whom divided we instantly die!
Curse not, we humbly beg, these fruitless branches,
lest they wither away and be cast into the fire.
Pronounce not against us that dreadful sentence,
Cut them down, why cumber they the ground?
But mercifully cut them off from their wild stock,
and graft them into thyself, the only true Vine.
Water, O LORD, our weeds with the dew of heaven,
and bless our low shrubs with thy powerful influence.
So grapes shall grow on thorns, and figs be gathered
on thistles.
Glory be, &e. As it was, &c.
PSALM 1O
REJOICE in the LORD, all ye children of ADAM;
rejoice in the bounty of his free grace;
No longer now confined to a few choice favorites;
and the narrow compass of a private family.
He has thrown down the partition wall, and opened
the way of life to all mankind:
That all may believe, and love him here; and
all enjoy and be happy in him hereafter.
But, O my GOD, what do we see; when we look abroad
into the wide world?
We see the sad effects, but cannot see the cause,
why so many kingdoms he miserably waste, sitting still in the shadow of death.
We know, O LORD, thy ways are in the deep abyss;
and humbly we adore thy secret counsels.
Only we cannot think of their lamentable condition,
without pitying their misery, and imploring thy mercy.
Some have not yet so much as heard of thee; and
others who have heard, refuse to entertain thee.
Some who have once acknowledged thee, have quite
fallen away; and others reject what they list, and obey by halves.
Many of those who believe the truth, abuse their
holy faith by a wicked life.
Thus the far greatest part of wretched mankind,
whom thy goodness created in thine own similitude:
Whom thy SON redeemed with his precious blood,
and designed to so great and lasting a happiness:
Still fail of their true end, and die in their
sins.
Look down, O LORD, and behold from heaven; behold
from the habitation of thy holiness.
Where is thy zeal, and the sounding of thy bowels?
Where are thy promises to thy beloved Son?
Have you not said, All nations shall adore him;
and all the people upon earth shall be blessed in him?
Have you not said thyself, O glorious JESU! "
When I am exalted, I will draw all men unto me? "
Have you not given thy disciples express commission,
to "go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature? "
Remember, O you GOD of everlasting truth! Remember,
O you Author and Finisher of our faith!
Remember these thy dear engagements; and graciously
accomplish what you have mercifully begun.
Visit, O LORD, thine
own house first; and thoroughly redress what you findest
amiss.
Make our lives holy according to our faith, and
perfectly unite us in the bonds of love.
Kindle in the hearts of Kings, and the great
ones of the world, an heroic spirit to advance thy glory.
Inflame the hearts of the Prelates, and Priests
of thy church, with a generous zeal for the conversion of souls.
Convince them all, that it is the end and duty
of their place, to improve mankind in virtue and religion.
One mercy more we humbly beg; which, O! may thy
providence favorably supply:
Prepare, O LORD, the hearts of those that err,
and make them apt to receive the truth.
Then choose thy burning and thy shining lights,
and send them forth over all the world.
Send them, O GOD of infinite love! but send them
not alone; lest they faint by the way, and miscarry in the end.
Go with them thyself, and guide them by thy grace,
and crown their labors with thy powerful blessing.
So shall the humble valleys be raised up, and
the stubborn mountains be brought low.
So shall the crooked paths be made straight,
and the rough ways smooth and plain.
So shall the glory of GOD be every where revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together.
Happy the times when this shall come to pass;
happy the eyes that shall see these times.
Come glorious days, wherein that Sun shall shine;
which enlightens at once both hemispheres.
Come, holy JESUS, and make those glorious days,
and let no cloud overcast them for ever.
Come, and in the largest sense maintain thy title,
and be effectually the Savior of the universal world.
Glory he, &c. As it was, &c. Hallelujah.
HYMN 3.
Jesu!
Whose grace inspires thy Priests,
To keep alive
by solemn feasts,
The memory of
thy love:
O may we here
so pass thy days, That they at last our souls may raise,
To feast with
thee above. JESU! Behold the wise from far, Led to the cradle by a star,
Bring gifts to
thee their King;
O guide us by
thy light, that we The way may find, and so to thee,
Ourselves for
tribute bring.
JESU, the pure,
and spotless Lamb, Who to the Temple humbly came,
Those legal rites
to pay!
O make our proud, and stubborn will, Thine,
and thy Church's laws fulfill;
Whatever fond
nature say. JESU, who on the fatal wood,
Pour’dst
forth thy life's last drop of blood,
Nail'd
to a shameful cross!
O may we bless
thy love, and be Ready, dear LORD, to bear for thee
All grief, all
pain, all loss.
JESU, who, by
thine own love slain, By thine
own power tookst life again,
And from the grave
didst rise!
O may thy death
our spirits revive, And at our death a new life give,
A life that never
dies.
JESU, who to thy
heaven again Return'dst in triumph there to reign,
Of men and angels,
King!
O may our parting
souls take flight, Up to that land of joy and light,
And there for
ever sing.
All glory to the
sacred Three, One undivided Deity;
All honor, power,
and praise:
O may thy blessed
name shine bright, Crown'd with those beams of beauteous
light,
Its own eternal
rays.
O holy and everblessed
JESUS, who, being the eternal SON of GOD, and most high in the glory of Go')
the FATHER, didst vouchsafe for us sinners to be born of an humble virgin,
and suffer intolerable persecutions, even to death upon the cross; work in
us, we beseech thee, a due sense of thy infinite love, that adoring, and believing
in thee as our LORD and Savior, we may trust in thy infinite merits, imitate
thy holy example, obey thy commands, and finally enjoy thy promises, living
and reigning with thee, who, with the FATHER and the HOLY GHOST, live and
reignest, GOD blessed for ever, world without end. Amen.
IN THE EVENING.
PSALM 11.
RETIRE HOW, O my soul, from thy common thoughts,
permitted to entertain thy less serious hours.
Retire, and call thy wandering thoughts home,
and speedily range them into peace and order;
That so you may be prepared to hear thy Loral
invite thee, among the rest, to taste his sweetness.
" Come unto me," says he, " all
ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
" Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me,
for I am meek, and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
" For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Enough, dear LORD, enough is said, to draw all
the world to thy holy discipline.
What can be offered so agreeable to our natures,
too much, alas! inclined to pleasure and profit?
What can be offered so powerfully attractive,
as to make our work delightful, and then reward it?
Whither, O my GOD, should we go, but unto thee?
You have the words of eternal life.
You art our wisest Instructer
to know what to do, and our only Enabler to do what we know.
You art the free Bestower
of all we have, and faithful Promiser of all we hope.
You kindly tallest us; O make us gladly hear
thy voice, and constantly follow it till we come to thee.
Suffer us no longer to go astray like lost sheep,
wandering up and down in our byways.
Suffer us no longer to be distracted about many
things, from thee, O Lord, who art but one.
But gather us up from the world into ourselves;
then take us from ourselves into thee;
There to be ravished with thy holy embraces;
there to be feasted with the antepasts of heaven.
O how unspeakable are thy sweetnesses,
O LORD, which you have hid for those that fear thee;
Which you have partly revealed to those that
love thee, and keep themselves uncorrupted with the world.
But, O what are they then to those that see thee;
and, in that sight, see all things else!
To those who rejoice perpetually before thee;
and, in • that joy, find all joys else!
O beauteous Truth, which known, enforces love;
and loved, begets felicity!
Live you for ever in my faithful memory, and
be my constant guide in all my ways.
Still let me think on those joys above, and undervalue
all things compared to my salvation.
Still let me think on my Savior's love, that
purchased for me all those joys.
O You, my adored Redeemer, be you the wish of
my heart, the scope and end of all my time.
Soon as I awake, let me look up to thee; and
when I arise, first lowly bow to thee.
Often in the day let me call in my thoughts to
thee; and when I go to rest, close up mine eyes in thee.
So shall my time be governed by thy grace, and
my eternity crowned with thy glory.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 12.
My GOD, when I remember those words of thine:
" Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand:"
Make me apply those searching words unto myself,
and bind them fast on my own soul.
Repent, O my soul, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand; repent, for the kingdom of heaven depends upon thy repentance.
I cannot repent without the grace of GOD; nor
obtain his grace without his own free gift.
O my Savior, who earnest not to call the righteous,
but, such as I am, sinners to repentance!
Make me heartily sorry for what I have done amiss;
and let me not do again what will make me sorry.
Deliver me, O LORD, from the punishments I deserve;
deliver me from the sin that deserves those punishments.
Teach me that safe and easy method of censuring
myself; to be acquitted by thee.
Every night let me sit as an impartial judge,
and call before me all my day.
Let me severely examine every thought and word,
and strictly search every deed and omission:
Imploring for the past the mercy of Heaven; and
for the time to come the same unbounded mercy.
If I, perhaps, find some little things well done,
when weighed with the allowances you makest,
Let me return all the glory to my GOD, and beg
his grace to continue and improve it.
His is the hand that sows the seed; his is the
blessing that gives the increase.
Thus let me, once a day at least, look home,
and seriously inquire into the state of my soul.
Let not the sun go down upon my wrath, nor on
any unrepented sin.
Still let me write at the foot of my account:
" Reconciled to my GOD, and in charity with all the world."
Then go to bed with a quiet conscience, and full
in peace and hope.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM 13.
HARK, how he tells us this new and glorious secret:
" We shall be hereafter like the angels in heaven."
O sweet and precious word to them that relish
it, and thoroughly digest its strong nourishment;
To them that feed on it often as their daily
bread: c° We shall be hereafter like the angels in heaven."
And what, O LORD, are these blessed angels, but
spirits, that know, and love, and delight in thee for ever?
Such, O my soul, we shall be, and such a life
we shall lead; we shall be, and live, like the angels in heaven.
We shall know all that is true, and love all
that is good; and shall delight in that knowledge and love for ever.
No ignorance shall darken, nor error deceive
us; we shall be like the angels in heaven.
No cares shall perplex us, nor crosses afflict
us; we shall be like the angels in heaven.
Our joys shall be full, and pure, and everlasting;
we shall be like the angels in heaven.
Cheer thee, O my soul, and bless thy bounteous
LORD; it is by him we shall be like the angels in heaven.
Cheer thee, and raise thy hopes yet gloriously
higher; we shall be like himself, for we shall see him as he is.
Glory he, &c.
As it was, &c.
Grant us, O LORD JESUS, SO frequently
to renew the memory of thy grave, that we may be always prepared for our own;
and so seriously to reflect on the consequences of an holy death, that every
day we may grow less affected to this transitory life, and more in love with
thy eternal joys.
Now our LORD JESUS CHRIST himself,
and GOD even our FATHER, who has loved us, and has given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace, comfort our hearts, and establish us in every
good word and work. Amen.
The blessing of GOD ALMIGHTY, the
FATHER, the Son, and the HOLY GHOST, be with us this night, the rest of our
lives, and evermore. Amen.
THE OFFICE OF
THE HOLY GHOST.
MORNING PRAYER.
Come, let us adore
our GOD that sanctifies us.
PSALM 1.
COME, let us humbly implore his grace,
to make us worthy to adore our SANCTIFIER, who from the FATHER and the SON
eternally proceeds, and with the FATHER and the SON together is worshipped
and glorified.
Come, let us adore
our GOD that sanctifies us.
He infuses into us the breath of life, and brings
us forth in our second birth; a birth that makes us heirs of heaven, and gives
us a title to everlasting happiness.
Come, let us adore
our GOD that sanctifies us.
Let us prepare our understandings to assent to
his truths, and our wills to follow his Divine inspirations; let us fill our
memories with his innumerable mercies, and our whole souls with the glory
of his attributes.
Come, let us adore
our GOD that sanctifies us.
Let us confidently address to him our petitions,
who promises to help the infirmities of our prayers; let us not doubt the
bounty of his goodness, but hope he will grant what himself inspires to ask.
Come, let us adore
our GOD that sanctifies us.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM
2.
LORD, with how sweet and natural a conduct does
thy providence govern the children of men!
Leading them from one degree to another, till
you have brought them up to their highest perfection!
You puttest them to learn in the school of virtue, and disposest their capacities into several forms.
In the first ages, when the world was young,
you gayest them for their guide the book of nature.
There thy divine assistance helped them to read
some few plain lessons of their duty to thee.
They saw this admirable frame of creatures; and
as far as they could argue, they could conclude:
" There is a GOD, the Cause of all things;
there is a Providence, the Disposer of all things.
" He must be powerful, that made so vast
a world; he must be wise, that contrived such excellent works.
" He must be goodness itself that did all
this for us; and we must be ungrateful wretches, if we do nothing for him."
After this, you gayest thy people a written rule,
which trained them up in a set form of discipline,
Which grew and spread into a public religion,
and was uniformly professed by a whole nation.
They had some weak conception indeed of the kingdom
of heaven, and some imperfect means to bring them thither.
But as to those high supernatural mysteries,
that so gloriously exalt the Christian faith:
They all, alas! were blind, or in the dark, while
the veil was before their eyes,
And were often exposed to the effects of their
ignorance, wanting those clear instructions to know their end, wanting those
powerful motives to love their GOD:
Yet this prepared them for the times of grace,
to which thy mercy, LORD, reserved far greater favors:
To which you have promised, by thy holy Prophets,
an effusion of blessings:
" I will put my laws into their mind, and
write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a GOD, and they shall be
to me a people.
" I will pour out my SPIRIT on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
" They shall no more teach every one his
neighbor; for all shall know me from the least to the greatest."
O merciful LORD, who have loved us from the beginning,
be graciously pleased to love us to the end.
Pity the unhappy state of fallen mankind, which
neither nature nor law could bring to perfection.
If any riper souls came forward to the birth,
there wanted Spirit to bring them forth.
But O send out thy SPIRIT, and they shall be
created; and from their nothing of sin, even a darkness deeper than nothing,
be raised to the life and light of holiness.
Send out thy SPIRIT, and renew the face of the
earth; and our weeds and our thorns shall be turned into a Paradise.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM 3.
Look up, O languishing world, look up and see
how punctually thy faithful LORD performs his word..
When he had finished here that glorious work,
which his goodness undertook for our redemption:
When he had told us what we ought to do, and
what to suffer for the kingdom of heaven:
When he himself had done more than he required
of us, and suffered more than our boldest hopes could expect from him:
He first prepares the hearts of his disciples,
and comforts their sorrows with these sweet words:
" Children, I will not leave you comfortless;
but will pray to my FATHER, and he shall give you another Comforter;
" Even the SPIRIT of truth, and he shall
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said
unto you.
" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
to you: Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
" I go to my FATTIER, and to your FATHER; to Thy GOD,
and your GOD.
" I go to prepare a place for you, that
where I am, there ye may be also."
This said, he led them forth together, and gave
them his blessing; and parting from them, went away into heaven.
When the appointed time was come, as all the
works of GOD go forth in their fittest season:
When his disciples were gathered together in
one mind and place, and so ready for the visits of heaven:
When they had long continued in ardent prayer,
and wrought their affections to the highest point of desire:
Suddenly there was a sound from heaven, whence
every good and perfect gift descends;
A vehement rushing wind filled the whole house;
for the grace of GOD is strong and liberal.
Behold, on the head of each sat a tongue, as
of fire. While they were all illuminated with a pure light, and inflamed with
a fervent heat:
And to communicate both these to every nation,
they were all endued with the gift of languages.
Thus was the promise of our LORD fulfilled; and
thus the messengers of everlasting peace prepared:
Miraculously baptized with the HOLY GHOST and
with fire, and perfectly qualified for their great commission.
To preach to every creature this happy Gospel:
" He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved."
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 5.
How glorious is thy grace, O LORD, over all the
world! How admirable the influence of thy HOLY
SPIRIT!
They that through dullness so slowly understood
the oft repeated lessons of their Divine Master,
Now with the first swift glance see through all,
and no mystery can pose them.
They, who through fear forsook their LORD, and
fled away from the danger of being his,
Now rejoice in suffering for his name, and neither
life nor death can forbid them to confess him.
They, who even after their SAVIOR'S resurrection
shut fast the doors for fear of the Jews,
Now, in the open streets and public synagogues,
confidently proclaim the name of JESUS.
O! were there now such tongues of fire, to kindle
in the world such divine flames!
O! were there now such hearts in the world, to
receive the holy sparks that fall from heaven!
The great Apostle preached but one sermon, and
converted three thousand souls.
He preached again, and wrought but one miracle,
and five thousand were added to the Church.
Thus every day they increased in their number,
and their number increased in virtue and piety.
They sold all they had, and brought the price
and laid it down at the Apostles' feet.
They lived in common, they called nothing their
own, enjoying a blessed communion in all things, spiritual and temporal.
Even in their will and understanding they were
all united; they being all, after the heavenly image, of one heart and one
mind.
Every one had enough, and that is to be rich;
none had too much, and that is to be free:
Free from the cares that perplex the wealthy;
free from the temptations that wait on superfluity.
They prayed, and mingled with their prayers their
tears; they wept, and mingled with their tears their complaints.
" ° Ah, dearest LORD! why were we not so
happy, to be converted by thee, while you dwelledst amongst us?
" Why not to entertain salvation when you broughtest it to our homes, and preferredst
our little nation before all the world?
" You didst cleanse the leprous, and heal all manner of
diseases; you didst raise the dead, and cast out devils
. by thy word.
" Yet we, alas! how many of us blasphemed
thy name!
How many conspired with thy bloody crucifiers!
" Spare us, O LORD! Have mercy upon us,
O JESUS! for we knew thee not to be the LORD of glory.
" Blessed be thy HOLY SPIRIT, who has opened
our
eyes, and made us see through the veil that eclipsed
us. "Now we believe thee to be the Messias
we expected;
now we acknowledge thee to be the King of Israel."
Such were the favors of those happy times; and
O how
happy were our times had we those favors!
Ours are become miserable by the unfruitful lives
and scandalous examples of too many Christians.
Too many, alas! Yet even the gates of hell can
never prevail against the power of GOD.
Still the same SPIRIT governs the world, and
keeps alive the same primitive fire.
Still there are hearts full of the HOLY GHOST,
full of that ravishing wine of Divine love.
Still there are souls who renounce all they have,
and take p their cross and follow our LORD.
Still there are fiery tongues kindled by the
breath of Heaven, who carry their sacred flames into every nation.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
AT NOON.
Kindle in our
hearts; O LORD, thy holy fire;
that we may offer
to thee the incense of praise. Hallelujah.
PSALM 5.
CONSIDER, my soul, the mercies of thy GOD; consider
the wonders he has wrought for the children of men.
The eternal FATHER created us of nothing, and
estrus in the way to everlasting happiness.
The eternal Son came down from heaven to seek
us, and restored us again when we had lost ourselves.
The eternal SPIRIT sends and brings his grace
to sanctify us, and give us strength to walk that holy way.
Thus every Person of the Sacred Trinity has freely
contributed his particular blessing:
And all together, as one co-infinite Goodness,
have graciously agreed to complete our felicity.
But, O ungrateful we! was it not enough to receive
of GOD all we have and are?
Was it not enough that the SON of GOD should
come down, and live to teach us, and die to redeem us?
Was not all this enough to make us love? And
love is all he aimed at, and love is all we needed.
Let us confess to thee, O merciful LORD! let
us confess unto thee our miserable condition.
Such, alas! was the corruption of our nature,
and so many and strong the temptations that surround us;
That without this thy last miraculous favor,
sending the HOLY GHOST to guide and quicken us,
We should quite have forgotten our GOD that made
us, and neglected the service of our LORD that bought us;
Had not thy fullness been furnished with one
blessing more to bestow on thy children:
Hadst you not providently reserved a better blessing than
the dew of the clouds and the fatness of the earth.
These were the rewards of the old law; but behold
far greater than these are here:
Divine refreshment from the heaven of heavens,
and the fruits of the HOLY GHOST;
Meekness, and peace, and joy diffused in our
breasts; strength and courage kindled in our hearts;
A thousand embraces of the Bridegroom of souls;
a thousand pledges of his everlasting love.
These are the great rewards of the law of grace,
and given to prepare us for the kingdom of glory.
O blessed SPIRIT, who bestowest
thy favors as thou pleasest; and the more you have given, still the more you
givest:
Dispose thy servants first to entertain thee;
then graciously vouchsafe to descend into our hearts.
Fill us, O HOLY GHOST, and our little vessels;
and as you Iffiest us, enlarge our capacities.
Make us, the more we receive of thee, still to
grow in desire of receiving more; Till we ascend at length to those joys above,
where all
our faculties shall be stretched to the utmost.
Where they shall be filled to the brim; and overflowed
with a torrent of pleasure for ever. Hallelujah.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 6.
BLESSED be thy name, O Holds SPIRIT, and blessed
be the bounty of thy goodness.
When the eternal FATHER, by creating the world,
had declared himself and his almighty power:
When the untreated WORD, by redeeming mankind,
had revealed himself and his infinite wisdom;
Behold a strange condescension to our weak nature,
the invisible SPIRIT visibly appears.
He descends from heaven in the shape of a dove,
and gently descends on the Prince of Peace.
Again, he descends in the likeness of fire, and
miraculously sits upon the heads of his disciples:
Mingling thus together in one, those chief ingredients
of excellent virtue;
Mildness to allay the heat of zeal, and zeal
to quicken that mildness;
Innocency to adorn the light of knowledge, and knowledge to
direct the simplicity of innocence.
O blessed and admirable Teacher, who can instruct
like the SPIRIT of God?
lie needs no years to finish his course, but
with a swift and efficacious touch consummates all things:
He by one lesson perfected the Disciples, and
polished rude fishermen into eloquent Preachers.
All this you have done, O infinite Goodness,
and all we do is wrought in us by thee.
By thee we are regenerated at first, by thee
confirmed by the imposition of hands:
By thee thy servants are consecrated into Priests;
by thee our marriages are sanctified into blessings:
By thee our souls are comforted on the bed of
sickness,
and by thy holy unction all our life is wisely
governed.
If in the Church there be any wisdom or knowledge,
if any real sanctity or decent order,
If any faith in the mysteries of religion, if
any hope of everlasting salvation,
If any love of GOD as our sovereign bliss, if
any charity one towards another,
All flows from thee and thy free grace, O you
boundless Ocean of eternal mercies!
cc All flows from thee;" and may we all
return our little streams in tribute to thy bounty:
May every favor you offerest
be thankfully received; and every talent you bestowest,
diligently improved.
So shall we faithfully perform our duty, and
render to thy grace its just glory:
While whatever we have we acknowledge from thee,
and whatever you givest us is not in vain, but is
powerful and glorious.
Glory be, &c. As it was, &c.
PSALM 7.
STILL let us sing, O blessed SPIRIT! to thee
let us sing these few lines more:
To thee, the eternal Love of the FATHER and the
SON, and glorious Finisher of that sacred mystery:
To thee, the quickening SPIRIT of regenerated
souls, in whom they live, and move, and have their being:
To thee, the sovereign Balsam of our wounds,
and only Comfort of all our sorrows:
To thee, our Refuge in this place of banishment,
and faithful Guide in this wandering pilgrimage:
To thee, the sacred Pledge of our free adoption,
and ensuring Seal of our eternal salvation.
What do we say, O you adorable SPIRIT of GOD!
what do we say, when we utter such words as these?
We say what we can in our low capacities; but,
alas, how short of thy unspeakable excellences!
O that we had the tongues of saints and angels!
O that we had thine own miraculous tongues!
Those which sat flaming on the heads of the Apostles,
and made them speak thy wonders in every language.
Still all our praises would be poor and narrow;
still infinitely less than thy infinite perfections.
But if we cannot speak as our GOD deserves, shall
we hold our peace, which our GOD forbids?
Woe be to them, O LORD, who are silent of thee,
and spend the breath you givest them on any but thyself.
O you that openest the mouths of the dumb, and makest
the tongues of children eloquent!
Inspire thy servants, if not with expressions
suitable to thee, at least with such as are profitable to us;
Such as may instruct us what w e ought to do;
such as may move us to do what we say.
And when we have tried our best endeavors, and
taken measure of our own defects,
Let us heartily join in communion with the blessed
above; that they, taught by Him, and made perfect, may supply our weakness
with their worthier hymns.
Praise the eternal SPIRIT, by whom the world's
Redeemer was conceived in the womb of a virgin, O all ye works of the LORD.
Praise him, by whom this virgin, in all generations
blessed, was made the mother of the SON of GOD.
Praise him, O ye choirs of rejoicing angels,
whose grace confirmed you in glory.
Praise him, O ye reverend Patriarchs, whose ways
he governed, and by particular providence led you to felicity.
Praise him, ye ancients Prophets, whose souls
he inspired, to teach his chosen people the mind of Heaven. Praise him, ye
glorious Apostles, whom he empowered
to be ambassadors of peace between heaven and
earth. Praise him, ye generous Martyrs, whose spirits he encouraged, and gave
you victory over the terrors of
death.
Praise him, ye blessed Confessors, whose lives
he sanctified, and gave you victory over the world and yourselves.
Praise him, ye holy Virgins, whose souls he espoused,
and consecrated your chaste bodies into temples for himself.
Praise him, all you that live in his grace; praise
him, all you that hope for his glory.
Praise him, all ye spirits and souls of the faithful,
whom he has sealed against the terrible day, and whose hope he sustains even
in the valley of the shadow of death.
Praise him, all ye churches of the saints; praise
him, all ye nations and tribes of the earth.
Let every thing that has breath give glory to
him, in the new creation; let every thing that has spirit praise the SPIRIT
of our LORD, in the glorious restitution of all things.
Praise him, O my soul, for his mercies to thee;
praise him for his goodness to all the world.
Praise him on thy choicest instrument, thy heart;
praise him in thy best words, those of the church.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
IN THE AFTERNOON.
We are not our
own, but the temples of the HOLY GHOST;
let us dedicate
ourselves entirely to his service.
PSALM 8.
COME, let us again prepare our hearts, and humbly
offer this our sacrifice.
Let us remember, our GOD is a pure Spirit, and
delights to dwell in a calm tabernacle.
He will not enter into a soul which is subject
to sin, nor stay where he finds his grace neglected.
If he vouchsafes us the blessing of a visit;
(and O how heavenly, sweet, and ravishing is his presence!)
Let us open wide our bosoms to receive him, and
summon all our powers to entertain him.
Come, my understanding, and bring all that you
knows; yea, bring all that enlightens thee in the way to felicity.
Come, my will, and call in all thy loves; and
contract them into one, and settle this one here for ever.
Come, my memory, with all thy multitudes and
swarms of notions; and forget them all, but what concerns eternity.
Come, my whole soul, with these thy faculties
about thee; come, and, prostrate, adore the eternal SPIRIT.
Behold, he is now with us, and sits in our hearts,
as on his throne, to receive our petitions, and give us his blessings.
He never will forsake us, if we chase him not
away; but will guide and comfort us with his holy inspirations.
Come then, and with devoutest
reverence attend; and let us hear what the LORD our GOD will say in us.
He leads us thus into retirement and silence,
and there familiarly speaks to our hearts.
O you our merciful, though offended God! behold, thus low, we bow our
heads:
Blushing for shame to see our folly, and so much
the more, because we see our duty.
Happy were we, if we could be still thinking
of thee, and raise all those thoughts into desires to be with thee.
Happy were we, could we always feel those fervors,
which sometimes you inspirest.
O were that spark kindled into a fire, and that
fire blown up into a continual flame!
Cure us, O you great Physician of souls; cure
us of all our sinful distempers.
Cure us of this intermitting piety, and fix it
into an even and a constant holiness.
O make us use religion as our regular diet, and
not only as a medicine in necessity.
Make us enter into a course of hearty repentance,
and practice virtue as our daily exercise.
So shall our souls be endued with perfect health,
and disposed for a long, even for an everlasting life.
Glory be, &c.
As it was.
Quicken us by
thy grace, O LORD, and give us thy HOLY SPIRIT,
that we may throughly
mortify the works f the flesh.
PSALM 9.
Now we have begun, permit us, mighty LORD, to
speak once more, who are but dust and ashes.
Let us go on, and confess to thee, and open before
thee all our miseries.
Such an occasion often endangers us; such a temptation
too often overcomes us.
Our own infirmities are too strong for us, and
our ill customs prevail against us.
Have mercy upon us, O GOD of infinite compassion!
Have mercy upon us, O you Comforter of afflicted minds!
Have mercy upon us, and pardon what is past;
have mercy upon us, and prevent what is to come.
Whenever you seest
us unhappily engaged, and blindly running on in the ways of death,
O send thy holy grace to check our speed, and
make us stay and look before us.
Show us the horrid downfall into that bottomless
pit, where impenitent sinners are swallowed up for ever.
Strike our regardless souls with fear and trembling,
at the dreadful sight of so sad a ruin.
Then turn our eyes; and kindly set before them
the beauteous prospect of a pious life.
Make us look long and steadily upon it, and make
us look through and see beyond it.
Give us, O gracious LORD, you free Beginner and
perfect Finisher of all virtuous actions!
Give us a right spirit to guide our intentions,
that we may aim directly at our true end.
Give us a faithful spirit to maintain our resolutions,
that what we wisely resolve on, we may steadfastly adhere to.
Give us an holy spirit to sanctify our affections,
that what we rightly design, we may piously pursue.
Suffer not the flesh to deceive us any more,
but fortify our spirit against all its assaults.
Away flesh and blood, away deceitful world; you
cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.
You were created only to serve us in the way,
and set us down at our journey's end.
Away with all your fond deluding dreams; be banished
for ever from our awakened souls.
Come, you blessed SPIRIT of faith, and govern
our lives with thy holy maxims.
Subdue our sense to the dictates of reason, and
perfect our reason with the mysteries of religion.
Teach us to love and fear what we see not now,
as at too great a distance for our short sight:
But what we are sure will hereafter be our bliss
or our misery for ever.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
PSALM 1O.
LET not our LORD be angry, and we will speak
yet once; for we have much to ask, and he has infinite to give.
We have much to ask for ourselves and all the
world, who depend entirely on his free goodness.
Many, O LORD, are the graces we want, and none
can give them but thy bounty.
Many are the sins and miseries we are exposed
to, and none can deliver us but thy providence.
Deliver us, O LORD, from what you knows is against.
us; deliver us from what we know ourselves will
undo us.
Deliver us from the spirit of profaneness and
infidelity; from the spirit of error, and schism, and heresy.
Deliver us from the spirit of pride and avarice;
from the spirit of anger, and sloth, and envy.
Deliver us from the spirit of drunkenness and
gluttony; from the spirit of lust and impurity.
Deliver us, O gracious GOD, from every evil spirit,
and vouchsafe to give us of thine own good SPIRIT.
Vouchsafe to give us the spirit of fortitude;
the spirit of temperance, and justice, and prudence;
The spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and
counsel; the spirit of knowledge, and piety, and fear of thee;
The spirit of peace, and patience, and benignity;
the spirit of humility, sobriety, and chastity.
O You, who never deniest
thy favors, except we first deny our obedience!
You who art often near us, when we are far from
thee;, often ready to grant, when we are unmindful to ask!
Refuse not, O LORD, to hear us, now we call upon
thee; and make us still hear thee, when you tallest to us.
Fill our understandings with the knowledge of
such truths, as may fix them on thee, the eternal Verity.
Inure our wills to embrace such objects, as may
unite them unto thee, the Sovereign Goodness.
Show us the narrow way that leads to life; the
way that few can find, and fewer follow.
Let not our faith grow wild with superfluous
branches, nor be stripped into a naked and fruitless trunk.
Let not our hope swell up to rash presumption,
nor shrink away into a faint despair.
Let not our love be cooled into a careless indifferency,
nor heated into a furious zeal.
Suffer us not obstinately to persist in any known
wickedness, nor maliciously to impugn any known truth. Suffer us not to die
in our sins, without repentance; but have mercy upon us at that serious hour,
and inspire us with thy grace now and always.
Have mercy upon us, and govern us in our life;
have mercy upon us, and save us in our death.
Glory be, &c.
As it was, &c.
HYMN 1.
COME, Holt SPIRIT,
send down those beams, Which gently flow in silent streams,
From thy bright
throne above; Come, you Enricher of the poor, And bounteous Source of all our store,
Come, fill us
with thy love.
Come You, our
soul's delicious Guest, The wearied pilgrim's sweetest Rest,
The sufferer's
best Relief:
Come You, our passions' cool Allay,
Whose comfort wipes all tears away,
And turns to joy
all grief.
All glory to the
sacred Three,
One everliving
Deity,
All power, and
bliss, and praise; As at the first when time begun,
May the same homage
still be done, Till time itself decays.
Blessed be thy name, O HOLY SPIRIT
of GOD, who dividest thy gifts to every one as
you pleasest, and workest all in all!
In thee our sorrows have a Comforter to allay them, and our sins an Advocate
to plead for them; in thee our ignorances have a
Guide to direct them, and our frailties a Confirmer to strengthen them, and
all our wants a GOD to relieve them. Hallelujah.
O GOD, who by thy HOLY SPIRIT didst
at first establish a church, and who sanctifying it by the same SPURT, dost
still preserve and govern it; hear, we beseech thee, the prayers of thy servants,
and mercifully grant us the perpetual assistance of thy grace, that we may
never be deceived by any false spirit, nor overcome by the suggestions of
flesh and blood, but in all our doubts may be directed in the ways of truth,
and in all our actions guided by this thy HOLY SPIRIT; who, with thee, and
thy eternal Son, liveth and reigneth,
one GOD, world without end. Amen.
IN THE EVENING.
PSALM 11.
COME, my soul, consider again who this is, yea,
who
the SPIRIT of the LORD is; that we may give unto
him the glory that is due unto his name.
For holy and reverend is his name; therefore
let us fear before him, and let him be glorified iii himself, and glorified
in all his saints.
Glorify him all ye saints, with the utmost powers
he has given you; glorify him with your whole spirits, which he has formed
and renewed in you.
G
