صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

ment, not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. O give me the comfort of thy help again, and stablish me with thy free Spirit; that i the remainder of my days may be passed in righteousness and peace, and eternity be spent in thy glory and praise. Amen.

For humility.

BLESSED Jesus, who in thy life and death hast set before us a perfect pattern of humility, enable me by thy grace to imitate thy condescension, that I may not by my pride lose the happiness which thy humility hath purchased for me. Make me sensible of my folly and weakness, my baseness and ingratitude by reason of my sins, which render me contemptible in thy sight. Let the thoughts of my vileness cover me with shame and confusion, check my vain and aspiring thoughts, and wean me from too fond an opinion of myself. To thee be the glory of all the good I enjoy; for from thee I received it. To thee be the glory of all the good I think or do; for it is thy grace which enables me both to will and to do according to thy good pleasure. O let me never purchase the praise of men by mean flattery and sinful compliances, nor listen to their applause with too great delight; but make me humble in my thoughts of myself and patient under reproaches and indignities, because I know I

deserve them, and because thou who wast without sin didst not disdain to suffer them for my sake. Grant this O blessed Jesus, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen.

[ocr errors]

For obedience to Commanders on Land or at Sea.

;

ALMIGHTY God, the fountain of truth and holiness, in whom to believe is life eternal let thy grace descend with power into my soul, beating down every strong hold, and bringing every proud thought and vain imagination of my heart into the obedience of Christ. Let me imitate the example of thy blessed Son, that as it was his meat and drink to do thy will, so also I may fulfil it with cheerfulness and humility; resting satisfied with the wisdom of thy laws, and submitting with patience to the dispensations of thy providence. Let thy Holy Spirit rule and sanctify every power and member both of my body and soul, that they may keep that beauteous order which in our creation thou didst intend and establish, and to which thou dost restore thy people in the renovation of grace; and let all my affections and faculties be devoted to thy service.

And may the love which I show in obeying thee make me dutiful and obedient to my superiors also, upon whom with thine own hand thou hast stamped the image of thy authority. Take from me all

frowardness and turbulence of spirit, all restless ambition and obstinate self-will, that I may never despise their persons, nor disregard their commands, nor choose my own work, nor murmur at their burthens. May I be lowly in my views and moderate in my desires, and resigned to the will of those whom thou hast set over me; and since all thy creatures obey thy word, grant that I alone may not disorder the creation, nor destroy the links of subordination which connect us with those whom thou hast raised above us, and bind us all to the foot of thy throne.

Bless the persons under whom thou hast more immediately placed me with thy especial favour, and crown them with continual honour. Grant them a long, prosperous, and religious command over the people committed to their charge, and grant us a quiet, humble, and obedient subjection to their will; that they ruling us prudently and in the fear of the Lord, we may obey them loyally with all lowliness and cheerfulness of mind, and that both we and they evermore endeavouring to set forth the beauty of thy Church militant here on earth, may be at last exalted to the glory of thy Church triumphant in the heavens, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3*

Another for the same.

ETERNAL God, great Ruler of men and angels, who hast constituted all things in a wonderful order, making all thy creatures subject to man, and one man to another, and all to Thee, the last link of this chain being fastened to the foot of thy throne; teach me to obey all those whom thou hast set over me, reverencing their persons, submitting indiscriminately to all their lawful commands, and cheerfully undergoing the burthens which their wisdom or the public necessity may at any time impose upon me.

[ocr errors]

Let me never murmur against their authority, lest the spirit of pride and mutiny, of disorder and misrule, should enter within me and consign me to the portion of the disobedient and rebellious, of the despisers of dominion, and revilers of dignity, whom thou shalt cast from thy presence. Grant this O God, for the sake of Him who for his obedience to thee hath been exalted far above all principality and power for ever and ever, thy Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

*

Ό

A prayer by a Commander for himself and others.

MOST holy and blessed Saviour, who for our sake didst descend from the glories of heaven to the labours and sufferings of this miserable

world, who didst pass from a painful life to an ignominious death, from the bitterness of death to the darkness of the grave, and by thy divine power didst raise thyself again from the dead in order that we might be exalted to life everlasting; I give thee thanks for thine infinite love to me and all mankind, I acknowledge thee to be my Lord and my God, I adore thy majesty and rejoice in thy mercy, and I will praise and magnify thee for ever and ever. Give me grace I humbly beseech thee, to believe all thy doctrines and to obey all thy commandments, that after a holy and religious life spent in doing honour to thy holy name, I may be made a partaker of thy glorious ressurrection; passing from death to life, from the darkness of the grave to the light of heaven, from the frailty and error of this mortal state to the perfection of holiness and the fulness of joy in thy everlasting kingdom. And since thou, who wert blessed for ever, didst stoop down from thy throne and humble thyself even to the death of the Cross; grant that I may never be lifted up with arrogance and pride, but bearing constantly in mind thine unspeakable humility and mine own unworthiness, I may be always disposed to condescend to men of low estate. Make me to know that though clothed with authority, I am nevertheless encompassed with infirmity, and that with power to determine the punishment of wrong do

« السابقةمتابعة »