APPENDIX VI. Devotions. (FROM BISHOP TAYLOR'S "HOLY LIVING.") I. "GREAT LORD and Governor of all things, LORD and Creator of all things visible and invisible, who sittest upon the throne of Thy glory, and beholdest the secrets of the lowest abyss and darkness, Thou art without beginning, uncircumscribed, incomprehensible, unalterable, and seated for ever unmoveable in Thy own essential happiness and tranquillity, Thou art the FATHER of our LORD Jesus CHRIST, who is "Our dearest and most gracious Saviour, our hope, the wisdom of the FATHER, the image of Thy goodness, the word eternal, and the brightness of Thy Person, the power of GOD from eternal ages, the true light that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, the redemption of man, and the sanctification of our spirits. "By whom the Holy Ghost descended upon the Church; the Holy Spirit of truth, the seal of adoption; the earnest of the inheritance of the saints; the life-giving power; the fountain of sanctification; the comfort of the Church, the ease of the afflicted, the support of the weak, the wealth of the poor, the teacher of the doubtful; the anchor of the fearful; the infinite reward of Faithful souls, by whom all reasonable creatures serve Thee, and send up a never-ceasing and a never-rejected sacrifice of prayer, and praises, and adoration. "All Angels and Archangels, all thrones and dominions, all principalities and powers, the cherubim with many eyes, the seraphim covered with wings from the terror and amazement of Thy brightest glory; these, and all the powers of heaven, do perpetually sing praises and never-ceasing hymns to the glory of the eternal GOD, the Almighty Father of men and angels. "Holy is our GOD; Holy is the Almighty; Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD GOD of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory. Amen. With these holy and blessed spirits I also, Thy servant, O Thou great lover of souls, though I be unworthy to offer praise to such a majesty, yet, out of my bounden duty, humbly offer up my heart and voice to join in the blessed choir, and confess the glories of the LORD. "1. Thou madest man out of the dust of the earth, and didst form him after thine own image; Thou didst place him in a garden of pleasure, and gavest him laws of righteousness to be to him a seed of immortality. "O that men would therefore praise the LORD for His goodness, and declare the wonders that He doeth for the children of men!' "2. For when man sinned, and listened to the whispers of a tempting spirit, and refused the voice of GOD, Thou didst throw him out from Paradise, and sentest him to till the earth; but yet leftest not his condition without remedy, but didst provide for him the salvation of a new birth, and by the Blood of Thy Son didst redeem and pay the price to Thine own creature, lest the work of Thine own hands should perish. 66 ""O that men would therefore praise the LORD,' etc. "3. For Thou, O LORD, in every age didst send testimonies from heaven, blessings and prophets; and, in the fulness of time, spakest to us by Thy Son, Who, being before all time, was pleased to be born in time to converse with men, to be incarnate of a holy virgin. He emptied Himself of all glories, took on Him the form of a servant, in all things being made like unto us, in a soul of passions and discourse, in a body of humiliation and sorrow, but in all things innocent, and in all things afflicted; and suffered death for us, that we by Him might live, and be partakers of His nature and His glories, of His Body and His Spirit, of the blessings of earth, and of immortal felicities in Heaven. ""O that men would therefore praise,' etc. "4. For Thou, O holy and immortal GOD, O sweetest Saviour JESUS, hast brought us to the knowledge of the true and only GOD and our Father, and hast made us to Thyself a peculiar people of Thine own purchase, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; Thou hast washed our souls in the laver of regeneration, the sacrament of baptism; Thou hast reconciled us by Thy death, justified us by Thy resurrection, sanctified us by Thy Spirit, sending Him upon Thy Church in visible forms, and continuing His incomparable favour in gifts and sanctifying graces, and promising that He shall abide with us for ever; Thou hast fed us with Thine own broken Body, and given drink to our souls of Thine own heart, and hast ascended up on high, and hast overcome all the powers of death and hell, and redeemed us from the miseries of a sad eternity; and sittest at the right hand of GOD, making intercession for us with a neverceasing charity. "O that men would therefore praise the Lord,' etc. 66 5. The grave could not hold Thee long, O holy and eternal JESUS; Thy Body could not see corruption, neither could Thy Soul be left in hell; Thou wert free among the dead, and Thou breakest the gates of death, and the bars and chains of the lower prisons. Thou broughtest comfort to the souls of the patriarchs, who waited for Thy coming, who longed for the redemption of man, and the revelation of Thy day. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saw Thy day, and rejoiced; and when Thou didst arise from Thy bed. of darkness, and leftest the grave-clothes behind Thee, and didst put on a robe of glory (over which for forty days Thou didst wear a veil), and then enteredst into a cloud, and then into glory, then death lost its power, and was swallowed up in victory; and though death is not quite destroyed, yet it is made harmless and without a sting, and the condition of human nature is made an entrance to eternal glory; and art become the Prince of life, the first-fruits of the resurrection, the first-born from the dead, having made the way plain before our faces, that we may again arise in the resurrection of the last day, when Thou wilt come again to us, to render to every man according to his works. "O that men would therefore praise the Lord,' etc. 666 "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth for ever. 666 "O all ye angels of the Lord, praise ye the Lord; praise Him, and magnify Him for ever. "Oye'spirits and souls of the righteous, praise ye the Lord; praise Him and magnify Him for ever!' "I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, secretly among the faithful, and in the congregation. For salvation belongeth unto the LORD, and Thy blessing is upon Thy servant. But as for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercies, and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy Temple. For of Thee, and in Thee, and through and for Thee, are all things. Blessed be the name of GOD, from generation to generation. Amen.” "L II. (Ejaculations to be used after Communicating.) ORD, if I had lived innocently, I could not have deserved to receive the crumbs that fall from Thy table. How great is Thy mercy, who hast feasted me with the bread of virgins, with the wine of angels, with manna from heaven! "O when shall I pass from this dark glass, from this veil of Sacraments, to the vision of the eternal charity; from eating the Body, to beholding the Face in Thy eternal kingdom? "Let not my sins crucify the LORD of life again : let it never be said concerning me, 'The hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the Table.' "O that I might love Thee as well as ever any creature loved Thee! Let me think nothing but |
