children of the Resurrection. He says, "I desire to depart;" but he was departing to CHRIST. Let us fear death exceedingly, until we have drawn the sting, which is sin; fear nothing so greatly, nothing so constantly, unless it be Judgment and Hell, to which death conducts all who are not "found in CHRIST." Devotions. LORD, have mercy upon us. Our FATHER, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Psalm cxxx. Amen. Out of the deep have I called unto Thee, O LORD: LORD, hear my voice. Oh let Thine ears consider well: the voice of my complaint. If Thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss: O LORD, who may abide it? For there is mercy with Thee: therefore shalt Thou be feared. I look for the LORD; my soul doth wait for Him: in His word is my trust. My soul fleeth unto the LORD: before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch. O Israel, trust in the LORD, for with the LORD there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel: from all his sins, Glory be to the FATHER, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. Psalm cxliii. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and consider my desire : hearken unto me for Thy truth and righteousness' sake. And enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground: he hath laid me in the darkness, as the men that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit vexed within me and my heart within me is desolate. Yet do I remember the time past; I muse upon all Thy works: yea, I exercise myself in the works of Thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto Thee: my soul gaspeth unto Thee as a thirsty land. Hear me, O LORD, and that soon, for my spirit waxeth faint hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Oh let me hear Thy loving-kindness betimes in the morning, for in Thee is my trust: show Thou me the way that I should walk in, for I lift up my soul unto Thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: for I flee unto Thee to hide me. Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth Thee, for Thou art my GoD: let Thy loving SPIRIT lead me forth into the land of righteousness. Quicken me, O LORD, for Thy Name's sake: and for Thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of Thy goodness slay mine enemies and destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am Thy servant. Glory be to the FATHER, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. Jeremiah xiii. 15-18, Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive. Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. S. Luke xvi. 19-31. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Prayers. In the hour of death and in the day of judgment, Good LORD, deliver me. May it please Thee, O LORD, by the influence of Thy divine grace upon my stony heart, to dissolve the same into a flood of tears, and to fill me with a holy fear and saving terror, that I may perform all the sacred acts and offices of true repentance, unto the remission of all my sins, through the merits and mediation of JESUS CHRIST, Thy SON our LORD. Amen. Let the tenderness of my conscience and the SPIRIT of God call to mind my sins, that they may be confessed and repented of. Let Thy mighty grace draw out from my soul every sort of bitterness, lest the remains of the old man be accursed with the reserves of Thy wrath but in the union of the Holy JESUS, and in the charities of GOD and of the world, and the communion of all the Saints, let me die, through JESUS. CHRIST MY SAVIOUR. Amen. my : Cast Defiled with sins, and naked of good deeds, I that am the meat of worms cry vehemently in spirit. not Thy wretch away from Thy Face. Place me not on Thy left hand, Who with Thy hands didst fashion me, but give rest unto my soul, for Thy great mercy's sake O LORD. Amen. O holy and most gracious SAVIOUR JESUS, I humbly commit myself into Thy most merciful hands. Defend me in the hour of death from the violence and malice of my ghostly enemies, and drive far from me all the Spirits of darkness. Amen. Grant that I may never sleep in sin or death eternal, but that I may have my part in the first Resurrection, and that the second death may not prevail over me. Amen. Oh spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen. Amen. Glory be to the FATHER, &c. CHAPTER III.-JUDGMENT. WHOEVER thou art thou must die, and that soon: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the Judgment." Thy soul must be judged, thy mind must be judged, thy body must be judged, even thy whole self; for these make up the man. These all should be "preserved blameless unto the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST." GOD trieth "the very heart and reins," is a "discerner of the thoughts," and calls all men to account for the "deeds done in the body." Thou hast lived many years, and hast sinned with the members of thy body, the desires of thy heart, the powers of thy mind. Canst thou count thy sins, the sins even of one member? Canst thou Canst thou say how often thou hast incurred wrath under this one law: "For every idle word that men shall speak they shall give 1 1 Thess. v. 23. |