Sunday Morning.
A COLLECTION OF FORMS OF PRAYER,
FOR EVERY DAY IN THE WEEK.
(FIRST PRINTED IN THE YEAR 1733.)
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SUNDAY MORNING.
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, I, thy unworthy servant, desire to present myself, with all humility, before thee, to offer my morning sacrifice of love and thanksgiving. Glory be to thee, O most adorable Father, who, after thou hadst finished the work of creation, enteredst into thy eternal rest. Glory be to thee, O holy Jesus, who having through the eternal Spirit, offered thyself a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, didst rise again the third day from the dead, and hadst all power given thee both in heaven and on earth. Glory be to thee, O blessed Spirit, who, proceeding from the Father and the Son, didst come down in fiery tongues on the Apostles on the first day of the week, and didst enable them to preach the glad tidings of salvation to a sinful world, and hast ever since been moving on the faces of men’s souls, as thou didst once on the face of the great deep, bringing them out of that dark chaos in which they were involved. Glory be to thee, O holy, undivided Trinity, for jointly concurring in the great work of our redemption, and restoring us again to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Glory be to thee, who, in compassion to human weakness, hast appointed a solemn day for the remembrance of thy inestimable benefits. O let me ever esteem it my privilege and happiness to have a day set apart for the concerns of my soul, a day free from distractions, disengaged from the world, wherein I have nothing to do but to praise and love thee. O let it ever be to me a day sacred to divine love, a day of heavenly rest and refreshment. Let thy Holy Spirit, who, on the first day of the week, descended in miraculous gifts on thy Apostles, descend on me thy unworthy servant, that I may be always “in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” Let his blessed inspiration prevent and assist me in all the duties of this thy sacred day, that my wandering thoughts may all be fixed on thee, my tumultuous affections composed, and my flat and cold desires quickened into fervent longings and thirstings after thee. O let me join in the prayers and praises of thy Church with ardent and heavenly affection, hear thy word with earnest attention and a fixed resolution to obey it. And when I approach thy altar, pour into my heart humility, faith, hope, love, and all those holy dispositions which become the solemn remembrance of a crucified Savior. Let me employ this whole day to the ends for which it was ordained, in works of necessity and mercy, in prayer, praise, and meditation; and “let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, by always acceptable in thy sight.”
I know, O Lord, that thou hast commanded me, and therefore it is my duty, to love thee with all my heart, and with all my strength. I know thou art infinitely holy and overflowing in all perfection; and therefore it is my duty so to love thee.
I know thou hast created me, and that I have neither being nor blessing but what is the effect of thy power and goodness.
I know thou art the end for which I was created, and that I can expect no happiness but in thee.
I know that in love to me, being lost in sin thou didst send thy only Son, and that he, being the Lord of glory, did humble himself to the death upon the cross, that I might be raised to glory.
I know thou hast provided me with all necessary helps for carrying me through this life to that eternal glory, and this out of the excess of thy pure mercy to me, unworthy of all mercies.
I know thou hast promised to be thyself my “exceeding great reward;” though it is thou alone who thyself “workest in me both to will and to do of thy good pleasure.”
Upon these, and many other titles, I confess it is my duty to love thee, my God, with all my heart. Give thy strength unto thy servant, that thy love may fill my heart, and be the motive of all the use I make of my understanding, my affections, my senses, my health, my time, and whatever other talents I have received from thee. Let this, O God, rule my heart without a rival; let it dispose all my thoughts, words, and works; and thus only can I fulfill my duty and thy command, of loving thee “with all my heart, and mind, and soul, and strength.”
O thou infinite Goodness, confirm thy past mercies to me, by enabling me, for what remains of my life, to be more faithful than I have hitherto been to this thy great command. For the time I have yet to sojourn upon earth, O let me fulfill this great duty. Permit me not to be in any delusion here; let me not trust in words, or sighs, or tears, but love thee even as thou hast commanded. Let me feel, and then I shall know, what it is to love thee with all my heart.
O merciful God, whatsoever thou deniest me, deny me not this love. Save me from the idolatry of “loving the world, or any of the things of the world.” Let me never love any creature, but for thy sake, and in subordination to thy love. Take thou the full possession of my heart; raise there thy throne, and command there as thou dost in heaven. Being created by thee, let me live to thee; being created for thee, let me ever act for thy glory; being redeemed by thee, let me render unto thee what is thine, and let my spirit ever cleave to thee alone.
Let the prayers and sacrifices of thy holy Church, offered unto thee this day, be graciously accepted. “Clothe thy Priests with righteousness, and pardon all thy people who are not prepared according to the preparation of the sanctuary.” Prosper all those who are sincerely engaged in propagating or promoting thy faith and love (——) 30: “Give thy Son the Heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession;” that from the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same, thy name may be great among the Gentiles. Enable us of this nation, and especially those whom thou hast set over us in Church and State, in our several stations, to serve thee in all holiness, and to “know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.” Continue to us the means of grace, and grant we may never provoke thee, by our non-improvement, to deprive us of them. Pour down thy blessing upon our Universities, that they may ever promote true religion and sound learning. Show mercy, O Lord, to my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, to all my friends, (——) 31 relations, and enemies, and to all that are in affliction. Let thy fatherly hand be over them, and thy Holy Spirit ever with them; that, submitting themselves entirely to thy will, and directing all their thoughts, words, and works to thy glory, they, and those that are already dead in the Lord, may at length enjoy thee, in the glories of thy kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for ever.