The Literary Remains | Page 4

obedience

thou deignest to behold as many as have received the seed of Christ
into the body of this death;--I offer this my bounden nightly sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving, in humble trust, that the fragrance of my
Saviour's righteousness may remove from it the taint of my mortal
corruption. Thy mercies have followed me through all the hours and
moments of my life; and now I lift up my heart in awe and thankfulness
for the preservation of my life through the past day, for the alleviation
of my bodily sufferings and languors, for the manifold comforts which
thou hast reserved for me, yea, in thy fatherly compassion hast rescued
from the wreck of my own sins or sinful infirmities;--for the kind and
affectionate friends thou hast raised up for me, especially for those of
this household, for the mother and mistress of this family whose love to
me hath been great and faithful, and for the dear friend, the supporter
and sharer of my studies and researches; but above all, for the heavenly
Friend, the crucified Saviour, the glorified Mediator, Christ Jesus, and
for the heavenly Comforter, source of all abiding comforts, thy Holy
Spirit! O grant me the aid of thy Spirit, that I may with a deeper faith, a
more enkindled love, bless thee, who through thy Son hast privileged
me to call thee Abba, Father! O, thou who hast revealed thyself in thy
holy word as a God that hearest prayer; before whose infinitude all
differences cease of great and small; who like a tender parent
foreknowest all our wants, yet listenest well-pleased to the humble
petitions of thy children; who hast not alone permitted, but taught us, to
call on thee in all our needs,--earnestly I implore the continuance of thy
free mercy, of thy protecting providence, through the coming night.
Thou hearest every prayer offered to thee believingly with a penitent
and sincere heart. For thou in withholding grantest, healest in inflicting
the wound, yea, turnest all to good for as many as truly seek thee
through Christ, the Mediator! Thy will be done! But if it be according
to thy wise and righteous ordinances, O shield me this night from the
assaults of disease, grant me refreshment of sleep unvexed by evil and
distempered dreams; and if the purpose and aspiration of my heart be
upright before thee who alone knowest the heart of man, O in thy
mercy vouchsafe me yet in this my decay of life an interval of ease and
strength; if so (thy grace disposing and assisting) I may make
compensation to thy church for the unused talents thou hast entrusted to
me, for the neglected opportunities, which thy loving-kindness had

provided. O let me be found a labourer in the vineyard, though of the
late hour, when the Lord and Heir of the vintage, Christ Jesus, calleth
for his servant.
'Our Father', &c.
To thee, great omnipresent Spirit, whose mercy is over all thy works,
who now beholdest me, who hearest me, who hast framed my heart to
seek and to trust in thee, in the name of my Lord and Saviour Christ
Jesus, I humbly commit and commend my body, soul, and spirit.
Glory be to thee, O God!

NOTES ON THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
PRAYER.
A man may pray night and day, and yet deceive himself; but no man
can be assured of his sincerity, who does not pray. Prayer is faith
passing into act; a union of the will and the intellect realizing in an
intellectual act. It is the whole man that prays. Less than this is wishing,
or lip-work; a charm or a mummery. 'Pray always', says the
Apostle;--that is, have the habit of prayer, turning your thoughts into
acts by connecting them with the idea of the redeeming God, and even
so reconverting your actions into thoughts.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST.
The best preparation for taking this sacrament, better than any or all of
the books or tracts composed for this end, is, to read over and over
again, and often on your knees--at all events, with a kneeling and
praying heart--the Gospel according to St. John, till your mind is
familiarized to the contemplation of Christ, the Redeemer and Mediator
of mankind, yea, and of every creature, as the living and self-subsisting
Word, the very truth of all true being, and the very being of all
enduring truth; the reality, which is the substance and unity of all
reality; 'the light which lighteth every man', so that what we call reason,

is itself a light from that light, 'lumen a luce', as the Latin more
distinctly expresses this fact. But it is not merely light, but therein is
life; and it is the life of Christ, the co-eternal son of