Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

out thee I can never hope to partake of heavenly bliss. Blessed Lord, I devote myself to thee once more, purposing to be thy true and faithful disciple; I desire to follow thy blessed example; to obey thy precepts; to do thy work. O help me by thy Spirit to fulfil the purposes of my heart! hoping for thy divine favour, and trusting in thy divine aid, I will now offer up my humble thanksgivings to the throne of grace.

ner.

Almighty Father, great and numberless have been thy mercies to me, thy poor creature, and I desire, with a grateful heart, to offer unto thee the tribute of thanksgiving. O what am I, that thou shouldst so regard me! Most mighty God! I know that in comparison of thee I am nothing, nay worse than nothing, for I am a miserable sinThou hast created me, thou hast given me an immortal soul, but I have not lived agreeably to thy will in all things, as was my bounden duty. Yet thou hast spared me! yet thou hast given me hopes of salvation through a crucified Saviour! O merciful and gracious God, I thank thee with my whole heart for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life, but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the hopes of glory. I thank thee for the comfort of dutiful children. I thank thee for thy fatherly care of them since thou wert pleased to take their earthly father from them. I thank thec for the heavenly

[blocks in formation]

consolation thou hast afforded to me in my state of widowhood. Almighty Father, in thee is my trust; never wilt thou forsake us while we keep to thy commandments. May thy will be done by me and mine in all things! O help our infirmities, pity our weaknesses. O Lord, gracious art thou and merciful. May we never forfeit thy loving kindness by wilful disobedience. May we be admitted to thy glorious presence hereafter. It is thy will that we should learn of thy dear Son how to please thee, holy Father. I will study the Gospel of thy Son. May thy Spirit open my mind to comprehend all the divine truths which are written for our learning.

July 19. O Lord, I most graciously beseech thee to give thy heavenly benediction to my dear son, who is this day going to engage in the holy state of matrimony. May he find in the object of his affections a kind and loving wife, and may. they live in harmony together as long as thou shalt see fit to continue their lives; serving thee, and loving one another, and bringing up their children, if thou art pleased to give them any, in thy faith and fear. Blessed and adorable Saviour, thou wast once present at a marriage feast, and didst testify by a miracle thy approbation of this sacred union between man and woman. Vouchsafe to be present this day, to bless my dear son and his chosen helpmate.

July 20. As I am not conscious of any particular sins but such as I humbly trust my heavenly

Father will, in compassion to the infirmities of my nature, pardon for my dear Redeemer's sake, I will not at this time give way to sorrow for the commission of them; but will rather indulge the disposition I at present feel to rejoice in the Lord. O Lord, I do rejoice with thankfulness, in thy infinite goodness, which has given to sinners encouragement to hope for forgiveness and favour. O Lord, I know and confess, that but for thy promises, I could have no foundation to build these hopes upon; and without these hopes I should be a miserable creature. Vouchsafe to receive my acknowledgments of thy goodness. God of my life, how can I testify my gratitude towards thee? O that I could serve thee like the angels in heaven! may I be found hereafter among them! Gracious Father, how can I thank thee sufficiently for the hopes of eternal felicity? How can I sufficiently thank thee for the blessings and comforts thou in thy great goodness dost afford to me in this mortal state! How bountiful art thou! How often dost thou make my widowed heart to sing for joy! Let the feelings of my heart speak what words cannot express. Most holy Father! mer

ciful God! I beseech thee to continue to me and mine thy heavenly benediction. In thee is my trust, let me never be confounded.

Aug. 17. How quickly do the Sabbaths come round! six parts out of seven of the time allotted us on earth pass insensibly away while we are engaged in worldly pursuits. The return of the

Sabbath is comfortable and delightful to those who love God; and could we but raise our thoughts from earth, and fix them entirely upon heavenly things, how much more delightful would the Sabbath be! very seldom am I able to do this till the evening of the Sabbath, when I retire to this place to meditate in private; and then I have often a foretaste of heavenly joys, at least I have some faint idea of the nature of them, I think; enough to make me long to quit this earthly existence, to enter on a higher and better state. But my days of probation are not yet expired. God only knows how soon they may end. I must endeavour to keep myself prepared against my Lord's coming.

O merciful and gracious Father, Lord God Almighty, penetrated with the deepest sense of thine infinite goodness and condescension, in encouraging a poor weak sinful mortal thus to address thee, and heartily sorry for my sins and offences, I most humbly beseech thee to pardon me for Jesus Christ's sake, thy Son and my Saviour. O Lord God, merciful Father, I offer and present unto thy divine Majesty my humblest praises and thanksgivings for all thy goodness and loving kindness. I bless thee for thy great goodness in preserving me and my dear children for so long a time from sickness. I bless thee for providing so comfortably for us, for granting to us domestic peace and harmony, and above all, for keeping us, as I humbly trust, in the way of peace and holiness.

O merciful God, how good and gracious art thou. When I would reckon up thy mercies, they are more than I am able to express; and they are crowned with the hope of glory and immortality. O Lord, I aspire, through faith in Christ Jesus, I aspire after heavenly joys. When shall I come and appear before thee? When shall I behold thy presence in righteousness? Not till I have put off this sinful nature, and am washed in the blood of the Lamb. Gracious God, with what pleasure do I contemplate on thy divine nature! how glad I am to have my faith in the Holy Trinity confirmed! evermore by thy grace keep me stedfast in this comfortable faith.

Aug. 24. O how I sometimes feel the loss of my dear departed husband! but thanks to the goodness of the Almighty, my sorrow is softened, and I can think of him with pleasure and comfort. I cherish the sweet hope of meeting him again in heaven, of passing an eternity with him. O my dearest husband, thy virtues are dear to my recollection; my heart exults whenever I call to mind any good action of thine. How tender and compassionate wast thou to the widow and the fatherless, in taking a certain youth with a design to relieve his mother from the care and expence he occasioned her. How amply has God blessed thy widow and fatherless children. I love to think that we enjoy blessings, perhaps, for thy dear sake.

« ElőzőTovább »