OUR Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on 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: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, evermore. Amen. Should the following HYMNS be thought to breathe a more melancholy spirit than our religion of "glad tidings" is calculated to inspire, the Compiler of this little Work would mention, that they were chiefly written during a period of severe and protracted suffering, and refer the reader to the annexed words of Holy Inspiration, as, perhaps, some of those in the sacred volume, best calculated to soothe and strengthen the afflicted Christian :— "God chastens us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Heb. xii. 10, 11. "Our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. iv. 17. "In the world ye shall have tribulatioù, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John xvi. 33. |