LAUDS.

OUR Father, Hail Mary, &c.-page 39. Ant. Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is within me praise his holy name.

Psalm XVIII.

COME, let us sing the praises of our God, and joyfully proclaim his divine perfections. His being is from himself alone; and he depends not on any but his own eternal

essence.

His knowledge extends to all things, and his power rules them as he pleases.

His goodness is supremely infinite, and all his glorious attributes transcendantly adorable.

Come, let us sing the praises of our God, and joyfully recount his divine perfections. He is the source of all felicity; eternally full of his own unchangeable bliss.

Before time began, he was; and when the light of the sun will be extinguished, his day will shine in all its dazzling splendor.

The heaven of heavens is the palace of his glory, and all created nature the subject of his dominion.

In his presence the highest seraphim cover their faces, and all the blessed spirits bow down their heads.

Come, let us sing aloud the prerogatives of our God, and exert our utmost efforts to magnify his greatness.

But, O Lord of glory and majesty! how dare we wretches undertake thy praise!

How dare our sin-polluted lips pronounce thy name, or where shall we find expressions to make known thy grandeur!

All we can say is nothing to thy unspeakable excellencies; all we can think, but a faint shadow of thy inconceivable beauties.

Even the voice of angels is too weak to celebrate the wonders of thy nature, and their loftiest strains fall infinitely short of the homage due to thee.

In this, however, will thy servants rejoice, and all the powers of our souls be glad,

That thyself alone art thy own full praise, and the mirror of thy sovereign perfection.

Live, O great God! eternally encompassed with the beams of thy own inaccessible light. Live, O Creator! adored by all, and reign for ever on the throne of thy own immortal kingdom.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Psalm XIX.

Too glorious art thou, O Lord! in thyself, and thy brightness shines too vividly for our eyes.

Yet may we venture to praise thee in thy works, and contemplate thee, at least, when reflected from thy creatures.

In them we may safely behold the mighty author of all, and freely admire his boundless magnificence.

Heaven and earth are full of his greatness; heaven and earth were created by his

power.

From him all the hosts of angels have received their being; from him they have the honor of assisting in his presence.

F

He has kindled warmth and brightness in the sun, and beauteously garnished the firmament with stars.

He sent forth the air, and stored it with flocks of birds; he enclosed the waters, and replenished them with shoals of fishes.

He has established the earth on a firm foundation, and richly adorned it with innumerable varieties.

Every element is filled with his blessings; and all the world with the wonders of his liberality.

He spoke, and they were made; he commands, and they are still preserved in existence.

He regulates their motions by wisely established laws, and distributes to each its proper office:

Forming the whole into one vast machine, the spacious theatre of his own unlimited greatness.

O glorious architect of universal nature, who disposest all things in number, weight, and measure!

How effectually does thy wisdom engage us to admire thee! how does thy goodness oblige us to love thee!

Not for themselves only, O gracious God! didst thou create those happy spirits that surround thy throne; thou hast appointed them the guardians of thy little flock, to conduct them safely to the folds of bliss.

Not for themselves, at all, O bounteous Lord! were the rest of thy creatures made.

They serve to supply our wants, to sustain our lives in the way, and carry us on to our eternal home.

O may our souls first praise thee for themselves, and strive with all their power to advance in thy service.

May we praise thee, O Lord! for all thy gifts, and still value the giver infinitely above all he has bestowed.

May every blessing be a motive of gratitude, and every creature animate us to love thee.

Thus shall we happily arrive at our end, while theirs will be fully accomplished.

Thus shall we use this world, as if we used it not, locking forth continually to the felicity of that which is to come.