and attach us irrevocably to thy service; through Jesus Christ, thy Son, &c. V. O Lord hear, &c., page 74. COMPLIN, V. OUR help, &c., page 75. Ant. Thou art, O Lord! all goodness and patience; and we, alas! all sin and disobedience. Psalm XXXVII. How ungrateful are we, O God! how strangely regardless of our manifest duty!. Every creature hears thy voice, but us; every thing but us is governed by the laws thou hast established. The sun rises at regular periods, and sets exactly at his appointed time. If thou commandest, he stands still, and will even go back in obedience to thy will. And yet the sun looks not for any reward, nor does he aspire to a higher firmament. We who expect this glorious recompense, and aim at nothing less than the heaven of heavens, Shall we forget the law of our God, which alone can teach us the way to this eminent happiness? We who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, through the pure mercy of God, Shall we disregard the merits of such a Saviour, whose only design is to insure the peace of our souls? Shall we be insensible to so ardent a charity, whose only effect is to make us happy? O may thy holy will, dear Lord! be the rule of our life, and thy gracious hand our only guide! O may thy infinite goodness engage us to love thee, and thy blessed love prepare us to enjoy thee! Glory be to the Father, &c. Psalm XXXVIII. O THAT we pursued with fervor the way to heaven! but alas! we are not guided by thy sacred maxims. We run with eagerness after that which thou forbiddest, and what thou commandest we can scarcely be induced to perform; We boldly expose ourselves to temptation and sin, which duty requires us to shun more than death; We are alarmed at a trivial loss, or the frown of a fellow-being, when thou biddest us proceed with an undaunted courage; We act according to the dictates of fancy, and expect thy providence should yield to our humour; We would have thee to direct the course of thy mercies, as it suits our whim and convenience: Pardon, O Lord! this extraordinary folly, and teach us to submit to thee, That we may observe exactly what thou prescribest, how opposed soever to our inclinations. Thy wisdom, we know, is well acquainted with our infirmities, and thy goodness is always pleased to relieve them. Glory be to the Father, &c. Psalm XXXIX. THE sun that shines over our head, serves also, O Lord! to remind us of our duty to thee and our neighbour; Its cheering light enlivens all nature, and imparts a salutary warmth to the immense vanity of thy creatures; Instructing us to fulfil thy word, that the light of our good example may shine before men, and awaken in their hearts the fire of divine charity. As the sun, when under a cloud, is really above it, so should we always be superior to the trials we endure here below; And though occasionally enveloped in the gloom of sorrow and affliction, never cease to follow the light of virtue, Pursuing the same steady course in the practice of duty, whatever fluctuations of good or evil fortune may cross our path. In this only do we rejoice to be different from the brilliant king of day; That while he vanishes every evening from our view, and at length will be permanently extinguished; We will finish our course here, and sink below the horizon of this world, only to rise and set no more, but to shine perpetually in the firmament of everlasting glory. Glory be to the Father, &c. Ant. Thou art, O Lord! all goodness and patience, and we alas! all sin and disobedience. Hymn. BE praised, O Lord! thy wisdom deep, That regulates the day: And in the night affords us sleep, If work the labourer's strength impairs As every night lays down our head, So shall the dust be once our bed, |