We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out

THURSDAY

This entry is part 5 of 11 in the series THE DEVOTIONS of BISHOP ANDREWS

EARLY in the morning do I cry un-
to thee; for in thy word is my trust.

O satisfy me with thy mercy, and that
soon; so shall I rejoice, and be glad, all
the days of my life.

BLESSED art thou, O Lord, who
didst, as on this day, command the wa-
ters to bring forth abundantly, the mov-
ing creature that hath life; the fish, and
fowl, great whales, and winged birds;
and didst bless them, and give them
power to increase and multiply.

Blessed art thou, O Lord, who didst,
as on this day, return to thy Father’s
throne.

Set up thyself, O God, above the
heavens; and thy glory above all the
earth: And by thy ascension, so draw
us after thee, that we may henceforth
set our affections on things above, and
not on things on the earth.

By that salutary and venerable sacra-
ment of thy most holy body and most
precious blood, which thou, on this day’s
evening, wert pleased to institute, have
mercy upon us, and deliver us, good
Lord.

An Act of Confession.

O THOU, who hast most solemnly
declared, As I live, saith the Lord, I
have no pleasure in the death of a sin-
ner; but would rather that he should
turn from his wickedness, and live:
Turn ye, turn ye, from the evil of your
ways, for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? Turn thou us, O good Lord, to
thee, and so shall we be turned. Yea,
turn us from all our iniquities, that they
may not be our ruin.

I have sinned, I have committed in-
iquity, I have done wickedly and have
rebelled; even by departing from thy
commandments, and thy judgments.

Unto thee, O Lord, belongeth righte-
ousness, but unto, us confusion of face,
as at this day; because of our trespass,
which we have trespassed.

O Lord, unto us belong shame and
reproach; to our kings, to our princes,
and to our fathers, because, we have
sinned against thee.

O Lord, according to all thy righte-
ousness, I beseech thee let thine anger,
and thy fury be turned away, and cause
thy face to shine on me, thy sorrowful
and penitent creature.

O my God, incline thine ear, and
hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and
see my great affliction: O Lord, hear;
O Lord, forgive; O Lord hearken, and
do; defer not for thine own sake, O my
God: For thy servant is called by thy
name.

In many things we offend all: Lord,
when thou bringest my sins to account,
let mercy rejoice against judgment. If
I say that I have no sin, I deceive my-
self, and the truth is not in me. But I
will confess my many and grievous of-
fences, that thou mayest be just and
faithful in forgiving my sins, and clean-
sing me from all unrighteousness.

And, for this purpose, I have an ad-
vocate with thee, thy only begotton Son,
Jesus Christ the righteous; O let him.
be an effectual propitiation for my sins,
who is a sufficient propitiation for the
sins of the whole world!

Will the Lord cast off for ever?
And will he be no more entreated ? Is
his mercy clean gone, and doth his pro-
mise fail for evermore? Hath God for-
gotten to be gracious? And will he shut
up his loving-kindness in displeasure!
No, these distrusts are from my own
infirmity: But I will remember the years
of the right hand of the Most High.
I will meditate also on thy truth and
goodness; and comfort myself with thy
mercies of old time.

A Prayer for Grace.

O THOU, without whom I can do no-
thing, help me to lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset
me: All filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness; the lust of the flesh; the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life:
Every motion of the body, and of the
mind, which is repugnant to thy holy
will.

Give me poverty in spirit; that mine
may be the kingdom of heaven: Godly
sorrow; that I may be comforted:
Meekness, that I may inherit the earth:
Hunger and thirst after righteousness,
that I may be filled. Grant me to be
merciful, that I may obtain mercy:
Pure in heart, that I may see God: A
maker of peace, that I may be called a
child of God. Prepare me patiently to
undergo revilings, persecutions, and
evil falsely spoken for righteousness
sake; that my reward may be great in
heaven.

An Act of Faith.

I COME to God, in firm belief that
he is: And that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him.

I know that my Redeemer liveth,
that he is the Christ, the Son of the
living God: That he is of a truth the
Saviour of the world; that he came
into the world to save sinners, of whom
I am chief. By the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, we trust to be saved, even
as our fathers.

I know that this frail body shall rise
again, and stand at the latter day upon
the earth: At which time, I steadfastly
depend upon seeing the goodness of the
Lord, in the land of the living.

My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, be-
cause I have hoped in his holy name.

By all thy endearing titles of God,
Father, Creator, Saviour, Mediator, In-
tercessor, Redeemer, and two-fold Com-
forter, typefied by the Lamb, and by
the Dove, I beseech thee, Three Per-
sons, One God, let thy merciful kind-
ness be upon me, like as I do put my
trust in thee.

An Act of Intercession.

LET us pray, in the peace of the
Lord, for that peace which the world
cannot give; which cometh fromn above,
for the comfort and salvation of our
souls.

Let us also beg of God peace for all
mankind, especially for tranquillity, firm
establishment, and perpetual safety, to
his holy catholic church; and a good a-
greement, and godly union of Christians
with each other.

To this end I implore his blessing, in
a more particular manner, upon our re-
verend fathers, the bishops, all the sub-
ordinate clergy, and all congregations
committed to their charge; particularly
those that minister in holy things, and all
the good people who dwell in this place,
under their ministry.

That God would give temperate and
healthful weather; kindly and fruitful
seasons; quiet and comfortable times;
that he would accompany and direct all
travellers by land or by water; that he
would make the beds of the sick, hear
the cries of the oppressed, let the im-
prisoned go free, sustain the afflicted and
dejected; sanctifying all, and, by such
means as his wisdom knows best, giving
an happy issue to their respective suf-
ferings.

I will also, after the example of the
saints before me, commend myself, my
life, and every action and event of it to
thee, my Lord, and my God; For un-
to thee belongeth glory, and honour,
and worship.

The Lord is my light, and my salva-
tion, whom then shall I fear? The Lord
is the strength of my life, of what shall
I be afraid ?

For lo! I have deposited myself, my
friends, and all that is mine, in the hands
of him who is able to keep us from falling,
and to present us faultless before the pre-
sence of his glory with exceeding joy:
Even thy hands, my only wise God and
Saviour, to whom be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever.
Amen.

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the fellow-
ship of the Holy Ghost, be therefore,
with me, and with all whom I have pray-
ed for. Amen.

An Act of Praise.

O LORD, my good and gracious God,
for that thou hast given me being, for
that thou hast given me life, for that
thou has given me reason, for that thy
bountiful providence hath nourished me,
preserved me, directed and governed
me:

For my education, for my civil sta-
tion, for my religion, for all thy gifts of
peace (grace?), of nature, of fortune:

For my redemption, regeneration, in-
struction in the truth: For thy calls to
me, for thy repeated calls, for thy conti-
nuing to repeat those calls times without
number; for thy forbearance and long-
suffering, thy long, thy very long-suffer-
ing, after great provocations, upon many
occasions, for so many years, and even to
this very time;

For every mercy which I have re-
ceived; for every undertaking in which
thou hast prospered me; for every good
action (if any action of mine be good)
which thou hast enabled me to do; for
all the enjoyments of this present life,
and for all thy promises, and all my
hopes of a better life to come:

For the advantage of indulgent and
careful parents; for the benefit of gen-
tle teachers; for the kindness of never
to be forgotten benefactors; for the
pleasure of agreeable friends; for the
comfort of peaceable neighbours; for
the satisfaction of trusty, frugal and di-
ligent servants:

For all who have at any time done
me good; by their writings, or by their
sermons; by their discourse, or by their
temper; by their prayers, or by their ex-
amples; by their advice, or by their re-
proofs; by their rewards, or by their
punishments; nay, perhaps, even by
their causeless censures of me, or un-
just proceedings against me:

For all these, and for all other instan-
ces of any manner of good done to me,
whether asked or unasked; whether in-
tended or not intended; whether known
or unknown; whether remembered or
forgotten; whether with or against my
own consent: I do, and will, praise
thee; I do, and will, bless thee; I do,
and will, humbly adore thee, and most
heartily thank thee, this day, and every-
day of my life.

O! what is thy servant, or what is
my father’s house, that the great and
glorious God should look upon such a
dead dog as I am ?

What shall I render unto the Lord
for all the benefits that he hath done
unto me? For all that mercy which
spared me when I deserved punishment;
for all that patience which did not dis-
dain to wait for my happy change;
when so much goodness should at length
lead me to repentance.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Al-
mighty, which was, and is, and is to
come; thou art worthy, O Lord, to re-
ceive glory, and honour, and power; for
thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created.

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