And living man shall have been left far behind and I shall be where all is strange, : Be Thou with me even then: guide Thou my steps through the valley of the shadow of death. Then I will not fear for aught that may happen the powers of hell shall not confound my soul. : O therefore let me cling unto Thee all my life long and cleave unto thy statutes day after day. : Then in death I shall not be parted from Thee in hell I shall not be cast away from thy. presence. But Thou wilt refresh my soul: Thou wilt keep me in safety, Until Thou shalt appear in thy glorious body and restore unto me my body after thine image. O Thou that hast brought me forth from the captivity of sin and death and set me in the large room of light and life, : An earnest of thy deliverance from the grave a foretaste of the joy of thy kingdom to come, Enable me with strength to cling unto Thee: further me in the way which Thou hast set before me. O my Redeemer, I lay me down in peace : verily my soul reposeth on Thee. XXIX. MAN'S STATE BY REDEMPTION SUPERIOR TO THAT OF HIS FORMER INNOCENCE. O LORD, how unsearchable are the riches of thy mercy and the ways of thy wisdom past finding out. Do I murmur at the blackness of the night: do I complain of the terrors of the darkness? Shall not thy light be therefore more precious to mine eyes and the morrow come with more abundant gladness? Even so that which seemeth evil in our eyes Thou makest the harbinger of good : and that which beginneth in sorrow Thou bringest to end in joy. O the depth of the darkness of sin but doubly bright and lovely is holiness to him whom Thou hast brought out of it. Alas the bitterness of the knowledge of evil : But O how it sweeteneth the taste of good! O the unspeakable terrors of perdition : twofold therefore is the loudness of the song of deliverance. Adam knew not such blessedness: Paradise heard not a song so joyful. O Christ, how mighty was the arm of thy redemption: Thou hast undone Satan's work and done thine own. Thou hast made man a vessel of greater honour than before higher than ever Thou hast set him in thine everlasting house. For he shall contain the knowledge of evil with the knowledge of good but his vessel shall not burst again. He shall understand the wisdom of the serpent but shall not be deceived by it again. He shall know the secrets of the working of thy power and behold the strife of the contrary elements which Thou minglest to make harmony. But his heart shall not be puffed up to rebel again his soul shall not be perplexed with unbelief again. The remembrance of his weakness shall add to the consciousness of his strength his hatred of evil shall give breadth and depth to his love of good. Are the angels in heaven so exalted amid intelligences shall we not be their judges? O Lord, how unsearchable are the riches of thy mercy and the ways of thy wisdom past finding out. My eyes grow faint with looking at the extent of thy blessings: my heart is confounded with their number. They reach the farther the longer I look : they are multiplied in number the longer I count. O for an eye that may endure to see : O for a heart that may be able to comprehend. They shall come, they shall come from thy hand, O Lord: Thou hast promised them, O Thou whose every gift is perfect. In the day of the restitution of all things : in the day of the appearance of thy glory, Thou shalt bring thy royal gifts with Thee : Thou wilt fulfil thy gracious earnest. O how unsearchable are the riches of thy mercy and the ways of thy wisdom past finding out. XXX. AN ASPIRATION AFTER THE LORD'S PRESENCE. O LORD, to the very darkness Thou givest light out of the very silence Thou bringest forth a voice. In the night thy pillar of fire was set for a beacon unto Israel in the night thy star was bright with good news unto the Magians. In the night thy glory shone around the shepherds : and the heavenly host proclaimed the Redeemer, and sang, Glory be to God on high on earth peace, good will toward man. O let me see thy glory, ere I close mine eyes : to sleep let me hear thy voice, ere I sink into forgetfulness. Assist the meditations of my spirit : enlarge the depth of the thoughts of my heart. Keep me at thy footstool: my desire is to be ever in thy presence. For there is the fulness of joy : there is repose from every trouble. All thy blessed spirits rejoice in it : angels and thy children of light on earth. It is the dwelling-place in which their souls are at home it is the treasury of their light and life. : There they stand before Thee to praise thy glory and majesty and their song never ceaseeth by night or by day. : Hear my voice, O Lord: grant me boldness and access, O Christ. XXXI. ACCESS UNTO GOD. THE multitude that went forth to labour hath come in again its sounds are silent along the ways. They are gone to their rest that crowded the gates of princes to them that seek access the door of the king's house is shut. Their prayers must tarry till the morrow : and happy are they whose answer cometh then. |