Almighty God, by thy eternal Word my Creator Redeemer and Preserver!
who hast in thy free communicative goodness glorified me with the
capability of knowing thee, the one only absolute Good, the eternal I
Am, as the author of my being, and of desiring and seeking thee as its
ultimate end;--who, when I fell from thee into the mystery of the
false and evil will, didst not abandon me, poor self-lost creature,
but in thy condescending mercy didst provide an access and a return to
thyself, even to thee the Holy One, in thine only begotten Son, the
way and the truth from everlasting, and who took on himself humanity,
yea, became flesh, even the man Christ Jesus, that for man he might be
the life and the resurrection!--O Giver of all good gifts, who art
thyself the one only absolute Good, from whom I have received whatever
good I have, whatever capability of good there is in me, and from thee
good alone,--from myself and my own corrupted will all evil and the
consequents of evil,--with inward prostration of will, mind, and
affections I adore thy infinite majesty; I aspire to love thy
transcendant goodness!--In a deep sense of my unworthiness, and my
unfitness to present myself before thee, of eyes too pure to behold
iniquity, and whose light, the beatitude of spirits conformed to thy
will, is a consuming fire to all vanity and corruption;--but in the
name of the Lord Jesus, of the dear Son of thy love, in whose perfect
obedience thou deignest to behold as many as have received the seed of
Christ into the body of this death;--I offer this, my bounden nightly
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, in humble trust, that the
fragrance of my Saviour's righteousness may remove from it the taint
of my mortal corruption. Thy mercies have followed me through all the
hours and moments of my life; and now I lift up my heart in awe and
thankfulness for the preservation of my life through the past day, for
the alleviation of my bodily sufferings and languors, for the manifold
comforts which thou hast reserved for me, yea, in thy fatherly
compassion hast rescued from the wreck of my own sins or sinful
infirmities;--for the kind and affectionate friends thou hast raised
up for me, especially for those of this household, for the mother and
mistress of this family, whose love to me hath been great and
faithful, and for the dear friend, the supporter and sharer of my
studies and researches; but, above all, for the heavenly Friend, the
crucified Saviour, the glorified Mediator, Christ Jesus, and for the
heavenly Comforter, source of all abiding comforts, thy Holy Spirit! O
grant me the aid of thy Spirit, that I may with a deeper faith, a more
enkindled love, bless thee, who through thy Son hast privileged me to
call thee Abba, Father! O, thou, who has revealed thyself in thy holy
word as a God that hearest prayer; before whose infinitude all
differences cease of great and small; who like a tender parent
foreknowest all our wants, yet listeneth well-pleased to the humble
petitions of thy children; who hast not alone permitted, but taught
us, to call on thee in all our needs,--earnestly I implore the
continuance of thy free mercy, of thy protecting providence, through
the coming night. Thou hearest every prayer offered to thee
believingly with a penitent and sincere heart. For thou in withholding
grantest, healest in inflicting the wound, yea, turnest all to good
for as many as truly seek thee through Christ, the Mediator! Thy will
be done! But if it be according to thy wise and righteous ordinances,
O shield me this night from the assaults of disease, grant me
refreshment of sleep unvexed by evil and distempered dreams; and if
the purpose and aspiration of my heart be upright before thee who
alone knowest the heart of man, O in thy mercy vouchsafe me yet in
this my decay of life an interval of ease and strength; if so (thy
grace disposing and assisting) I may make compensation to thy church
for the unused talents them hast entrusted to me, for the neglected
opportunities, which thy loving-kindness had provided. O let me be
found a labourer in the vineyard, though of the late hour, when the
Lord and Heir of the vintage, Christ Jesus, calleth for his servant.
_Our Father, &c._
To thee, great omnipresent Spirit, whose mercy is over all thy works,
who now beholdest me, who hearest me, who hast framed my heart to seek
and to trust in thee, in the name of my Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus,
I humbly commit and commend my body, soul, and spirit.
Glory be to thee, O God!