Part 329

Most glorious God, accept, through thy beloved Son, though from the hands of sinners, of thanksgiving, which thy unspeakable love and mercies, as well as thy command, do bind us to offer up unto thee. Thou art the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, full of compassion, gracious, long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. For thy glory thou didst create us after thine image; thou madest us a little lower than the angels, and crownedst us with glory and honour, giving us dominion over the works of thy hands, and putting all these things under our feet. And when we forsook thee, and broke thy covenant, and rebelled against thee, and corrupted ourselves, and turned our glory into shame thou didst not leave us in the hands of death, nor cast us out into utter desperation; but thou didst so love the sinful world, as to give thy Son to be our Saviour. He took not upon him the nature of angels, but of man; the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is the unsearchable mystery of love which the angels desire to pry into: he was tempted, that he might succour them that are tempted, and conquered the tempter, that had conquered us. He became poor that was Lord of all, to make us rich. He did not sin, but fulfilled all righteousness, to save us from our unrighteousness. He made himself of no reputation, but was reviled, scorned, and spit upon, enduring the cross, and despising the shame to cover our shame, and to bring us unto glory; thou laidst upon him the iniquity of us all. He was bruised and wounded for our transgressions, that we might be healed by his stripes. He gave himself a ransom for us, and died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. We thank thee for his death that saveth us from death, and that he bore the curse to redeem us from the curse, and for his life which opened to us the way to life. Thou hast given him to be Head over all things to the church, and hast given the heathen to be his inheritance, and given him a name above every name, and given all power and judgment unto him. We thank thee for the new and better covenant, for thy great and precious promises; that thou hast given us eternal life in Christ. That we have the clear and sure revelation of thy will in the holy Scriptures. That thou foundest thy church upon apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner-stone. And hast committed to thy ministers the word of reconciliation, that as ambassadors speaking in the stead of Christ, they might beseech us to be reconciled unto thee. We thank thee that by them thou hast opened our eyes, and turned us from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God. We were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, taken captive by Satan at his will; but thy mercy saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Thou mightest justly have left us to the blindness of our minds, and to the hardness of our hearts, to seared consciences, to be past feeling, to our own hearts' lusts, to walk in our own counsels, and to work uncleanness with greediness, when we so oft refused to come to Christ that we might have life, and would not have him to reign over us. But thy patience waited on us in our sin; and all the day long didst thou stretch forth thy hand to a disobedient and gainsaying people. When we turned from thee, thou calledst after us, to turn and live. Thou drewest us to thy Son, and openedst our hearts to attend to thy call. Thou lovedst us first, and was found of them that sought thee not. Thou hast pardoned our great and manifold transgressions, and justified us by faith in Christ, and given us repentance unto life. Thou hast adopted us to be thy sons, and joint heirs with Christ; and made us his members, and given us his Spirit: we are no more strangers, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of thy household. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who of his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us. Thou keepest us by thy mighty power through faith unto salvation: ready at last to be revealed, though (when they are needful) we must for a season be in heaviness under tribulations. Thou hast promised, that all things shall work together for our good; in all our straits thou grantest us access to the throne of grace, bidding us call upon thee in the time of trouble, and promising to deliver us, that we may glorify thee: every where we have leave to lift up unto thee holy hands, especially in the house of prayer, and the assembly of the saints. Thou hast heard the voice of our supplications when we have cried unto thee; great is thy mercy towards us. O Lord, thou hast delivered our souls from the lowest hell; thou hast sent forth from heaven thy mercy and truth; and saved us from the reproach of him that would swallow us up. Thou art our hiding-place: in the secrets of thy presence thou preservest us from trouble, from the pride of men, and from the strife of tongues. Thou dost compass us about with songs of deliverance. O love the Lord, all ye his saints! for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. He dealeth not with us after our sins; his anger is but for a moment, but in his favour is life. In his wrath he remembereth mercy: all thy paths, O Lord, are mercy and truth to such as keep thy covenant. We come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies; O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Glory ye in his holy name; let the hearts of them rejoice that seek him. Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness and favour shall they be exalted. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still praising thee. O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad in thee all our days. Guide us by thy counsel, and afterwards receive us unto thy glory; where with all the blessed host of heaven, we may behold, admire, and perfectly and joyfully praise thee, our most glorious Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, for ever and for ever.[251] Amen.