How have we improved the time? How have our tempers been regulated and our passions ordered? Have we resisted, or have we yielded to the ordinary temptations-to anger, fretfulness, indolence, or pride? In what currents have we suffered our thoughts to flow? How have we been in our closets, and in secret prayer? Have we, as much as lay in us, lived peaceably" and amiably with those around us? or have we by unkindness and petty provocations disturbed the quiet or comfort of the domestic scene? If we can answer these questions satisfactorily, let us thank God, take courage, and go forward. If not, let us not waste our time, or exhaust our strength in unavailing sorrow or unprofitable regret; but let us fly at once to the mercy-seat for pardon. Let us return to the path of happiness and duty, before we have gone still farther from it. Let us apply the remedy, before the disease has become worse. Let us with redoubled energy renew the resolutions of yesterday. The first lesson appointed for this day sets before us the most animating motives for thus resolving. It shows us how God can create worlds and systems out of nothing; nay, how he can educe beauty, and harmony, and order, out of confusion and emptiness. "God said, Let there be light, and there was light." And why may not he, "who caused the light to shine out of darkness, shine in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ?” He has promised to do so, if we earnestly pray for grace, and faithfully improve that grace when given. When God had in five days accomplished his preparatory works, when he had divided the light from the darkness, the waters from the waters, and the dry land from the seas, when he had filled the earth with fertility, and adorned it with all the varieties of vegetable beauty, when he had fixed his two great lights in heaven, and "made the stars also," when he had brought forth all the various tribes of "the living creatures after their kind," when all was ready, and God saw that all was good, and when everything seemed waiting for the entrance of the chief actor upon the stage, "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Behold the position which we ought to occupy, the attitude in which we ought to stand before God and his creation! And, though we fell from our first estate, yet, blessed be God, if we be in Christ Jesus, we have fallen only that we might rise again, and "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." Let us keep in mind "how holily and justly and unblameably we should behave ourselves" who bear this sacred character and this divine impression. Let us remember that we are placed here as representatives of the sovereign Ruler of this lower world. Such we are, both by creation and redemption; and, consequently, "what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" Let us then go forth this day upon our several calls of duty, and let us, as with one soul, resolve that, "whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory of God." EVERY reader of scripture must feel an interest about Palestine; and, having visited that land, I wish to state to you a few particulars respecting its present condition. You will find that many things which bear evidence to the faithfulness and accuracy of holy writ are still existing there, many customs recorded in scripture (and differing from our own) still kept up, many remains of the sacred spots still to be found, and many striking fulfilments of prophecy to be traced. Providence has pleased to make Palestine the scene of most of the remarkable events that are recorded in scripture. It was on the very same mountain where Abraham offered up Isaac that, about a thousand years later, Solomon built his temple, and, still a thousand years later, our Lord was crucified. Thus a country which is no larger than Yorkshire has been honoured, by becoming the scene of the most important events the world ever witnessed. It is rather more than 3,000 miles by sea to the coasts of the land of Canaan; and there are so many difficulties and risks to encounter on the journey, that comparatively few persons become eye-witnesses of those spots where once the chosen people of God lived, and where man's redemption was completed. Once it was different: 700 years ago, the zeal of Christians to recover the holy sepulchre from the hands of the unbelievers induced tens of thousands of warriors, vast numbers of them from England, to leave their lands and homes, and, taking up the cross, to attempt the recovery of Jerusalem. King Richard, of England, was one of the leaders in these holy wars, which were called crusades. In the year 1096, it is said that 800,000 armed men marched against the infidels. Very different is the modern way of visiting Jerusalem: peaceful pilgrims flocked there, some from superstition, some from curiosity, some from a more enlightened devotion. We might almost fancy that Moses had foreseen this pilgrimspirit, and the impressive recollections it would excite, when he says: "The stranger that shall come from a far land, when he shall see the plagues, shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land?" (Deut. xxix. 22). We often remembered this text, and felt that we were indeed such strangers from a far land, tracing the desolation that God's curse had brought upon that once favoured country. I commence at once with those associations connected with the Old Testament, beginning from the earliest times. The first notice of the land of promise is the journey of Abraham from his distant home among the Chaldeans. He came by a special call of God to Canaan, and dwelt in the plains of Mamre; and no wonder, for it is a spot of great beauty, and even now fruitful in corn and olives and grapes. There were fine pastures, too, for the flocks and herds, which constituted the riches of the pa- | could not better describe their actual condition, triarchs. Strange it is how unchanged the manners and habits of the east are: everything appears now just as it may have been in the days of Abraham. We saw old men, with flowing white beards, who might resemble the father of the faithful. They, like him, live a wandering life, driving their flocks from one well to another. They, like Abraham, have no houses, but dwell in tents of black goats' hair. The very colour is scriptural; for in the Song of Solomon it is written, "I am black as the tents of Kedar." How interesting to reconcile the bible's words with the objects round us! Further these shepherds received us just as Abraham received strangers in his day. It is remarkable that three verses in Genesis xviii. should be a faithful journal for 1841. Our wild Arabs brought us to the shepherd encampment; and, just as Abraham in his day called to Sarah his wife, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, and make cakes upon the hearth," so also among these wandering tribes did the women grind corn in a hand-mill; and they made for us round flat cakes, baked in the embers; and, like Abraham, they killed a lamb of the flock, "and hasted to dress it; and they took butter and milk (to use the words of scripture) and set it before us." Thus the lapse of 4,000 years has scarcely altered the simple manners and hospitality of the east. It may be that Providence has ordained that the customs pourtrayed in the bible should ever remain as a standing testimony to the faithful records of scripture: the modern improvements of artificial life have not spoiled the simplicity of the Arab tent. Let me say a word about the climate. Whoever has experienced a Syrian summer's day or an American winter's night, must allow that we in England have much reason to be thankful that such extremes of heat and cold are not our lot. St. James says: "The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat but it withereth the grass." And this exactly describes the parched desolate appearance of Palestine in summer: water becomes very scarce, and the air is suffocating. Hence the allusions to green pastures and to water-brooks, which convey to the oriental the most refreshing ideas. Let me add, that I here first learnt the value of that "pillar of a cloud" which accompanied the Israelites. A little cloud, scarce bigger than "a man's hand," gave us a momentary shelter from the scorching rays of the sun, as we were riding at the foot of the mount Hermon; and that instant of refreshment reminded me at the time of the protection vouchsafed to the Israelites under the perpetual covering of their miraculous cloud. I have spoken of the wild Arabs who accompanied us. They were twelve noble-looking men, whose wild, loose, flowing dress was very striking. They escorted us down the steep descent of Mount Zion, along the brink of the pool of Siloam, and over the Jordan, into the land of the Moabites and Ammonites. And here is a singular fulfilment of prophecy worthy of your attention. Here are still existing a wild race, descendants of Ishmael, bearing the same character foretold 4,000 years ago: "Ishmael shall be a wild man: his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him" (Gen. xvi. 12). Words living as they do by plunder. We had a very narrow escape of falling into their hands, whilst riding on the edge of the great desert near Damascus. Twenty-five Bedouin Arabs armed with long spears suddenly came upon us. Providentially, the sight of the British uniform which my brother wore induced them not to attack us. Yet there is something noble in these lawless plunderers; for, when once you entrust yourself to their care, and they have promised on their heads to watch over your safety, you may rely upon their word. We parted with regret from our Arab companions, at the foot of the hill of Bashan. In following the course of scripture, we next come to the thrilling and awful associations connected with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now here are evidences before us which the veriest unbeliever cannot gainsay or deny. If ever a spot seemed marked by the Almighty's curse, it is the shore of the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah stood. Desolation around, a hot pestilential air, vegetation parched up, not a plant within miles, the bitterness of the waters-all these things proclaim the vengeance of God upon the cities of the plain. Once all this was a fertile country, well watered by the Jordan, until the day came that the Lord rained brimstone and fire upon them from heaven. Such is the fearful origin of this vast lake; and its waters are still impregnated with brimstone and nitre they have a leaden colour, and are so heavy that the wind scarcely ruffles the surface. When I swam in them, they were so dense and buoyant that it was almost impossible to sink. And one more very remarkable observation we made, viz., that on coming out of the water we were covered with a white incrustation of salt; reminding us of the fate of Lot's wife, who here perished in her flight. I conceive that this fact adds a great interest to the account of that miraculous event, and strengthens the evidences which we derive from personal observation. On the occasion of Sarah's death, Abraham said to the inhabitants of the land, "Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight," (Gen. xxiii. 4); and he bought, according to the custom of those days, a cave in the rocks as a buryingplace: it was called the cave of Machpelah. It is a great source of regret to every traveller not to be able to enter that cave where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives, are buried. The reason of this is singular: the Turks have built a temple over it; and no Christian, on pain of death, durst enter a Turkish place of worship. We saw, however, where the cave lay. Now, in this fact we may trace God's hand for he promised Abraham, "I will make thy name great;" and to this very day the Christian, the Jew, and the Mahommedan unite in reverencing him; and the city is still called by the name Elkhalil, which signifies "the friend," alluding to the blessed title of Abraham as "the friend of God." During the old age of the patriarch Jacob, a famine drove him and his family to the land of Egypt, which became to them a house of bondage; and a house of bondage it still is. Never have I, in any quarter of the globe, witnessed CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE. more intense misery than there. It would be profitable for those who complain of their lot in this our favoured country to compare their condition with the suffering of the inhabitants of Egypt their scanty subsistence is torn from them by their rulers; their sons dragged from them to join the armies in some distant land, whence they seldom return; and there is no redress. As an instance of this despotic power, I will tell you of a canal lately dug in Egypt, where more than 200,000 persons of every age and sex were compelled to labour, and where more than 30,000 perished from the pestilential climate. Turn we to Ezekiel xxx. 13, touching this matter: "There shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.' And so it ever has been since those days: history informs us that Egypt has fallen a prey to one fierce invader after another, and at this moment groans under the sway of an oppressive tyrant of a foreign and a strange race. "Thus (the prophet continues) will I execute judgments in Egypt; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." As I was walking in Egypt I met a funeral, and I witnessed the loud cries and shrieks and lamentations of the mourners. These tokens of grief agree with the scripture account of the smiting of the first-born: "There was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exod. xii. 30). It is a remarkable circumstance that it never rains in Egypt; and, on referring to the prophet Zechariah (xiv. 17) we find this fact alluded to: "Whoso shall not come up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord of hosts, upon them shall be no rain; and if the family of Egypt go not up, that have no rain, there shall be the plague: this shall It is most inbe the punishment of Egypt." teresting to trace in scripture the very facts passing before our eyes: whilst I was in Egypt there was no rain, but the plague was raging dreadfully. We next resume the bible history on the arrival of the Israelites in the land of Moab, on their road to Canaan. Moab is a beautiful land of green hills and pastures, but there is not a single house to be seen; once so populous, now a desert. This would be wonderful, if not explained by Jeremiah, who prophesied, "Moab is wasted: joy and gladness is taken away from Moab: he shall make the habitations desolate." On some of the mountains which we traversed, it is probable that Balaam uttered his remarkable prophecies; and from one lofty summit we enjoyed such a magnificent view of the land of Canaan, that we could not but believe it to be that Pisgah, or Mount Nebo, over against Jericho, from whence Moses looked upon the promised land which he was destined never to enter. The Jordan's valley was at our feet, and an unbounded prospect of Judea and Samaria. On the 26th April we crossed the river Jordan, a river sacred both to the Jew and Christian. Its rapid stream was miraculously stopped whilst the Israelites under Joshua passed over. At the very same spot (at least so it is recorded) we crossed over with much difficulty. A raft, formed with sheep-skins, conveyed the baggage; and we ourselves were in some danger of being drowned in swimming across, owing to the sharp rocks in A few miles from the Jordan are the remains There is a spot of great interest near Jericho: it is a spring of beautiful water, flowing through a grove of pomegranates and figs, where we had And what says the scripture pitched our tent. And he In the second book of about this stream? Kings ii. 19, we read: "The men of Jericho said to Elisha the prophet, Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth; but the water is naught, and the ground barren. said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters: there shall So the waters were healed unto this not be from thence any more death or barren land. day." By that beautiful fountain we pitched our tent; and there can be little doubt of its being the same, as it is the only sweet water in all the country round, and it is still called Elisha's fountain. To make the miracle more striking, we perceived another stream not far off, which was bitter, and the land around barren. Joshua, on crossing the Jordan, raised a heap It is strange of stones in commemoration of the event; and he did the same on conquering Ai. to find that this is still a practice of the east; and in Gibeah of Saul I saw multitudes of heaps of stones piled together; a pious custom of pilgrims, on coming there for the first time, in sight of Jerusalem. In pursuing the scripture narrative, we read of the defeat of Sisera by Barak. From the summit of Mount Tabor we could trace the field of battle. There was "the river Kishon, which swept them away; that ancient river, the river Kishon" (Judges v. 21). There was the village where "They they were slain; for, as David says, perished at Endor, and became as the dung of the earth" (Psalm lxxxiii. 10). This village of Endor, which lies so beautifully at the foot of the mountain, was the scene of that apparition of Samuel, when invoked by the witch, of which you may read in 1 Samuel xxviii. 7. The river Kishon is in summer but a gentle stream, but at the melting of the snows it becomes a rapid torrent. We rode through it on our way from Mount Carmel to Nazareth; and, unfortunately, one of the horses, laden with baggage, rolled over in the middle of the stream. Above this river are the mountains of Tabor and Hermon, named in Psalm lxxxix. 12; on the former the transfiguration took place. Northward, in Lebanon, is another Mount Hermon ; and you will, I think, be interested with David's allusion to the "dew of Hermon," which shows his attentive observation of nature. Even during the scorching summers of Palestine, when every- | thing is parched up, there is dew on Hermon. You shall hear why. From the sea of Galilee there rises from the intensity of the heat a great cloud of vapour: this evaporation is driven by the evening sea breeze upon the side of Mount Hermon, making it green and fruitful, when all else is dried up: a more beautiful comparison could not have been chosen. You will all remember Jephthah's vow, before gaining a victory over the Ammonites (Judges xi.). He swore to sacrifice to the Lord whatsoever should first come out of his doors to meet him. We rode along the very same path which he must have taken; and we could fancy the anxiety he may have felt on his homeward journey from Ammon to Gilead, and the fatal meeting with his only daughter. But a darker tragedy than this was enacted here, the murder of Uriah the Hittite; that black stain on David's life that years of penitence and mourning could not blot out, and which, though forgiven, was punished by the rebellions and sins of his children. It was also amongst the noble oaks of this district that Absalom was caught by the hair of his head, and slain. Of Ammon and its magnificent ruins and its now melancholy solitude much might be said, to show the wonderful completion of prophecy; it is, however, enough to compare its present condition with the words of Ezekiel xxv. 5: "I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." No description could be more faithfully accurate than this denunciation, pronounced when Ammon was a populous and flourishing country. Such predictions are evidently beyond human knowledge, and testify to us that all scripture is by inspiration of God. If some one were to foretell that the populous district in which we now are was in a few years to become a wilderness, it could not be more extraordinary than the completion of the woe denounced against Ammon. We have here concluded the patriarchs and judges, and I next proceed to the kings of Israel and Judah. SABBATH MEDITATIONS. No. XXVIII. by the blood of this Jew, even Jesus Christ, that all must be saved, if saved at all. Some have said, it is of no avail to pray for the Jews; but hark, has not God said, 'After these days I will give them a new heart and a right understanding?" God works by means, and it is the prayers of the righteous which avail much with God. God has promised to convert the Jews, but it will never be done but only as the full answer to prayer and faith" (Isaacs). Prayer.-Jehovah, Lord! the first and with the last, who hast called the generations from the beginning, we will come near and keep silence before thee, that thou mayest speak unto us by thy word, and call thy judgments and thy promises to our remembrance. Well it becometh us, that we, of the isles, should draw near and listen when thou speakest; we, whom thou hast chosen unto thyself in Christ Jesus before the seed of Israel thy servant, and Jacob thy chosen; we, whom thou sanctifiest, for his dear sake, by the blessed indwelling of thy Holy Spirit, and hast called from the depths of sin and misery unto repentance and newness of life; renewing our strength, and enabling us, by thy free grace, to raise up our hopes and affections unto thee with wings as eagles. O, grant us to perfect this love in thy faith and fear, and be pleased to uphold us with the strong arm of thy righteousness, that we never grow faint or weary; but, when thou shalt call us unto thy rest, strengthen us to draw near with courage, knowing that he, who hath brought us good tidings and is mighty to save, even our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, will be with us, and will hold our right hand, and bid us rejoice in thee, O Lord God, blessed for evermore. Father of mercies, have pity, we beseech thee, upon the seed of Abraham thy friend, and this right soon. Restore thine own, whom thou tookest from the ends of the earth. Quicken them, whom thou didst exalt above all nations, and restore them to their lost inheritance. Bring them home to thy flock, whom in thy just displeasure thou hast cast away, and with the whirlwind of thine indignation hast scattered as chaff. Father, cease, we pray thee, from thy wrathful visiting, and graciously call back these poor outcasts from the church of thy "Well-beloved,” that they may see and know, and understand together, that thy hand, O Lord, is ready to save them; and that they that strive with thee, and continue to crucify the Lord of life, shall perish ever JANUARY 5.-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRIST-lastingly from thy presence. For woe is them, in MAS. Morning Lessons: Isa. xli.; Matt. iv. "Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength."-ISA. xli. 1. Meditation."What have we received from the Jews that should entitle them to our prayers?' I reply by asking another question: What have we that has not emanated from the Jews?' These are the people who have for nearly 1800 years been driven into different parts of the world, have endured all kinds of persecution; yet, in all their tribulations, they have kept the ancient bible pure unto this day. Remember, the twelve apostles, to whom the Christian world is indebted, were Jews. Think also of him who took upon himself the seed of Abraham: he was from the stem of Jesse, and of the house of David; in a word, he was a Jew. And never forget that it is this their day. Poor and needy are they in the things that concern their eternal peace. They look for the well-springs of salvation, and behold, they find none; yea, their tongue is not lifted up unto the Prince of Peace, their Redeemer; and their heart faileth within them for thirst of the living waters. Accomplish, then, O God of Abraham, thy gracious promise. Verily, Lord, thou wilt fulfil it, for all thy promises are yea and amen; and unto his seed were the promises made. Verily, thou wilt seek them that are lost, and wilt again be a God unto Jacob, and a king unto Israel. Hear our cry, O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Behold, thou hast lifted up thy hand, and opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and they rejoice and are glad. O raise up the tribes of Jacob, and give them to be a light unto us; yea, let our fulness come in, that their blindness may CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE. pass away, and thy salvation may be unto the | tion's sake, behold, and in mercy hear us, plead ends of the earth. Amen. EVENING. S. K. C. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."-Rox. iv. 3. Meditation."That we say, 'Faith only justifieth,' ought to offend no man. For, if this be true (and most true it is), that Christ only redeemed us, Christ only bare our sins, made satisfaction for them, and purchased us the favour of God, then must it needs be true that the trust only in Christ's deserving, and in the promises of God the Father, made us for Christ's sake, doth only quiet the conscience, and certify her that the sins are forgiven." "Remember, that Christ made not this atonement, that thou shouldest sin again; neither died he for thy sins that thou shouldest live still in them; but that thou shouldest be a new creature, and live a new life after the will of God, and not of the flesh. And be diligent, lest through thine own negligence and unthankfulness thou lose his mercy and favour again" (Tindal). Prayer. All praise and blessing be to thee, O Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son, thou heavenly teacher of saving truth, in that thou showest unto us, by the ensample of faithful Abraham, that before God no works can justify us, or procure us whereof to glory. For, as pertaining to our sinful flesh, what man living shall be just with thee, the Holy One? where is he that doeth good, and sinneth not? Now, therefore, O God of Abraham, who didst raise up Jesus our Lord from the dead, and deliveredst him for our offences, that he might rise again for our justification, have pity upon us, and endue us with the fulness of that faith which Abraham confessed, and which was counted to him for righteousness. O thou living God, from whose wondrous grace proceedeth all our hope and every means of salvation, quicken us and help our unbelief, that we may have a sure and stedfast trust in all thy promises, and believe in thee, who justifiest the ungodly. Ŏ Son of God, our Redeemer and our alone Justifier, ever watch over and strengthen us, lest we stagger at the promise of thy merciful Father through unbelief. And be thou, who ever sittest at his right hand, our gracious advocate, that we may partake of the blessedness of that man to whom he imputeth righteousness without works; whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered, to whom he imputeth no sin. Be thou, divine Saviour, the mediator for us of this blessedness, and we shall be blessed indeed. And grant that we may ever hereafter walk in the steps of that faith which Abraham had, living unto God in all holy obedience, putting our whole trust under the shadow of his wings, and ever striving, for the love of thee, to keep thy words in all godliness and honesty. Glory, glory to thee, O Lord, for the riches of thy grace and the precious offer of thy salvation by faith. Thou gavest it to the father of many nations, of whose seed we are: if thou wilt, thou canst give it to us also. We implore, we beseech thee, vouchsafe unto us his justifying faith. We have no hope, no trust, no surety, but in the blood of our dear Redeemer. We know that, if that blood had not been poured out for us, we must bave perished in our sins. O, for his one obla 6 ing before thee for the life of us sinful souls; EPIPHANY. Amen. MONDAY, 6TH JANUARY. Morning Lessons: Isa. lx.; Luke iii. 1-23. Evening Lessons: Isa. xlix.; John ii. 1-12. Meditation.-"The church celebrates this feast to show our gratitude to God in manifesting the gospel to the Gentile world, and vouchsafing to them equal privileges with the Jews, who had been all along his peculiar people.' The first instance of this divine favour was in declaring the birth of Christ to the wise men of the east (Matt. ii. 1-12). The ancient church called this feast the appearance,' or 'manifestation,' which was the common name for this and for Christmas-day; and as that was the greater, this was the lesser epiphany.....St. Augustine in his time speaks of it as universally celebrated by the catholic church, and neglected by none but schismatics" (Nicholls). "The church this day bespeaks thee, reader, in her Master's language: 'Go, and do thou likewise. Seek Christ by the guidance of the star, by the light of his word. Do thou likewise; honour him with thy soul, body, and substance. Whoso come now to worship 'Come (ye comers), ye blessed of my Father, receive him, shall be one day called by him they worship, the kingdom prepared for you'" (Bp. Sparkes). to die Prayer. For ever blessed be thy name, Lord God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for sending him into the world, born of a woman, to be a teacher of righteousness, to go before us, and leave us the ensample of his most holy life; for our sins, and rise again for our justification; and then to ascend into heaven and prepare a place for us. O, how great was thy love, which an angel proclaimed and a multitude of the heavenly host celebrated with songs of praise, when thou sentest thy dear Son, in the likeness of our sinful flesh, and in the form of a servant, to minister to our necessities, to relieve our misery, and to be O, the riches of thy the way to everlasting life! thou grace, that, after mankind had forfeited all the rights of thy creatures, and had contemned and despitefully used thy many messengers, shouldest in much mercy create us again unto good works, and, for that blessed end, thyself appear most gloriously among us, in Jesus Christ. Vouchsafe, O reconciled Father, vouchsafe unto me the gift of thy Holy Spirit, that his precious guidance may ever fix mine eyes, in hearty and jealous affection, on my dear Lord and Saviour, that he may see the fruit of the travail of his soul in me; that I may purify myself even as he was pure, and that I may hunger and thirst after the fulness and perfection of those joys which are at his right hand, for evermore. Amen, amen; for Jesus Christ his sake. (Selected from bishop Patrick). |