SELECTION' X. COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, when the breath of the Lord bloweth over it. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance ? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, the isles are like flying stubble. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom, then, will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers: that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. To whom, then, will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host in order: he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, because he is strong in power: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? his understanding is unsearchable. He giveth power to the faint; and to the feeble abundant strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. Litanies. FIRST LITANY. O GOD, our heavenly Father, who by thy Son hast redeemed the world, and by thy Holy Spirit dost govern, direct, and sanctify the hearts of thy faithful servants, have mercy upon us, thy children. Have mercy upon us, O Lord. Remember not, Lord, our offences, neither take thou vengeance of our sins; spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, we beseech thee, whom thou hast redeemed by the most precious blood of thy Son. Spare us, good Lord. From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the assaults of temptation; from all blindness of heart; from pride, vain glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred and malice, and all uncharitableness; deliver thy children, good Lord. Good Lord, deliver us. From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence and famine; from battle and murder, and from death unprepared for, Good Lord, deliver us. From all sedition, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, contention, and division; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word and commandment, Good Lord, deliver us. In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, Good Lord, deliver us. We humbly beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God, and that it may please thee to rule and govern the holy Christian church, in the right way, and to illuminate all ministers of the Gospel with true knowledge, and understanding of thy word, and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth and show it accordingly; and that it may please thee to endue all our rulers and magistrates with grace, wisdom, and understanding, that they may execute justice, and maintain truth; and that it may please thee to bless all schools and seminaries of learning; all instructers of youth, and all means of true knowledge, virtue, and piety; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people, and give to all nations unity, peace, and concord; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us a heart to love and fear thee, to hear meekly thy word, to receive it with pure affection, to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, and diligently to live after thy commandments; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived; to strengthen such as do stand; to comfort and help the weak-hearted; to raise up those who fall; and finally to give us victory over all temptations; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to succor, help and comfort all who are in danger, necessity and tribulation; to preserve all who travel by land or by water, all sick persons and young children; to show thy pity upon all prisoners and captives; to defend and provide for the fatherless children and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men; and to forgive our enemies, persecutors and slanderers, and to turn their hearts; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so that in due time we may enjoy them; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances, and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to amend our lives according to thy holy word; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. O Lord, grant us thy peace. Lord have mercy upon us. O Lord, deal not with us after our sins; |