Thou whose deep compassions yearn For the prodigal's return, And his far-off steps discern, Holy Father, hear us. Aching hearts that long for rest, All have some great gift to seek, Is not Thy paternal board Thou who sparedst not Thy Son, Thou in all His sorrows nigh, Thou, who sufferedst Him to die, Thou, Omnipotent to save From destruction's 'whelming wave, Death and hell and vanquished grave, Holy Father, hear us. Thou, at whose right hand once more, He is now, His conflict o'er, Throned where He was throned before Holy Father, hear us. Thou, who crownest Him with grace, All the richest gifts of heaven, Holy Father, hear us. At His word Thy Spirit came, Holy Father, hear us. Grant us in this holy hour From His bride's exhaustless dower Hear our cry, our voiceless needs: Hear, for Jesus intercedes : Holy Father, hear us. Amen. E. H. B. P THE PRAYER OF SELF-SURRENDER. After shall be said as followeth. O LORD and heavenly Father, we Thy humble servants entirely desire Thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching Thee to grant, that by the merits and death of Thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in His blood, we and all Thy whole Church may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of His Passion. And here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto Thee; humbly beseeching Thee, that all we, who are partakers of this Holy Communion, may be fulfilled with Thy grace and heavenly benediction. And although we be unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto Thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech Thee to accept this our bounden duty and service; not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto Thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen. WE have here another utterance of the heart towards God. As humble servants we address Him, who is Lord over all. As children we come to our heavenly Father, and cast ourselves on His fatherly goodness. Oh for more and more of this Spirit of adoption! How much of true religion consists in it! It is the very foretaste of heaven. We first ask Him to accept the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. The obedience of faith in coming to the Lord's Table is in itself an act of thanksgiving. "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" asks the Psalmist, and replies, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord: I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people." 19 a Thus even under the law praise was set over against sacrifice: "Hear, O My people, and I will speak. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings. unto God thanksgiving. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me." And under the new covenant these are expressly named as the spiritual sacrifices which the saints as a royal priesthood are to offer to God, even the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light." Such praises, accompanied with gifts of love, are sacrifices with which God is well pleased." This indeed is Eucharist. Offer We then pray that by the merits and death of Jesus, and through faith in His blood, we ourselves and the whole Church may obtain remission of our sins and all other benefits of His Passion. It is not as doubting the sufficiency of the pardon, which we have already received, that we thus pray. We have searched our hearts and lives before God; b Ps. 1. 7, 8, 14, 23. d Heb. xiii. 15, 16. a Ps. cxvi. 12-14. 1 Peter ii. 5, 9. we have confessed all our sins; we have heard His absolution; we have built on the strong consolation of the Gospel promises; we have received the pledges of His loving favour towards us; and yet we continue to pray for the remission of our sins here and to the very end of the service. Why is this? Surely it is that we have drawn very nigh to God, and in the presence of His excellent glory we are more deeply conscious than ever of our own countless failures and shortcomings. We are walking in the light as He is in the light, and so the assurance is more precious to us than ever, The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." But what is meant by all the other benefits of His Passion? The word passion draws us to Gethsemane and Calvary; and surely there we learn, as nowhere else, the sympathy and victorious patience of Jesus. Some of these benefits are expressed for us in the touching hymn : "— "Go to dark Gethsemane, Ye that feel the tempter's power; Watch with Him one bitter hour : Follow to the judgment-hall, a 1 John i. 7. By James Montgomery. |