love. May I be filled with that hope which will not suffer me to be ashamed, but will cause me to run with patience the race set before me. May I be possessed of that charity which is the end of the commandment, and without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before Thee. May I cherish a constant regard to Thee as my Ruler and Judge, worship Thee with a thankful and resigned temper, praise Thee with gladness, and rejoice in Thy protection. May I be concerned to resemble my honored Master in every divine and amiable disposition, and imbibe His zeal, His devotion, His fortitude, His humility, His compassion and benevolence. May I delight, like Him, in doing good; and press forward with unremitting ardor towards the mark of the prize of my high calling. My outward condition, O Lord, it is my happiness and duty to refer wholly to Thy wisdom. With submission to Thy will, I implore from Thee those things which are necessary to the security and comfort of life; and pray that I may be preserved from great calamities and afflictions, if this be consistent with Thy gracious purposes. Lead me in that path which Thou seest to be best for me. Help me to become perfectly contented, to repose unlimited confidence in Thy government, and to improve health and sickness, Joy and sorrow, to Thy glory. May I so pass through things temporal as not to forget the things which are eternal. May I so use the world as not to abuse it. Moderate in my desires for its good things, temperate in every lawful gratification, and patient under every disappointment, trial, or suffering, may I constantly aspire to a higher bliss than any which can here be obtained, lay a good foundation against the time to come, and daily look forward to the glory which is about to be revealed to Thy faithful servants. May I behold the approach of death with peace and satisfaction; and when my course is finished, be removed from this mixed state of disci pline to the land of unfading happiness and perfect love. I praise Thee, O God, that Thou art the merciful Parent of all men; and I beseech Thee to have compassion upon and to save every individual of the human family. Be pleased to bless my friends, to reward my benefactors, and to take into Thy holy keeping the family with which I am connected. Visit with Thy light and comfort all who are afflicted with sickness and pain. Console and cheer all who are distressed in mind. Provide for the relief of those who are suffering want. Pity the widow and orphan; gladden the hearts of such as mourn the loss of those they loved; hear the cries of the persecuted and oppressed; be nigh unto all who are in circumstances of peril. Turn the ungodly to the love and fear of Thy name; support and strengthen every upright soul; give rest and joy to every weary and heavy-laden sinner. Spread the gospel of Christ Jesus 'hroughout the earth; put an end to all war, strife, tyranny, and injustice; and let every nation become virtuous, enlightened, and happy. Direct our rulers; preserve our liberties; prosper our citizens; assist us to become a righteous people whom thou wilt bless and protect; and let all our institutions for the education of youth, and for the main tenance and diffusion of pure religion be crowned with success. Accept, O God, I beseech Thee, these sentiments and desires of my heart which I offer up in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, through whom I trust for the acceptance of my person, and all my sincere but imperfect services. And unto Thee be endless praise and glory. Amen. APPENDIX. FORMULA FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND DISCIPLINE OF CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY PRINCIPLES. SECTION I. We believe that from an examination of the works of nature and the course of events, we may derive evidence of the existence of God and the prominent truths of natural religion.1 II. But that the evidence of natural religion is not such as to afford us a satisfactory knowledge of the nature of God and our relation to Him; nor its influence sufficient to urge us to duty; and that. therefore, a further revelation from God is desirable and necessary. III. We believe that such a revelation God has given at "sundry times and in divers manners," unto the fathers, and in later days by His Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and His inspired Apostles; and that this revelation is contained in the books known in Protestant Christendom as the Old and New Testaments:4 and that every individual, hearing the gospel and being 1 Rom. i. 20. 2 Acts iv. 12; Rom. iii. 1, 2. able to comprehend its requirements, is bound to receive the Word of God as his infallible rule of faith and practice, and to be governed by it. IV. As we believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience, therefore, we hold that liberty of conscience and the free exercise of private judgment in matters of religion, are natural and unalienable rights of men, of which no government, civil or ecclesiastical, can deprive us.2 V. As order is necessary to the prosperity of every associate body, and as Jesus Christ has left no entire specific form of Government and Discipline for His Church, it is the duty of every individual Church, or association of Churches, to adopt such regulations as appear to them most consistent with the spirit and precepts of the New Testament, and best calculated to subserve the interest of the Church of Christ. VI. And as men exercising the right of private judgment in matters of religion agree in the opinion that Christianity requires a social connection among its professors, and as experience proves that men will differ in some of their views of doctrine and discipline; and as too much difference of opinion would be prejudicial to the objects of the association, therefore reason dictates that those of similar views should associate together; that it is their duty to require for admission to church-membership among them, or for induction into the sacred office, and for continuance in either, such terms as they deem most accordant with the precepts and spirit of the Bible. VII. Upon the broad basis of these principles was the Evangelical Lutheran Church founded immediately after the Reformation. Adhering 1 John v. 39; Acts xvii. 11; John xiv. 16, 17. |