Psalm 19.
TOO glorious art thou, O Lord, in thy self; and thy direct Rays shine too bright for our Eyes.
Devotions in the ancient way of offices. With psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day of the week and every holiday in the year. / Reformed by A person of quality, ; and published by George Hickes, D.D.
About this Item
- Title
- Devotions in the ancient way of offices. With psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day of the week and every holiday in the year. / Reformed by A person of quality, ; and published by George Hickes, D.D.
- Author
- Birchley, William, 1613-1669.
- Publication
- London :: Printed for J. Jones at the Bell, in St.-Paul's Church-Yard,
- 1700.
- Rights/Permissions
-
To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
- Subject terms
- Church of England -- Liturgy.
- Devotional exercises.
- Link to this Item
-
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A35816.0001.001
- Cite this Item
-
"Devotions in the ancient way of offices. With psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day of the week and every holiday in the year. / Reformed by A person of quality, ; and published by George Hickes, D.D." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A35816.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2025.
Pages
Page 72
Yet may we venture to praise thee in thy Works; and contemplate thee at least reflected from thy Creatures.
In them we may safely behold our mighty Maker; and freely admire the Magnificence of our God.
Heaven and Earth are full of his Greatness; Heaven and Earth were crea∣ted by his Power:
From him all the Hosts of Angels re∣ceive their Being; from him they have the Honour to assist in his Presence.
He kindled Warmth and Brightness in the Sun; and beauteously garnish'd the Firmament with Stars.
He spread the Air, and stor'd it with Flocks of Birds; he gather'd the Waters, and replenish'd them with Shoals of Fishes.
He establish'd the Earth on a firm Foundation, and richly adorn'd it with innumerable Varieties.
Every Element is fill'd with his Bles∣sings; and all the World with his liberal Miracles.
He spake the Word and they were made; he commands and they are still preserv'd.
He governs their Motions in perfect Order; and distributes to each its proper Office
Page 73
Contriving the whole into one vast Ma∣chine; a spacious Theatre of his own unlimited Greatness.
O glorious Architect of universal Na∣ture; who disposest all things in number, weight, and measure!
How does thy Wisdom ingage us to ad∣mire thee? how does thy Goodness ob∣lige us to love thee?
Not for themselves alone, O gracious God, did thy hand produce those happy Spirits:
But to receive in charge thy little Flock; and conduct them to the Folds of Bliss.
Not for themselves at all, O bounteous Lord! were the rest of this huge Creation fram'd:
But to sustain our Lives in the Way; and carry us on to our eternal Home.
O may our Souls first praise thee for themselves; and imploy their whole Pow∣er to improve in thy Service.
May we praise thee, O Lord, for all thy Gifts; but infinitely above all still va∣lue the Giver.
May every Blessing be a motive of gra∣titude; and every Creature a step of ap∣proach towards thee.
So shall we faithfully observe their end; and happily arrive at ours.
Page 74
Using them only to entertain us here; till our Souls be prepar'd for the Life of Heaven.
Till they become full ripe for thee; and then fly away to thy Holy▪ Pre∣sence.
Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c.