Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 1.pdf/172

 between heaven and earth; in which thy voice is daily heard, as being a God gracious and long-suffering, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. May we, as did the patriarch, perceive it as the Ladder, placed upon the earth, whose top reached to heaven, where Thou, as the Supreme Good, art waiting to receive and bless all who ascend its mystic steps. O may it prove to us, as we advance upwards in the regenerate life, the house of God and the very gate of heaven! Grant us, we beseech Thee, thy blessing; and may the angels of peace guard through this night our moments of repose, that we may, by thy will, rise refreshed to pursue our onward way to thy kingdom. Into thy holy keeping we now commit our souls and bodies, while we ascribe to Thee all honour and glory for ever.

Our Father, &c.

LORD JESUS CHRIST, the true God and eternal Life, in whom all Divine fulness dwells, we now humbly approach Thee, to present at the shrine of thy goodness our morning sacrifice, the first fruits of our hearts, and to mingle our humble breath of praise and thanksgiving with the mercies that ever flow from thy boundless love. O Lord, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that thou hast raised us refreshed from the night of sleep, and brought us to behold the light of another day. May it be to us a day of joy and gladness, opening in our souls a new state in the regenerate life, through which we may