Oh my friends, Oh my brothers! What joy is in my heart! What peace! I find it so beautiful a fact that our Lord came to earth as my ransom. I know not his reasons, for did he love the world so greatly that he would do so much? Did he desire glory for himself and desire to display his mercy upon mankind? I know not, but I know that I have been payed for in full. What a glorious thing it is to ponder the majesty and glory of our King, our Master! The man Jesus Christ sits in heaven to this day, fully God, yet fully man, born near 2000 years ago, perhaps upon this very night. The beautiful unblemished lamb came down from the glories of his heavenly abode to pay for us wretched sinners, us who revel in our sins, us who covered in the most abominable filth, he took the form of man, he became truly human, he was incarnated for the sake of the world, to do the will of his heavenly Father. Ah what joy it is to think! The blessed savior of all the earth, being born in the flesh. How blessed is Mary among women, that God saw fit to make her mother of our Lord.
Father, may your name be glorified in the heavens and on earth forevermore, let the angels sing, let the demons tremble, let the flock of the Lord rejoice, let the wicked tremble, for they know that God almighty reigns in heaven, in earth, and even to the blackest pits of hell. May your kingdom come upon earth, hasten the day, the glorious day when you shall send our Lord upon the coulds with a great trumpet blast, when the just shall be resurrected to life, and the wicked to torture. Father, your will be done, everywhere, both in heaven, and in earth.
Lord, thank you for my daily bread, Oh I am unworthy of such blessings as I have. Oh the mercy you have poured out, oh the grace you have given, oh the sweetness of your love upon my heart. I give thanks to you in plenty, and I rejoice in lacking, I am thankful for the things I do not deserve, and I am thankful when you take those things away. My heart rejoices always, in joy, in pain, in tribulation, in all manner of evil, in laughter, in love.
Father, forgive me as I forgive those who sin against me. Oh I beg that you will grant me mercy as I give others mercy. For what hope have I if you pour out not mercy and more mercy and mercy again upon my wretched soul? I ask that you grant me forgiveness, as I also forgive every man who shall trespass against me. For truly I have no hope otherwise.
Father, do not lead me into temptation, for it is so easy for me to fall, it is so easy for my heart to be led astray. I beseech you to stay by my side, I beg you to uphold me with your righteous right hand, I entreat you to make me to walk upon the paths of righteousness so that I might be a witness to you, for you alone no the great need in our world, the great darkness that permeates everything. But where is Christ there is hope of redemption and regeneration and light, and for these blessings that we do not deserve, I give my deepest thanks. What hope is there where Christ is! What light!
What a gift have you given, what a love have you lavished, how great a God do I serve, what a gracious Lord sits on the right hand of my Father, what a powerful intercessor and guide do I have in the Holy Ghost. Today I remember you my Lord Jesus, my master, the God whom I serve, the man for whom I live. That day when you were born, that star of hope that broke forth in glorious day, that love you gave to your undeserved servant. I owe everything I have, and everything I am to you, my Lord, and to your sacrifice. I fall on my knees when I contemplate the magnitude of the sacrifice, when I ponder how you humbled yourself. I know not why, but this I know: my ransom has been paid in full, and I shall serve my Lord with all the pitiful effort I can muster.