ty, the Creator and the Ruler, who has made all things, and
for whose pleasure they are and were created. Consider that one text.
The more I consider it, the more awful and yet most blessed depths of
teaching do I find therein: and consider this text also, another glimpse
of the worship which is in heaven.

"I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, singing Alleluia;
salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God; for
true and righteous are His judgments." What the special judgment was,
for which these blessed souls worshipped God, I shall not argue here. It
is enough for us that they worshipped God, as we should worship Him,
because His judgments were righteous and true, were like Himself, proved
Him to be what He was, worthy in Himself, because He is righteous and
true. And consider then, again--the text. Before Him, the righteous and
true Being who has created all things for His pleasure, and therefore has
made them wisely and well; before Him who reigns, and will reign till He
has put all His enemies under His foot; before Him, I say, bow down
yourselves, and find true nobleness in confessing your own paltriness,
true strength in confessing your own weakness, true wisdom in confessing
your own ignorance, true holiness in confessing your own sins.

And not alone merely, each in your own chamber, or in your own heart.
That is the place for private confessions of sin, for private prayers for
help; for all the secrets which we dare not, and need not tell to any
human being. They indeed are not out of place here in church. Those who
composed our Prayer Book felt that, and have filled our services, the
Litany especially, with prayers in which each of us can offer up his own
troubles to God, if he but remember that he is offering up to God his
neighbour's troubles also, and the troubles of all mankind. For this is
the reason why we pray together in church; why all men, in all ages,
heathen as well as Christian, have had the instinct of assembling
together for public worship. They may have fancied often that their
deity dwelt in one special spot, and that they must go thither to find
him. They may have fancied that he or she dwelt in some particular
image, and that they must visit, and pray to that particular image, if
they wished their prayers to be heard. All this, however, have men done
in their foolishness; but beneath that foolishness there have bee