Saviour, "Our
Father, which art in heaven," and what follows; to say with St. Mary,
"My soul doth magnify the Lord;" with St. Simeon, "Lord, now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace;" with the Three Children who were
cast into the fiery furnace, "O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the
Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever," with the Apostles, "I
believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in
Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; and in the Holy Ghost." We wish to
read to them words of inspired Scripture, and to explain its doctrine
to them soberly after its pattern. This is what we wish them to say,
again and again: "Lord, have mercy;" "We beseech Thee to hear us, O
Lord;" "Good Lord, deliver us;" "Glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost." All holy creatures are praising God
continually--we hear them not, still they are praising Him and praying
to Him. All the Angels, the glorious company of the Apostles, the
goodly fellowship of the Prophets, the noble army of Martyrs, the Holy
Church universal, all good men all over the earth, all the spirits and
souls of the righteous, all our friends who have died in God's faith
and fear, all are praising and praying to God: we come to Church to
join them; our voices are very feeble, our hearts are very earthly, our
faith is very weak. We do not deserve to come, surely not;--consider
what a great favour it is to be allowed to join in the praises and
prayers of the City of the Living God, we being such sinners;--we
should not be allowed to come at all but for the merits of our Lord and
Saviour. Let us firmly look at the Cross, that is the token of our
salvation. Let us ever remember the sacred Name of Jesus, in which
devils were cast out of old time. These are the thoughts with which we
should come to Church, and if we come a little before the Service
begins, and want something to think about, we may look, not at who are
coming in and when, but at the building itself, which will remind us of
many good things; or we may look into the Prayer Book for such passages
as the 84th Psalm, which runs thus: "O how amiable are Thy dwellings,
Thou Lord of hosts! my soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the
Courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh rejoice in the Living God."

Such will be our conduct and our thoughts in Church, if we be true
Christians; and I have been giving this description of them, not only
for the sake of