Pleader

“ Art thou not yet in Hell? Wonder, O heavens and be astonished, O earth, at the goodness and long-suffering of that God whose great name swearing persons so often and so awfully profane! Swearer, be thankful, oh! be exceedingly thankful, that God has not answered thy prayer! thy tremendous prayer; that his mercy and patience have withholden the request of thy polluted lips! Never let him hear another oath from thy unhallowed tongue, lest it should be thy last expression upon earth, and thy swearing prayer should be answered in Hell. ”

“ The blood, which as a Priest he bears For sinners, is his own The incense of his prayers and tears Perfume the holy throne. In him my weary soul has rest, Though I am weak and vile I read my name upon his breast, And see the Father smile. ”

“ Knowing your father, as you know him too, I would have from you a pledge—a promise, here, solemnly uttered in the eye of Heaven, and in the holy stillness of this place, which has witnessed other of our vows no less sacred and solemn, that, should he sanction the prayer of another who seeks your love, and command your obedience, that you will not obey—that you will not go quietly a victim to the altar—that you will not pledge to another the same vow which has been long since pledged to me. ”

“ Swearer, this is thy prayer!!! O dreadful imprecation!! O horrible, horrible, most horrible! Blaspheming man! Dost thou like thy petition? Look at it. Art thou sincere in thy prayer, or art thou mocking thy Maker? Dost thou wish for damnation? Art thou desirous of eternal torment? If so, swear on—swear hard. The more oaths, the more misery; and, perhaps, the sooner thou mayst be in hell.—Art thou shocked at this language? Does it harrow up thy soul? Does thy very blood run cold in thy veins? Art thou convinced of the evil of profane swearing? ”

“ Ah! me! we were happy then; but now,
The sorrow has come, and saddest tears
Kiss the dead priest's virgin brow.
Who will watch o'er the dead young priest,
People and priests and all?
No, no, no, 'tis his spirit's feast;
When the evening shadows fall,
Let him rest alone — unwatched, alone,
Just beneath the altar's light,
The holy hosts on their humble throne
Will watch him all thro' the night.
The doors were closed — he was still and fair,
What sound moved up the aisles?
The dead priests come with soundless prayer,
Their faces wearing smiles. ”

“ HIS OATH EXPLAINED.
What! a Swearer pray! Yes, Swearer, whether thou thinkest so or not, each of thine oaths is a prayer,—an appeal to the Holy and Almighty God, whose name thou darest so impiously to take into thy lips.
And what is it, thinkest thou, Swearer, that thou dost call for, when the awful imprecations, Damn, and Damnation, roll so frequently from thy profane tongue? Tremble, Swearer, while I tell thee! Thy prayer containeth two parts: Thou prayest first, that thou mayest be deprived of eternal happiness! Secondly, that thou mayest be plunged into eternal misery! ”

“ She bent low.
"Who seeks confession, absolution?" he whispered. "I am a priest."
"You are wounded, dying, father."
"How can I die better than shriving a fellow sinner?"
That was true. The heroic woman turned to the man who still kept up his monotonous appeal.
"The man next to you," she said, "dying like you, is a priest."
"Father," cried the first man with sudden strength. "I must confess before I die." ”

“ WE humbly implore thy mercy, O Lord, for ourselves also: we beg pardon for all our sins; we desire to detest them, and to renounce them for ever. All our hope is in the multitude of thy tender mercies, from which we confidently expect forgiveness, through Jesus Christ; and to be one day, through him, admitted into the company of the blessed apostles and martyrs, in thy heavenly paradise. In the meantime we desire to offer thee daily, through him, all honour and glory. ”

“ While at Thy feet we fall,
And humbly with united cry,
To Thee for mercy call.
The guilt is ours, but grace is Thine,
O turn us not away,
But hear us from Thy lofty throne,
And help us when we pray. ”

“ In this connection I have a conundrum for the Chaplain: How is the indisputable fact to be accounted for, or reconciled, that the same men in line of battle, facing death, will, in one and the same moment, be praying and cursing, as I heard them in this line—"God have mercy on us," and after the first volley, or when a charge was ordered, the prayer, almost in the same breath, turned to the most terrible oaths—"God damn your souls." ”

“ The priests chant texts, and the people wait upon the worship. And we see faces-in-the-fire of the time to be, when the eyes of the poet shall rest upon the sacrifice, and shall fashion therefrom this mighty vision of God and nature, the soul and life. ”

“ And warning, and comfort, and blessing, and balm,
Distil from the beautiful words of the Psalm.
Then simply and earnestly pleading,—his face
Lit up with persuasive and eloquent grace,
The Chaplain pours forth, from the warmth of his heart,
His words of entreaty and truth, ere they part.
"I see before me valiant men,
With courage high and true,
Who fight as only heroes fight,
And die, as heroes do. ”

“ It is not for Etienne Lousteau that I plead, but for a woman and child, both equally ignorant of the damage done to their fortune, their prospects, and their honor.—Who knows, monsieur, whether you might not some day be compelled to plead for some favor of justice for a friend, for some person whose honor was dearer to you than your own.—It might be remembered against you that you had been ruthless.—Can such a man as you are hesitate? ”

“ And grant unto us, O Lord, through Thy clemency, that we may all together, and equally every day of our life, please Thy divinity, and be rendered worthy of the aid of Thy grace to offer Thee praise, honour, thanksgiving, and adoration at all times, O Lord. ”

“ O God, who dost bid us to praise Thee that Thou mayest be constrained to pardon, grant that the prayers which we have offered up at each hour of this day may be remembered in Thy mercy. Whatever evil we have done this day, do Thou in Thy loving kindness forgive. So guard us through the nights and days of this earthly life, that we may merit to see the dawn of the day that knows no night. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ And will not listen to my vows,
But let me plead, and plead in vain;
Who turn away with blushing cheek
And head averted at my sigh,
Whose scornful laughter chills my heart,
So that I pine, and soon must die. ”

“ Who breathed a prayer for him.
"Unbind him!" gasp'd the chief,
"Obey your king's decree!"
He kiss'd away her tears of grief,
And set the captive free.
'Tis ever thus, when in life's storm,
Hope's start to man grows dim,
An angel kneels in woman form,
And breathes a prayer for him. ”

“ And now, our heavenly Father, we beseech of thee to listen to the voice of our supplication, and give us an answer of peace. Accept, we pray thee, of this our dedication of this house, of ourselves, our wives, our children, our houses, our flocks, our herds, and all that we possess, unto thee and to thy cause for ever. ”

“ Had very comfortable feelings yesterday in meeting. Oh, it was joyful to believe that God was near to bless and to forgive. This evening, I have longed to commit my soul and its keeping into my Father's hands. Oh for a little more faith in His infinite, everlasting mercy! To come even boldly to the throne of grace, is the high calling even of those most in need of mercy. ”

“ BULLER.
I beg pardon, sir.
NORTH.
The Scottish service, Mr Buller, comprehends Prayer, Praise, Doctrine—all three necessary verbal acts amongst Christians met, but each in utmost simplicity.
BULLER.
Episcopalian as I am, that simplicity I have felt to be most affecting.
NORTH.
The Praise, which unites the voices of the congregation, must be written. The Prayer, which is the burning towards God of the soul of the Shepherd upon the behalf of the Flock, and upon his own, must be unwritten—unpremeditated—else it is not Prayer. Can the heart ever want fitting words? ”

“ Priest am I now for wisdom’s pay,
And half a priest’s task is to slay,
Nor raise one far-remembering cry
Though with the slain the slayer die.
Aloft the sacred knife is curved:
The gods of knowledge must be served. ”

“ I know no greater happiness than that which earnest prayer brings to the heart, when, undisturbed by wandering thoughts, we can behold our crucified Redeemer, and hear his voice pleading for us before the mercy-seat. ”

“ I adore thee, eternal Priest! whose delight is to offer sacrifice; and to make reparation for the insults and affronts done to thy priests, religious, and virgins, I offer up to thee thy own invincible patience, together with the true and fervent zeal of all good Priests and Apostolic Preachers. ”

“ Some plaintive plea subdues the reader's mind.
The Bard, perchance, is young, o'erwhelm'd with fears;
Forgive his faults, and spare his tender years.
Or want, not will, inspires his tuneful rage [7] ;
'Tis alms to buy—you need not read the page.
Or love [8] has led his gentle mind astray,
From humble prose, to tempt the arduous lay.
Perchance, surviving friends deplore his doom,
And print his strains to grace th' untimely tomb.
Can Censure rail against the recent dead?
Is Pity deaf when mourning parents plead? ”

“ Then he explained how one can pray in the midst of work and turmoil; the heart needs no ceremony to ask the help of the Heavenly Father. There are no doorkeepers or guards at the gates. There the humblest kind of prayer, the silent aspiration, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner," goes straight, unimpeded, to the throne of grace. ”

“ There one sees the priests who preside over each chariot exhort every one to penitence, to confession of faults, to the resolution of better life! There one sees old people, young people, little children, calling on the Lord with a suppliant voice, and uttering to Him, from the depth of the heart, sobs and sighs with words of glory and praise! ”

“ Call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying, Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord: for if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying, Repent and prepare for the great day of the Lord! ”

“ Trim, never said your prayers at all.' 'I heard the poor gentleman say his prayers last night,' said the landlady, 'very devoutly, and with my own ears, or I could not have believed it.' 'Are you sure of it,' replied the curate. 'A soldier, an' please your reverence,' said I, 'prays as often (of his own accord) as a parson; and when he is fighting for his king and for his own life, and for his honor too, he has the most reason to pray to God of any one in the whole world.'" "'Twas well said of thee, Trim," said my uncle Toby. ”

“ Around thy dwelling-place, O brightly-shining Priest, are men at sacrifice, whose sacred grass is trimmed. Wishing to do thee service, Agni, they are there, desirous of thy friendship grant them store of wealth. ”

“ The prayer for a soldier going to battle and his thanksgiving after victory are as noble in the dignity of their devotion as the prayers for a woman in travail and 'for them that visit the sick' are delicate and earnest in their tenderness. The prayer for a prisoner is too beautiful to stand in need of the additional and pathetic interest which it derives from the fact of its author's repeated experience of the misery it expresses with such piteous yet such manful resignation. ”

“ But a thousand pleadings, even from your lordship, can have no effect. Honor, interest, and every sensation of the heart, would plead against you. We are a people who think not as you think; and what is equally true, you cannot feel as we feel. ”

“ Lord strengthen my faith in my dying moments, that I may not dishonour thee by the fear of death, but enable me to bear a testimony to thy pardoning grace. May I die in the full assurance of faith, and leave a testimony of the freeness of thy grace, and of thy readiness to pardon the chief of sinners. ”

“ Imagine this minister trying, by prayer and exhortation, to lift that heavy load of sorrow which all who have grieved know, that time and faith alone can lighten. Then he goes and looks into the face of the dead—oh! ”

“ Thy grace my pardon seal'd.
6 This shall invite thy saints to pray,
When, like a raging flood,
Temptations rise, our strength and stay
Is a forgiving God.
Psalm 32:3. L. M. Repentance and free pardon; or, Justification and sanctification.
1 Blest is the man, for ever blest,
Whose guilt is pardon'd by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confess'd,
And cover'd with his Saviour's blood. ”

“ You might cry at the top of your voice, and unless you had a believing spirit within, your cry would not go further up than the shout of a plow-boy to his oxen. Prayer must be believing, earnest, loving. ”

“ As a pledge of heavenly gifts and of Our benevolence, We lovingly grant in the Lord, to you, venerable brethren, and to the clergy and all the people committed to your watchful care, Our apostolic benediction. ”

“ If any unfortunate wretch, mindful of his innocent youth, muttered out the fragment of a prayer, his next companion would perhaps shake his fetters, whilst he howled an obscene song, and the prayer expired in the midst of lengthened howls and shrieks. ”

“ O GOD, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare, receive our petitions, that we, and all Thy servants who are bound by the chain of sin, may, in the compassion of Thy goodness, mercifully be absolved.
Hear, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the prayer of Thy suppliants, and pardon the sins of them that confess to Thee, that of Thy bounty Thou mayest grant us pardon and peace. ”