Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

what we have now done in thy name upon earth. Receive this child into the fold of the Good Shepherd; and bless him with all spiritual nurture; for our Redeemer's sake. Amen.

[ocr errors]

HEAVENLY Father! who, by thy holy Prophet hast taught us that children are an heritage of the Lord; who also didst enjoin upon thy chosen people Israel, to teach their children thy statutes and ordinances; and who, through thine Apostle, St. Peter, hast assured us that the promise is unto us, and unto our children; we beseech thee to impress upon all parents, guardians and sponsors, and especially upon those who have at this time presented themselves before thee, a deep sense of the trust committed to them, in thy wise providence. Sanctify them through thy truth; and give them opportunity and disposition to perform their duties in faithfulness and love. And vouchsafe, O Father! to this child, and to all others who have been dedicated to thee in baptism, thy protecting care, and thy preventing grace. Give them meek and teachable dispositions, and a continual growth in the knowledge of thy truth as they advance in years; to the end that, through the means of grace provided in thy church on earth, they may at last be received into the church of the first born in heaven; through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love

THE of our

of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, evermore. Amen.

[blocks in formation]

You have presented yourselves in the house of

[ocr errors]

God this day, to witness a good profession of your faith. You were dedicated to God in baptism; and, being come to years of discretion, you desire, by your own act, openly to put on Christ.

end,

To this

Do you now ratify and confirm the engagements made in your behalf, at your baptism ?

Do you renounce Satan and his works, the world and its pomps, the flesh and its sinful desires?

Do you promise, in dependence upon divine aid, to continue steadfast in the Christian faith, and to keep the commandments of God all the days of your life?

The Minister shall ask,

ARE these your promises, before God and his Church?

YES.

They shall answer,

The Minister shall then say,

GOD give you grace faithfully to perform these promises.

The Minister shall continue,

FTER these promises, and in the hope that you

AF

may religiously fulfil them, you are received into the number of the faithful, to be partakers of the holy sacrament of the Supper.

AND I call upon you, Christian brethren, who are here present, to witness the promises which these young persons have made; and I exhort you, to look upon them henceforth, as partakers with you of the same grace, and to offer up your prayers to God in their behalf.

An Exhortation, at the discretion of the Minister, is then addressed to the Catechumens; after which, they kneel, and the Minister offers the following Prayer.

Let us pray.

A

LMIGHTY God! we bless thee, that thou hast been pleased to call us to a knowledge of thyself; and especially, that, having given grace unto these persons to be introduced into thy Church, through baptism, thou hast also graciously permitted them to arrive at years of discretion, and to ratify

and confirm, this day, the vow of their baptism. We pray, that as they have now thus solemnly dedicated themselves to thee, and are to be admitted to the communion of the sacrament of the death of thy Son, thou wouldst ratify in heaven what we do in thy name, and in thy church on earth. Receive them, O Lord! bless them, and let thy grace be with them, now and for ever.

O GRACIOUS God! Father of mercy! grant that they may persevere constantly in the holy profession, upon which they have just entered, so that they may not only be Christians by birth and baptism, but may henceforth be such by knowledge and through choice. Since they have renounced Satan and his works, the world and its pomp, the flesh and its sinful desires, let the prince of darkness have no power over them; and grant that, henceforth, their faith may triumph over the world, the flesh and its wicked propensities. Holy Father! keep them in thy faith, and preserve them from evil. Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth. Guard them from the corruptions of the world. Suffer not the instructions which they have received, and the promises which they have just made, to be ever blotted from their memory. Make them fruitful in knowledge and in faith, in holiness and in comfort, all the days of their lives. May they be better than their fathers; and, after having ministered in this world to the designs of thy providence, may they obtain from thy goodness eternal salvation.

O LORD! we pray unto thee for all the young people of this church. Bless the instructions which are given to them, preserve them from corruption, and sanctify them, so that our children may be one day ornaments in thy house, and heirs of thy kingdom.

GIVE grace to us all, the young and the old, the high and the low, to consider well what it is to be Christians; and to reflect continually what a vow, what promises, what a solemn profession, we have made at our baptism, as well as in the communion of the holy sacrament of the Supper.

ALMIGHTY GOD! hear us favourably, through Jesus Christ, who hath taught us thus to pray:

UR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Minister shall conclude with the following Benediction.

HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love

TH

of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, evermore. Amen.

« FöregåendeFortsätt »