The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-01-27 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

Morning service in Westminster Abbey was attended by
an unusually large congregation, who listened with pro-
found attention awl responded with marked fervency
to the special prayer giving thanks to God for the
recovery of the Prince of Wales. The sermon was
preached by the Yen. Archdeacon Jennings, who took his
text from the 1141 th Psalm, verse 12, " What shall I render
ludo the Lord for Hie benefits towards me.- At the com-
mencement the preacher pointed out that this 14119 a psalm
of thanksgiving penned by the inspired writer for some
wad mercy wrought for him, in which he expressed his
gratitude to God for his deliverance out of trouble, resolved
thenceforward to walk in the way of the Lord, and
in the gratitude of his heart asked what return he should
make for the mercies which had beets shown to tom and
thence went on to show that the goodness of God was ex-
testiest to all of us as well as to the Psalmist, and to urge
upon his hearers the duty of continued thanksgiving for
His mercies and glorification of His holy name. What
abundant subjects for praise and thanksgiving were fur-
nished by the proofs of God's power and wittiest in our
creation and preservation, aml still more in the great work
of our redemption! With what feelings of gratitude and
love ought we to bless Him for the ninny instances of peculiar
favour which he had manifested towards us from the Mat
moment of our existence to this hour ! flow often had he
saved our lives from destruction and crowned us with
loving kindness ! Ile protected us even in our infancy,
and we receives! innumerable blessings from His hands
before we were even conscious of their bestowal. tie
guarded us in the helplessness of childheod, and
watched over us in the rashness of manhood. Ile guided
us through the trials and temptations of the world,
and by His beneficent interposition, good was often derives!
from apparent ill, and the very failure of our plans was
turned to a blessing,. SVere we not then all bound to ask
ourselves, " What shall l render unto the Lord for all
His benefits to me I " Having thus dealt generally with
his text, the venerable Archdeacon proceeded in the fol-
lowing passage, which he delivered with great earnest-
ness, and in a tone of deep emotion, to apply it to
the special circumstances of the occasion :—And here
I wish particularly to direct your attention to the
special prayer which we used this morning, and call
upon you to pour out your hearts in (etyma praise and
thanksgiving to our Almighty protector for His goodness on
preserving the life of our beloved Prince and restoring him
to comparative health and strength. But a few weeks have
passed since we as individuals and as a nation prostrated our-
selves in prayer, and cried mightily unto God to preserve the
life of one so dear to our gracious Sovereign his mother,
so dear to his wife and his children, and so lear aust
40 valuable to the British nation. At one time you
well knew hope had nearly forsaken us, and ids spirit
seemed to hover between this world stud the next,
when the unseen but healing hand of our merciful and inter-
ceding High Priest was stretched forth to bless the energy
lind watchful care ot the physicians, and to give virtue to the
curative means employed and in answer to the supplications
of the nation united in prayer, the goodness of the lord was ex-
tended to exhaested nature, and his soul was delivered from
death. And while we pray for length of days for our gracious
Queen, let nsalso pray that the Royal Prince who has so tones-
perienced the loviug kindness of the Lord may have grace given
him to surrender himself to the Lord for the rest of his life
and as he is distinguished in rank and station maybe also be
distinguished by his piety, Ids love and practice of religion,
and the exercise of all those princely virtues which should
adorn the character of a Christian sovereign. May he in
the spirit anti language of the Psalmist with heartfelt
gratitude and joy inquire : What shall I r miler unto my
God for His special mercies to me in delivering my soul
from death, and mine eyes from guilt." After the sermon
the Holy Communion was administered.