Year: 1866

a HFayer Oh SurphSShns ncauby


RndPOwer. fil1 2. siHr7


The third days session of the Great Ma
tional Convention which was held in Phila-
delphia last week, was opened with prayer
by the Rev. DIR. REIMENsNYDER, OF Nor
ristown, Pennsylvania. His Prayer was
one of surprising beauty and power-one
that could come from, none other than a
Man of God. The Convention, recognized
the fact, that "the finger OF Providence is
unerring," and all through its proceedings
manifested becoming reliance upon a
Higher Power than that of Man. All its
sessions were opened with prayer and just
before the final adjournment, Rev. DR.


ELLIOTT made aclosing prayer,and Invoked
the benediction of Almighty God upon the
Convention and upon what it bad done.


The following is Rev. DR.. REIMENsNY-
DER's Prayer at the opening of the session
on the last day Of the Convention: ".'


-..'. N..' THE PRAYER. ''' ''4' ,'.'


Oh Lord God Jehovah, King of Kings,
we adore Thee as the first and greatest and
the best OF Beings. Thou art the Author
of creation, both physical and moral, and
hence the rightful Sovereign of all things
that are in heaven above, in the earth be-
meath, visible and Invisible, whether
they be thrones or dOminions, OF
principalities or powers. Thou art from
everlasting; of old didst Thou lay the
foundations of this earth, didst Thou give
esea her depths ndstretch over our heads
this glorious armament rejoicing in his
or Thou Hlla.f tba Ofh
with Thy presence, immensity Is Thy dwell
ling place, the universe is Thy Throne, and
the eternal years the duration of Thy scep-
tire. How then can we, creatures of the
dust and OF day, and so far cast from Thy
presence by our moral rebellion, come be-
tore thy face? We come alone trusting in
that love and torbearance which knew no
limits, and which were so SURPRISING that
even the chiefest OF sinners Thou didst
freely give Thy precious blood of Thine
only and we'll beloved Son to save. We
come, trusting and pleading this precious
blood that Thou wilt thus freely receive us
We were Thy children, and Thou wouldst
not cast us off forever nay, rather, instead
of superaddinS terms as the penalties OF
our treason instead of superadding these
terms, Thou didst make our pathway
easier than before; Thou didst change our
covenant of works to the covenant OF grace,
so that we have gained far more through


Christ by His innocent and bitter sufferiDgs
and death than we had lost in Adam through
his rebellion and fall. May we learn this
to be the spirit of our Great Father and the
spirit of our Divine Lord and master, and


may this be the spirit-one Of forgiveness,
and love, and peace-that animates the
great heart of Christianity to-day, and that
shall be seen in true Christian deeds and
virtues. We trust, Our Father that in
such spirit this great Convention has as
semblCd upon this IDOmentous occasion


and therefore, we the more confidently in
woke the richest blessing of Heaven to rest
upon it. Thou art God of patience, and
Thou art the Author of that life and liberty
THAT inspires our hearts, and the greatest
anthem that has ever reached immortal ears
from the heavenly host, was an anthem OF
love, and peace, and good will to men, and
as our beloved land has been founded to
promote these great ends of liberty, and
peace, and happiness, we believe that Thou
art hereby our country's God, as Thou art
her great Author. And, our Heavenly
Father, In the weakness of human wisdom
and in the folly of human guilt we have
been arrayed In great and fearful conflict
against each other-we, the citizens Of this
one common country. Brother has striven
for the mastery over brother, until the
heavens have been shaken with the war OF
our arms. Our fields we're red with broth
er's blood; our firesides dark with woe,
and the walls of our afflicted and dying
and the pray ers of widows and orphans have
come up before Thy great throne. But
thanks be to Almighty God, praise be to
Thy ever-bessed name, after these long
years of strife, and hardship, and suffer-
ing in the tent, upon the march, upon the
battlefield, and the panied and agonizing
hearts at home, at last from the reni6test
corners OF this great republic, men OF the
East and the West and the North, and the
South, have come up under the 8gis of the
American eagle to meet each other again
with the true hands and the loving hearts
of brethren, and to inaugurate again the
good feelings and the common purpose of
olden times. We believe, our Heavenly
Father, that If there is one scene upon the
earth which Thou dOst regard with pleas
ure, 1t is the spectacle of brothers. once
estranged, returning to their first and early
love. We adore Thee for this great spec
tacle, which we are at last permitted to
witness to-day, and we confidently invoke
Thy presence and sanction to rest upon the


great work which Thou hast imposed upon
this, the most august of American assem-
blies. Crown its deliberations with honor,
sanctify with love, harmonize them with


peace and grant them the aid of Thy
power to reach the hearts of this great
people, and rally them with one will. Help
our noble President inhspatriotic efforts


to establish the supremacy of the Constitu-


tion and to thereby render this great Ameri-
can Union of our fathers imperishable


throughout all future generations. May


NH,n ha 1al w tha linhf nf nixriIi o,,kJt
all our difficulties that may hereafter arise
may be resolved by weapons of truth; and
upon the fields of victory and by the earn
age of the sword no more forever. And
now we commit, hnmbly and yet trustful-
ly, our great country, ourgreat people, and
our common destiny to the keeping of the
Infinite and ever adorable Trinity of
Heaven. Father. Son. and Holy Spirit.