The Lord's Prayer Poem by Rees Prichard

A. Our Father, who the universe didst frame -
Our Father, from whose Love all blessings flow,
Hallow'd for ever be thy glorious name,
By all the saints above, and men below.

Soon may thy kingdom come, O gracious Lord!
When we on earth, shall join th' angelic host,
And all be govern'd by thy sacred word,
And by the guidance of the Holy Ghost :

Thy will divine, amongst us mortals here
On earth, implicitly be ever done,
As it is always in a higher sphere,
By ev'ry angel, seraph, pow'r, and throne.

Forgive us, Lord! forgive us here below,
All the offences, we have ever done;
As we forgiveness for our brethren's show,
May we expect forgiveness for our own:

Permit us not by sin to be ensnar'd -
Let no temptation our frail hearts entice -
Our souls from this world's vain delusions guard,
From Satan's toils, and ev'ry sensual vice.

Permit us not by sin to be ensar'd -
Let no temptation our frail hearts entice -
Our souls from this world's vain delusions guard,
From Satan's toils, and ev'ry sensual vice.

The sov'reignty of all the world is thine -
Omnipotence belongs to none, but thee -
All Glory too, that attribute divine,
Is thine - and so shall it for ever be!
Amen.


Q. What dost thou of the Lord thy God desire
In this short Prayer - when with uplifted eyes,
And mind quite rapt with a celestial fire,
Thou dartest thy petitions to the skies?

A. First, of the Lord my God, and heav'nly Sire,
His aid and kind assistance I implore,
That He wou'd give us all that we require,
That as we ought, we may his name adore.

Whatever blessings we may chance to want,
I, next, beseech that He'd be pleas'd to send,
And ev'ry necessary likewise grant,
To clothe our bodies and our souls defend.

I farther beg, that He wou'd quite discharge
Our long accounts - I cannot say how long!
And take compassion upon all at large,
That ever did us any harm or wrong :

I also pray, that He wou'd still defend,
And by His mighty Power keep us whole,
From all the ills and dangers that attend,
As well this mortal body, as the soul.

All this, I trust, He'll of His mercy do,
Through Jesus Christ, his ever-blessed Son,
And for His sake, to all compassion show :
Therefore, I say, Amen! - May this be done!

Q. Thus far thy answers have been full and plain -
Now tell me, without any sly reserve,
How many sacraments did Christ ordain,
Which his whole church was always to observe?

A. Two only, to salvation requisite,
He in the gospel left upon record -
That is to say - if (as I think) I'm right -
Baptism - and the Supper of our Lord.

Q. If thou dost understand the question, say,
By this word, Sacrament, what dost thou mean?
Thy sentiments of it before me lay,
And, if thou canst, explain the mystic scene.

A. It is a visible, and outward sign
Of an internal, spiritual grace,
Whereby I'm sure that Christ himself is mine,
With all the gifts he grants his chosen race.

Q. How many parts do each of those contain,
Before the present congregation say,
And make them to the meanest Christian plain,
As in the sunshine that illumes the day?

A. In either Sacrament, two parts there are,
One, is the visible and outward sign,
The other does an inward grace declare,
A mental pow'r, and energy divine.

Q. What is the outward sign, that may be seen,
Or sacred form in baptism reveal'd,
Whereby all Christians are from sin made clean,
And by a grace, to them peculiar, seal'd?

A. Water, wherein the person is baptiz'd
(Who can this sign of his religion boast)
In those dread names, by Christians so much priz'd,
I mean, 'the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.'

Q. What is that inward, spiritual grace,
Which cannot by the carnal eye be seen,
Whereby God shows to all his chosen race,
That they are wash'd from their offences clean?

A. It is the blood of Christ, God's only Son,
Which ev'ry soul from native filth does lave,
And sin - whereby it had been else undone,
Whereas, before, it was the devil's slave:

'Tis that alone, which does man's sins efface,
And to a new-born righteousness restore,
'Tis that which makes him heav'n's child thro' grace,
When he, by nature, was God's foe before.

Q. Tell me, my child! what is requir'd of those,
Who, to the font, to be baptiz'd are brought?
And fluently the benefits disclose,
Which by that holy Sacrament are wrought?

A. A lively faith, and penitence sincere,
By all, who are baptiz'd, must be express'd,
And ev'ry one must both these badges bear
Of the religion that's by him profess'd.

Repentance, ev'ry error to resign,
And ev'ry sin entirely to forsake -
Faith, to believe the promises divine,
Which God to them did, in this office, make.

Q. How then can infants at the font engage
All this, and such a burden undertake;
When they, by reason of their tender age,
Cannot perform the promises they make?

A. Because their sureties answer, in their room,
That they shall all those promises fulfil -
Which promises, when to due years they come,
They must perform with an obedient will.

Q. Why was the holy Eucharist ordain'd?
And why, e'er since our Lord first kept that feast,
Has it by all good Christians been maintain'd,
With a devotion, that has never ceas'd?

A. It was, that we might ever bear in mind
The death of Christ, who for our sins was slain,
And the vast benefits which all mankind
May, from his painful sufferings, obtain.

Q. What is the visible, external part
Of that blest feast, or Sacrament divine,
That seals the promis'd grace? tell me by heart -
Tell me, I say, what is its outward sign?

A. It is the bread and wine, our blessed Lord
Commanded us to take, for his dear sake,
When we his Body and his Blood record,
And of that Soul-sufficing food partake.

Q. What is th' internal part, the pow'r divine,
The grace, that in his Sacrament does lie,
Or thing intended by the bread and wine?
I beg a ready and concise reply.

A. Christ's Body and his Blood are signify'd
Thereby - which he for all his people shed,
When man was sav'd, and God was satisfy'd,
And with the Bread of Life we all were fed.

Q. What are the benefits that thence accrue
To all, who worthily receive the same,
And, at this sacramental banquet shew,
The great regard they bear their Saviour's name?

A. Our souls are fed upon our Saviour's flesh,
And on his gifts divine with vast delight :
Our feeble faith the banquet does refresh,
And all our sins, thro' him, are cancell'd quite :

For as the tasteful bread and wine are good,
To strengthen and rejoice the heart of flesh:
Just so our Saviour's Body and his Blood,
The souls of good communicants refresh.

Q. What is requir'd of ev'ry worthy guest,
(Besides all proper rev'rence and respect)
Who without dread comes to this holy feast,
If he, from it, can any good expect?

A. He thoroughly must scrutinize his heart,
If he detests the devious paths he trod,
And from his sins determines to depart,
Whether committed against man, or God;

And, next to that, he fully must intend
Never to lead the life he led before;
But all his former wicked ways amend,
As God himself commands, and sin no more:

He likewise for a certainty must know,
Whether he does a lively faith possess
In all the mercies, that so freely flow
From God, thro' Christ - whom we must ever bless:

He, farther, must in Jesus Christ believe,
And in the blood that did for him atone,
Who by his death did all our souls reprieve,
When none cou'd rescue us, but Christ alone :

Lastly, his heart he must examine well,
Whether, in charity with all he lives,
And can so far his rebel passions quell,
That he their trespasses to all forgives.