The Bethel Flag: A Series of Short Discourses to Seamen

A Short Introductory Prayer at the beginning of the Service, and immediately before Reading the Scriptures.

O Lord God, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Redeemer of men! we thine unworthy servants, separated in thy providence from the privileges of thy Sanctuary, are here met to worship before thy great and holy throne. We thank thee for this opportunity; and that the throne at which we bow is a throne of grace. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we approach thee; and since he has said, “Wherever two, or three, are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” do thou grant us thy presence in these services, that we may worship thee with reverence and godly fear, to our own profit and thy glory. Amen!

Here let a portion of the Scriptures be read.]

[Then let there be offered the following General Prayer.]

Lord, thou art God, that hast made the heavens and the earth,, the sea and the dry land. From everlastmg to everlasting, thou art God alone. Thy greatness knows no bounds, thy perfections are infinite, thy existence has no beginning, and will have no end. O Lord, we have heard thy speech, and were afraid. He stood and measured the earth; he beheld and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep utters his voice, and lifts up his hands on high. We cannot flee from thy Spirit, nor escape from thy presence; for thou fillest heaven and earth, and the whole universe subsists in thee as in a boundless ocean. Thou art holy in thyself, thy name is holy, thy law is holy, thy day is holy, and thou art holy in all thy works. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. And so is the great and wide sea. Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee; the foolish shall not stand in thy sight; thou hatest all the workers of iniquity. Thou art good, and the source of all good to creatures. The earth is full of thy goodness and bounty. What goodness, what bounty, to be thus bestowed upon man who is a worm, and the son of man who is a worm! Thou art gracious, and long-suffering, and slow to anger, and of great kindness. The mercy of the Lord endureth forever. We ourselves are witnesses of all these things. We are living, O make us the grateful observers of this thy greatness and goodness, and grant that we may so live as to show forth thy praise. Thanks, great God, and praise be to thee from all thy creatures, that thou hast thus made known thy great and worthy name!

O God, we humbly bow down before thee; we worship thee as the God in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways. We are dependent upon thee; we are thy creatures, thy servants, thy property. All we have and are, are thy gifts; O make us thine affectionate and dutiful children — the children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ. For we are sinners before thee, O Lord, and are fallen by our iniquity. We are prone to evil as the sparks fly upward; we have been tempted to evil, and we have yielded to the temptation; in thought, word, and deed, we have committed iniquity; we have sinned against heaven and before thee, and are no more worthy to be called thy children.

Yet is thy mercy great unto the heavens, and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Who, O Lord, is a strong Lord like unto thee, and to thy faithfulness round about thee! Thy Son has descended for our salvation; God himself has become man; infinite power has put on human weakness; infinite holiness has assumed human guilt; infinite blessedness has taken upon him our woes; he who was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might become rich. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, and for the love and sufferings of thy Son, pardon our iniquity, for it is great. Sanctify us by thy Holy Spirit; restrain and keep us from evil, by thy good providence; guard us from the abominable thing which thy soul hateth; keep us from falling, and preserve us to thy heavenly kingdom.

It is in the multitude of thy tender mercies, O God, that we this day worship thee. What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us? We thank thee especially that thou hast kept us in safety thus far, while we have been upon the mighty waters. We are prospered, only as God prospers us; we are safe, only as God keeps us. O thou who carriest the waters in the hollow of thy hand, make us all still the objects of thy care. Guard us from death, accident, and sickness. From enemies, and tempest, and adverse providences, and contrary winds protect us. Preserve the ship that bears us on our way; bless her owners, her officers, and her crew, and make her way and her end prosperous. Restore us all to our much loved land in safety and mercy, and gratefully impressed with thy goodness. Spread the shield of thy guardianship and love over those we have left behind us; and let not calamity or death in any form invade them, or come up into their chambers. Look in mercy upon all who sail on the ocean, and grant that the perils to which they are exposed may be avoided, the blessings they need may be vouchsafed to them, the fear of God be before their eyes, and the multitude who dwell on the ocean may be turned unto thee.

Grant, O God, that we thy servants may live mindful of our last end. May we listen to the voice of thy providence, and thy word, which teaches us that man’s days are as an hand’s breath; and when this boisterous and short voyage of human life is over, O receive us into thy heavenly kingdom, and thine own everlasting rest. All we ask is in the name of Christ, thy Son, who is worthy, with the Father and the Spirit, to receive everlasting praises. Amen.

Here read a Sermon and then conclude with the following Prayer.

O Thou that art the God of all the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea. We once more come to thy mercy seat to bless thee for the privileges we have enjoyed on this holy day; to implore thy blessing; and to beg thee to give testimony to the word of thy grace. O God, who art so high above all thy creatures, that they are but as worms before thee, thou hast done great things for us, for which we render praise to thy great name. Not only dost thou care for us, and keep us in safety here upon the mighty deep, and open thy hand every day to supply our wants; but thou dost not cease to watch over our souls. Thou hast given thy Son to die for us; thou hast once more knocked at the door of our hearts; and thou hast condescended to impart solemn thoughts to our minds, so that we are left without excuse. O that thou wouldst make us faithful to follow the instructions of thy holy word, and wise unto salvation! We have lived more for earth, than for heaven; for the world, than for eternity; for ourselves, than for thee. Do not suffer us, we beseech thee, to be so occupied by the cares, and labors of this present life, as to lose sight of that eternal life which is beyond the grave. But rather may we live every day, so that if the Son of Man should say to us. This night thy soul shall be required of thee; we may be prepared to stand before him.

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