Hymn of Praise to God
Preces Gertrudianae, compiled by Thomas Alder Pope, 1861Source and notes
Source
| Printed in | Preces Gertrudianae: Prayers of St Gertrude and St. Mechtilde of The Order of St. Benedict. |
|---|---|
| Imprint | LONDON, BURNS AND LAMBERT, 1861 |
| Pages | pp. 43–45 |
| Scan | leaf 55, leaf 56, leaf 57 of the Internet Archive copy |
| Rights | Public domain in the United States. |
- Prayers for
- thanksgiving
The Bedford Master, Pentecost, book of hours, about 1420. Cleveland Museum of Art.
O HEIGHT inaccessible of wondrous power! O unfathomable depth of hidden wisdom! O boundless breadth of much-desired love! None but thyself can worthily praise thee, for thou alone knowest thine infinite magnificence, and thou knowest how thou oughtest to be praised. Wherefore, O Lord my God, may thine eternal Godhead, thy uncircumscribed Majesty, and thine infinite goodness, praise thee for me. O Lord my God, may thy loftiest wisdom, thy widest and most ample mercy, and thy most profound justice, praise thee for me. May thy greatness without limits, thy exquisite and penetrating sweetness, and thy most compassionate kindness, praise thee for me.
May all the names, all the titles, all the emblems, which can be said of thee or conceived of thee, bless thee, exult in thee, and magnify thee for me, and give thee thanks for all good things which thou hast ever bestowed, or shalt hereafter bestow, on me or on any one of thy creatures.
May the most adorable Humanity of Jesus Christ praise thee and exult in thee for me, O Lord my God. May his most holy life and conversation on earth, his most divine virtue and graces, his most precious Blood and tears, his cruel wounds and bruises, his most bitter passion and death, supply all the defects of my service, and worthily glorify thee.
May the most serene Queen of heaven, the most chaste Virgin Mary, magnify and extol thee, O God my Creator; and together with her the ten thousand times ten thousand companies of blessed spirits, and the countless host of thy saints; may they sing praises to thee for me for ever.
May our most holy Mother the Church sing to thee and exult in thee for me; may the seven most hallowed Sacraments praise thee; may all the reverent ceremonies and rites of thy Church honour thee; may all her psalms and prayers praise thee, all her virtues and her holiness, all her sorrow and her love, all her longing and her desire wherewith she sighs unto thee in this valley of tears.
May all the gratuitous gifts of grace which thou hast ever conferred on me give thee thanks and praise: may all my powers of body and soul, my nerves and veins, my bones and my flesh, all my desire and all my groaning, my understanding, my memory and my will, my inmost heart with its wondrous beatings and throbs; may all unite to shout for joy to thee. I offer and resign to thee all these, beseeching thee that thou wouldest make me show forth thy praise and glory in time and in eternity. Amen.