Reverence of Body and Heart
Asks that bowed bodies, closed eyes, and gathered thoughts express genuine inward reverence and purity in worship.
Historical edition. Historical claims and instructions are preserved as historical context.
MERCIFUL GOD, grant that while we humbly bend our bodies in token of what we profess to feel, our spirits may also bow in reverence to Thee, the Almighty God. Let our closed eyes and our ingathered thoughts just now remind us that we are addressing the invisible God, and though unseen, His blessed Spirit is around us and among us. And if there is in our minds or in our thoughts, aught that is evil; if frivolity, vanity, silly speech, or silly thoughts possess any of us, even for the moment, let Thy Spirit—gentle, yet solemn—cast out all such folly. By Thy good Spirit purify our hearts of all that is ungodly and untrue.—AMEN.