"By claiming the First Day as their own Christians declare themselves as children of the Father of lights and fellow-heirs with Jesus Christ, a people whom he has delivered from the darkness of sin, falsehood, and death. Forsaking the ignorance of the Gentiles and the blindness of the earthly Israel, they have entered that new Kingdom resting on the everlasting foundations which is ruled by the new law of the Spirit of Life and into which Christ seeks to draw all men." – The Day of Light: The Biblical & Liturgical Meaning of Sunday, Chapter 3, Page 25, Summary.
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
3 On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.
4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
5 O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.
6 A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this.
7 When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.
8 But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.
9 For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
11 My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
15 To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Blessed be God, my Maker! Blessed be God, my Savior! Blessed be God, my Comforter! Who giveth unto me my health, my life, and every blessing; my very present help and protection. Thou hast kept me according to Thy great and most blessed compassion during this night now past against the onslaughts of Satan, and preserved me in health. I beseech Thee, Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, take me this day also into Thy divine protection, and shield me that no evil may assail my life. For into Thy hands do I this day and all days commend my body and soul, my thoughts, words, and deeds, all that I do or leave undone, my going out and my coming in, my walks and ways, my rising up and my lying down, my will and counsel, my thoughts and desires, my faith and profession, the end of my life, the day and hour of my death, my passing away and my resurrection. Oh Lord God, do Thou with me as Thou wilt: for Thou knowest what serves best Thy glory and my salvation. Keep me in Thy fear and in the true knowledge of Thee. Protect me from the deeds of unrighteousness. And if perchance and by reason of my frailty I sin against Thee, I pray Thee take not from me Thy mercy; turn not from me Thy grace; withdraw not Thy help. For there is none other God nor Helper but Thee, and as there is none before Thee, there is none after Thee. Thou art the first and the last, Alpha and Omega, and there is none other God beside Thee. Therefore do I call only upon Thee: may thy goodness rule over me. Cause me to hear Thy loving kindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust. Lead me on the paths of righteousness, that I may not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor yet sit in the seat of the scornful, but that my heart may ever delight in Thy word and commandments, and meditate upon them day and night; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee, we, being defended from the fear of all enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
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