"Make us thine by thine own covenant, established in Christ, thine own anointed; the blessed surety, by thine own appointment; our substitute, on whom it hath pleased thee to lay the iniquities of us all; in whose sacred person thou tookest vengeance for all our sins; by whom thy law is fulfilled, magnified, and made honorable; whose doing and suffering in our stead is accepted by Jehovah. 'The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake.' No covenant short of one fulfilled in every jot and tittle could benefit us. "Thy covenant is well-ordered in all things, and it is sure. "Here, O Lord, I take my stand; here I lay my foundation, and on this thy covenant I build; or rather, here thou thyself hast laid my foundation, and on this rock hast thou set my soul and built my hopes, thou subduing my enmity. I acquiesce. I will now 'remember the years of thy hand,' look back to thy dealings with thine own nation, whom thou didst choose and set apart from all other nations, though of the same blood with all those that dwell on the face of the whole earth. "They, like us, destroyed themselves, but in thee was their help. They also sinned, committed iniquity, and did wickedly; they remembered not thy mercy, but provoked thee at the Red sea, after the great deliverance thou hadst wrought for them, and the wonders thou madest to pass before them in the land of Egypt. Nevertheless thou savedst them for thy name's sake, that thou mightest make thy mighty power known; thou didst repeat thy wonders, and didst dry up the sea before them. He fed them with corn from heaven; they did eat angel's food. He clave the rock in the wilderness, and caused waters to run down like a river. After all, they forsook the God of their mercies; they believed not his promises, nor trusted in his salvation; they lusted, and they murmured, and desired to turn back to Egypt. Thou didst chasten them sore for their sin, and didst bring down their heart with grief. "When thou didst slay them, they sought thee, and remembered that God was their rock, and the most high God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter with their mouth and lied unto thee with their tongue, for their heart was not right with thee, neither were they steadfast in thy covenant. But thou being full of compassion, forgavest their iniquity and destroyedst them not; yea, many a time turnedst thou away thine anger, and didst not stir up all thy wrath. "O how many times did they turn back, tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. Yet did he fulfil all his promises, and by wonders in the sea, wonders in the desert, wonders in Zoan's field, and in the camps of their enemies, he led them safely to the border of his sanctuary, to the mountain which his right hand had purchased. He cast out the heathen before them, and gave them rest in the land of promise. Even there they provoked the Most High, provoked him to jealousy with their graven images.