O thou who art from everlasting to

O thou who art from everlasting to everlasting the living and true God, high and lifted up, inhabiting eternity, yet who art near to every soul who turns to thee, we who are creatures of a day bow before thee in quietness and confidence. Amid all the changes of life, thy faithfulness changes not. The years come and go, but there is no coming or going of thy love, but always we are surrounded by grace, even when we know it not.

O God, for whom a thousand years are as a day, how can we lay hands upon this New Year until first thou hast laid thy hand upon us, and claimed us anew as thine own. Yet thou knowest how far from our high calling we have lived, how zealous we have been for all things of this world, and how little care we have shown for our eternal souls.

Merciful God, we would not plunge on in this self-seeking, but we would be still and know that we are meant for nobler living, for thy service, and for thy love. Forgive us all that is past, and grant that here after we may serve thee in newness of life, through the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We thank thee, O God, that we are not the first to travel this pilgrimage of life, but that the faithful of all generations have been over this road and left their cheering witness to thy faithfulness. We do not know what lies before us, but we know who goes before us: Jesus Christ, our Lord. We know that he who will meet us at the end is he who will walk beside us every day,

All our prayer we would gather up in the words of All our prayer we would gather up in the words of the old hymn:

Our God, our Help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come.

Be Thou our Guard while life shall last,

And our eternal Home.