COVENANT RENEWAL SERVICE

COVENANT RENEWAL SERVICE

In 1663 Richard Alleine, a Puritan, published Vindiciae Pietatis: or, “A Vindication of Godliness in the Greater Strictness and Spirituality of It”. In 1753, it was again published in John Wesley's A Christian Library. Wesley used one chapter, "The Application of the Whole," on Monday, August 11, 1755, in what probably was the first real celebration of the Covenant Service in the Methodist movement.
Wesley found the service rich and meaningful, as expressed in his Journal: "Many mourned before God, and many were comforted" (April 1756); "It was, as usual, a time of remarkable blessing" (October 1765). "It was an occasion for a variety of spiritual experiences ... I do not know that ever we had a greater blessing. Afterwards many desired to return thanks, either for a sense of pardon, for full salvation, or for a fresh manifestation of His graces, healing all their backslidings" (January 1, 1775). In London these services were usually held on New Year's Day. Around the country the Covenant Service was conducted whenever John Wesley visited the Methodist Societies.
After the time of Wesley several versions of the Covenant Service were developed, gradually giving Wesley's material less place in the total service. The present service follows our Basic Pattern of worship, enables the congregation to participate more fully, and updates language. Most significant, the liturgy beginning with the Invitation is taken directly from Wesley's service of 1780.
The heart of the service, focused in the Covenant Prayer, requires persons to commit themselves to God. This covenant is serious and assumes adequate preparation for and continual response to the covenant. Leaders of worship must take seriously the need to prepare the congregation for this service, possibly through study sessions and prayer.
The leaders must also assume responsibility to assist persons to be faithful to the covenant, possibly through meetings for spiritual discipline.
The Covenant Service is most commonly held on New Year's Eve or Day and therefore is sometimes called a Watch Night Service. Historically, a Watch Night Service would be three hours or longer, including readings from Scripture and hymn singing. This Covenant Service would also be appropriate on one of the Sundays After the Epiphany, during Lent, on a church anniversary, or during a revival or preaching mission. Ideally, the service should be used only once a year on the same Sunday. Red is an appropriate color for paraments and vestments.
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Individual copies of the Covenant Service are recommended for all worshipers so that they may sign and keep them as reminders.

ENTRANCE

GATHERING

GREETING

HYMN *

Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine (UMH 606)

1. Come, let us use the grace divine, and all with one accord, 

in a perpetual covenant join ourselves to Christ the Lord; 

Give up ourselves, thru Jesus' power, his name to glorify; 

and promise, in this sacred hour, for God to live and die. 

2. The covenant we this moment make be ever kept in mind; 

we will no more our God forsake, or cast these words behind. 

We never will throw off the fear of God who hears our vow; 

and if thou art well pleased to hear, come down and meet us now. 

3. Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, let all our hearts receive, 

present with thy celestial host the peaceful answer give; 

to each covenant the blood apply which takes our sins away, 

and register our names on high and keep us to that day! 

Charles Wesley wrote this hymn specifically for this service.

OPENING PRAYER*

O God, Searcher of all our hearts,

you have formed us as a people and claimed us for your own.

As we come to acknowledge your sovereignty and grace,

and to enter anew into covenant with you,

reveal any reluctance or falsehood within us.

Let your Spirit impress your truth on our inmost being,

and receive us in mercy, for the sake of our Mediator, Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(DAVID TRIPP, ENGLAND, 20TH CENT.)

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

The following or another litany of thanksgiving may be used:Let us give thanks for all of God's mercies.
O God, our Covenant Friend,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,

which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place.

We praise your holy name, O God.
You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,
and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers. R
You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church. R
You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors. R
You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace. R

PROCLAMATION

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE LESSON (S)

These lessons may be interspersed with hymns and psalms:

Deuteronomy 31:9 Then Moshe wrote down this Torah and gave it to the cohanim, the descendants of Levi who carried the ark with the covenant of Adonai, and to all the leaders of Isra’el. (LY: iv) 10 Moshe gave them these orders: “At the end of every seven years, during the festival of Sukkot in the year of sh’mittah, 11 when all Isra’el have come to appear in the presence of Adonai at the place he will choose, you are to read this Torah before all Isra’el, so that they can hear it. 12 Assemble the people — the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners you have in your towns — so that they can hear, learn, fear Adonai your God and take care to obey all the words of this Torah; 13 and so that their children, who have not known, can hear and learn to fear Adonai your God, for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess.”

A covenant renewal

2 Kings 23:1

 Then the king summoned all the leaders of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, and they assembled with him. 2 The king went up to the house of Adonai with all the men of Y’hudah, all those living in Yerushalayim, the cohanim, the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing everything written in the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the house of Adonai. 3 The king stood on the platform and made a covenant in the presence of Adonai to live following Adonai, observing his mitzvot, instructions and regulations wholeheartedly and with all his being, so as to confirm the words of the covenant written in this scroll. All the people stood, pledging themselves to keep the covenant.

Renewal of covenant

2 Chronicles 34:

29 Then the king summoned and assembled all the leaders of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim. 30 The king went up to the house of Adonai with all the men of Y’hudah, those living in Yerushalayim, the cohanim, the L’vi’im and all the people, both great and small; and he read in their hearing everything written in the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the house of Adonai. 31 The king stood in his place and made a covenant in the presence of Adonai to live following Adonai, observing his mitzvot, instructions and laws wholeheartedly and with all his being, so as to perform the words of the covenant written in this scroll. 32 Then, after he had all the people in Yerushalayim and Binyamin stand in affirmation of it, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

33 Yoshiyahu removed all the abominable idols from all the territories belonging to the people of Isra’el, and he made everyone in Isra’el serve Adonai their God. Throughout his lifetime, they did not stop following Adonai, the God of their ancestors.

Renewal of covenant

Jeremiah 31:

30 (31) “Here, the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah. 31 (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,” says Adonai. 32 (33) “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 33 (34) No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, ‘Know Adonai’; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more.”

34 (35) This is what Adonai says,

who gives the sun as light for the day,

who ordained the laws for the moon and stars

to provide light for the night,

who stirs up the sea until its waves roar —

Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name:

A new covenant

Psalm 50:1

 (0) A psalm of Asaf:

(1) The Mighty One, God, Adonai, is speaking,

summoning the world from east to west.

2 Out of Tziyon, the perfection of beauty,

God is shining forth.

3 Our God is coming and not staying silent.

With a fire devouring ahead of him

and a great storm raging around him,

4 he calls to the heavens above and to earth,

in order to judge his people.

5 “Gather to me my faithful,

those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is judge. (Selah)

7 “Listen, my people, I am speaking:

Isra’el, I am testifying against you,

I, God, your God.

8 I am not rebuking you for your sacrifices;

your burnt offerings are always before me.

9 I have no need for a bull from your farm

or for male goats from your pens;

10 for all forest creatures are mine already,

as are the animals on a thousand hills;

11 I know all the birds in the mountains;

whatever moves in the fields is mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you;

for the world is mine, and everything in it.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God,

pay your vows to the Most High,

15 and call on me when you are in trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:

“What right do you have to proclaim my laws

or take my covenant on your lips,

17 when you so hate to receive instruction

and fling my words behind you?

18 When you see a thief, you join up with him,

you throw in your lot with adulterers,

19 you give your mouth free rein for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit;

20 you sit and speak against your kinsman,

you slander your own mother’s son.

21 When you do such things, should I stay silent?

You may have thought I was just like you;

but I will rebuke and indict you to your face.

22 Consider this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to save you.

23 “Whoever offers thanksgiving

as his sacrifice honors me;

and to him who goes the right way

I will show the salvation of God.”

Gathering of the faithful

1 Peter 1:

1 From: Kefa, an emissary of Yeshua the Messiah

To: God’s chosen people, living as aliens in the Diaspora — in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bythinia — 2 chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obeying Yeshua the Messiah and for sprinkling with his blood:

Grace and shalom be yours in full measure.

3 Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, 4 to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven. 5 Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the Last Time. 6 Rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials. 7 Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Yeshua the Messiah.

8 Without having seen him, you love him. Without seeing him now, but trusting in him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words. 9 And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance.

10 The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. 11 They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach HaKodesh sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things!

13 Therefore, get your minds ready for work, keep yourselves under control, and fix your hopes fully on the gift you will receive when Yeshua the Messiah is revealed. 14 As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant. 15 On the contrary, following the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in your entire way of life; 16 since the Tanakh says,

“You are to be holy because I am holy.”[1 Peter 1:16 Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7]

17 Also, if you are addressing as Father the one who judges impartially according to each person’s actions, you should live out your temporary stay on earth in fear. 18 You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold; 19 on the contrary, it was the costly bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah, as of a lamb without defect or spot. 20 God knew him before the founding of the universe, but revealed him in the acharit-hayamim for your sakes. 21 Through him you trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory; so that your trust and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have a sincere love for your brothers, love each other deeply, with all your heart. 23 You have been born again not from some seed that will decay, but from one that cannot decay, through the living Word of God that lasts forever. 24 For

all humanity is like grass,

all its glory is like a wildflower —

the grass withers, and the flower falls off;

25 but the Word of Adonai lasts forever.[1 Peter 1:25 Isaiah 40:6–8]

Moreover, this Word is the Good News which has been proclaimed to you.

Call of holy living

Matthew 25:

14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’

24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 29 For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’

Parable of talents

Matthew 25:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. 33 The ‘sheep’ he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats’ at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, 36 I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’

41 “Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, ‘Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?’ 45 And he will answer them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!’ 46 They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life.”

Judgment of the nations

John 15:1

 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. 3 Right now, because of the word which I have spoken to you, you are pruned. 4 Stay united with me, as I will with you — for just as the branch can’t put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can’t bear fruit apart from me.

5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.

7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.

Jesus is the true vine.

SERMON OR HOMILY

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
the Christian life is redeemed from sin and consecrated to God.
Through baptism, we have entered this life
and have been admitted into the new covenant
of which Jesus Christ is the Mediator.
He sealed it with his own blood, that it might last for ever.
On the one side, God promises to give us new life in Christ,
the Source and Perfecter of our faith.
On the other side, we are pledged
to live no more for ourselves but only for Jesus Christ,
who loved us and gave himself for us.
From time to time we renew our covenant with God,
especially when we reaffirm the Baptismal Covenant
and gather at the Lord's table.
Today, however, we meet, as the generations before us have met,
to renew the covenant that binds us to God.
Let us make this covenant of God our own.

WESLEY'S COVENANT SERVICE

INVITATION

Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.
Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.
Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
to all that he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.
Confirm this by a holy covenant.
To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:
First, set apart some time, more than once,
to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God's special assistance
and gracious acceptance of you;
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching your hearts
whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.
Consider what your sins are.
Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are,
and whether you, after having carefully considered them,
are willing to choose them all.
Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.
Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Third, claim God's covenant,
rely upon God's promise of giving grace and strength,
so you can keep your promise.
Trust not your own strength and power.
Fourth, resolve to be faithful.
You have given to the Lord your hearts,
you have opened your mouths to the Lord,
and you have dedicated yourself to God.
With God's power, never go back.
And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.
Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven,
open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:

COVENANT PRAYER

The people kneel or bow.

O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
see me as I fall down before you.
Forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done your will,
for you have promised mercy to me
if I turn to you with my whole heart.
God requires that you shall put away all your idols.
I here from the bottom of my heart renounce them all,
covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in my life.
Against your will, I have turned my love toward the world.
In your power
I will watch all temptations that will lead me away from you.
For my own righteousness is riddled with sin,
unable to stand before you.
Through Christ, God has offered to be your God again
if you would let him.
Before all heaven and earth,
I here acknowledge you as my Lord and God.
I take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion,
and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant,
to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.
God has given the Lord Jesus Christ
as the only way and means of coming to God.
Jesus, I do here on bended knees accept Christ
as the only new and living Way,
and sincerely join myself in a covenant with him.
O blessed Jesus, I come to you,
hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked,
unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.
I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord and Head.
I renounce my own worthiness,
and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness.
I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide.
I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law.
Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.
I do here covenant with you, O Christ,
to take my lot with you as it may fall.
Through your grace I promise
that neither life nor death shall part me from you.
God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.
I do here willingly put my neck under your yoke, to carry your burden.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
I therefore take them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions,
promising that I will strive
to order my whole life according to your direction,
and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.
The almighty God searches and knows your heart.
O God, you know that I make this covenant with you today
without guile or reservation.
If any falsehood should be in it, guide me and help me to set it aright.
And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
whom I from this day forward shall look upon as my God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
who have loved me and washed me from my sins in your own blood,
and now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
who by your almighty power have turned my heart from sin to God.
O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you have now become my Covenant Friend.
And I, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servant.
So be it.
And let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
You are advised to make this covenant not only in your heart, but in word; not only in word, but in writing. Therefore, with all reverence, lay the service before the Lord as your act and deed. And when you have done this, sign it. Then keep it as a reminder of the holy agreement between God and you that you may remember it during doubts and temptations.
See also A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition (UMH 607).
The pastor may now celebrate Holy Communion, the people using A Service of Word and Table III (UMH) or one of the musical settings (UMH) and the pastor using “The Great Thanksgiving for New Year, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord or Covenant Renewal” (UMBOW 58-59).
Otherwise, the service continues as follows:
HYMN * Suggested from UMH:

563/564 Father, We Thank you

1. Father, we thank you for the night,

and for the lovely morning light;

for rest and food and loving care,

and all that makes the day so fair.

2. Help us to do the things we should,

to be to others kind and good;

in all we do, in work or play,

to grow more loving ev'ry day.

3. Lord, keep our lips from sin today;

help us to trust and to obey.

Lord, keep our feet from evil ways;

and fill our hearts with joy and praise.

117 O God, Our Help in Ages Past

1. O God, our help in ages past,

  Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

  And our eternal home.

2. Under the shadow of Thy throne

  Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

  And our defence is sure.

3. Before the hills in order stood,

  Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

  To endless years the same.

4. A thousand ages in Thy sight

  Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night

  Before the rising sun.

5. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

  Bears all its sons away;

They fly forgotten, as a dream

  Dies at the opening day.

6. O God, our help in ages past,

  Our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guard while life shall last,

  And our eternal home.

698 God of The Ages 

1. God of the ages, whose almighty hand 

leads forth in beauty all the starry band 

of shining worlds in splendor through the skies, 

our grateful songs before thy throne arise. 

2. Thy love divine hath led us in the past; 

in this free land with thee our lot is cast; 

be thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay, 

thy Word our law, thy paths our chosen way. 

3. From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence, 

be thy strong arm our ever sure defense; 

thy true religion in our hearts increase; 

thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace. 

4. Refresh thy people on their toilsome way; 

lead us from night to never-ending day; 

fill all our lives with love and grace divine, 

and glory, laud, and praise be ever thine. 

501 O Thou Who Camest from Above

1. O Thou who camest from above, 

the pure celestial fire to impart 

kindle a flame of sacred love 

upon the mean altar of my heart. 

2. There let it for thy glory burn 

with inextinguishable blaze, 

and trembling to its source return, 

in humble prayer and fervent praise. 

3. Jesus, confirm my heart's desire 

to work and speak and think for thee; 

still let me guard the holy fire, 

and still stir up thy gift in me. 

4. Ready for all thy perfect will, 

my acts of faith and love repeat, 

till death thy endless mercies seal, 

and make my sacrifice complete.

561 Jesus, United by Thy Grace 

1. Jesus, united by thy grace 

and each to each endeared, 

with confidence we seek thy face 

and know our prayer is heard. 

2. Help us to help each other, Lord, 

each other's cross to bear; 

let all their friendly aid afford, 

and feel each other's care. 

3. Up unto thee, our living Head, 

let us in all things grow; 

till thou hast made us free indeed 

and spotless here below. 

4. Touched by the lodestone of thy love, 

let all our hearts agree, 

and ever toward each other move, 

and ever move toward thee. 

5. To thee, inseparably joined, 

let all our spirits cleave; 

O may we all the loving mind 

that was in thee receive. 

6. This is the bond of perfectness, 

thy spotless charity; 

O let us, still we pray, possess 

the mind that was in thee.

DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING *
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Copyright: “Covenant Renewal Service” Copyright © 1992 UMPH. Wesley Covenant Service abridged by Ole E. Borgen.

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