A Commendation

A Commendation

I commend unto Thee, O Lord,

          impulses,                                          my soul and my body,

          occasions,                                        my mind and my thoughts,

          purposes,                                         my vows and prayers,

          endeavors,                                       my senses and my members,

          going out and coming in,                my words and my deeds,

          downsitting and uprising:               my life and my death:

                                                                   my brothers and sisters

                                                                      their children

                                                                   my benefactors

                                                                      wellwishers

                                                                         houshold

                                                                         neighbors

                                                                         country

                                                                         all Christian folk

— from The Preces Privatae of Lancelot Andrewes, ed. and tr. F. E. Brightman, London, 1903, p. 192

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