302 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



the front rank, and my removal at any time will not be 

 extraordinary, but may be expected soon in the regular 

 course of mortality. I await the event with calmness, not 

 from any confidence in my own merits, but I confide en 

 tirely in the mercy of God, manifested through his Son, 

 whose atonement covers even the vilest sinners if they 

 repent and submit themselves. 



August 8." Birthday, Aged Eighty -Four. Prayer of 

 Thanksgiving, Penitence, Faith, and Hope. O Thou great 

 and glorious God, revealed to us in three persons, 

 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ! Although we cannot com 

 prehend the unity of God manifested in three persons, we 

 see that there are manifestations of Creator, Redeemer, 

 and Sanctifier, in the creation of the universe, in the mer 

 ciful provision for the redemption and salvation of man 

 kind, and their sanctification by the Holy Spirit as the 

 means of preparing them for salvation. O heavenly Fath 

 er, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier ! I humbly accept 

 the fact as I accept the revelations of science, which are 

 equally inscrutable to me as regards their nature and 

 cause, although the effects are manifest. I am aware, 

 blessed God, that my mind is dark and ignorant by 

 nature ; still, enough is brought to light in nature and 

 revelation to justify our faith in what we cannot now un 

 derstand ; and what we know not now, we may know here 

 after. My life has been prolonged to fourscore years and 

 four. I trust, heavenly Father, that I am deeply grateful 

 for this long life full of mercies, although very imperfectly 

 requited to Thee by the obedience due from a humble being 

 to my great benefactor. To recite my mercies would be to 



recount the story of my life While recounting my 



mercies, I wou!4 not forget my sins and follies. When I 

 compare my heart and life, O Thou infinite triune God ! 

 with the purity and strictness of thy holy law, with thy 

 law which is all reasonable and right, I feel how unreli- 



