THE KING'S MIRROR 



given, but he must pray as devoutly as if he were speak- 

 ing to God Himself; and these are the words of the 

 prayer. 



" O Thou most merciful God, eternal Father! O Thou 

 most honored Conqueror, Jesus Christ, the only be- 

 gotten Son of God! O Thou most gentle Comforter, Holy 

 Spirit! O Thou perpetual fount of wisdom and complete 

 and unshaken faith, Holy Trinity! O Thou indivisible 

 Unity, one omnipotent, unchangeable God: Thou Who 

 sittest above the highest summits of heaven and lookest 

 into the hidden depths below! For no creature can 

 escape Thy dominion, though it should wish to flee from 

 Thy wrath. Even though I should mount to heaven, 

 Thou art there before me; and though I crawl down into 

 the lowest hiding places of hell, Thy spiritual dominion 

 is there; and though I were to fly upon the wings of 

 the winds and hide beyond the uttermost boundaries of 

 the ocean solitudes, even there Thy right hand would 

 seize me and lead me back into Thy control. For Thy 

 mind has numbered the sands driven by the winds and 

 by the power of the ocean about all the earth, and Thine 

 eye knows all the drops of the dewy rain. Therefore, I 

 implore Thee, O my Lord, do not enter into the seat of 

 judgment with me, Thy servant, to search out my right- 

 eousness; and do not number the multitude of my sins, 

 but turn Thy face away from mine iniquities and cleanse 

 me from my secret faults and wash away all my guilt. 

 For my sins are great and lie heavy upon my head; they 

 are so many that they seem numberless to me in their 

 multitude, sins that I have committed in vain think- 

 ing, in foolish words, in neglecting Thy commandments 



