万物的主啊,
最值得我关注一生的,
激起我殷切渴求的,
是我对被造之伟大目的的回应——
荣耀你-造我的神,和对邻舍尽善行。
诚然,若非为此尊贵目的,
生命就不值得拥有。
是的,主啊,有这想法的人何其稀少!
大多数人为他们自己而活,
你的荣耀和他人的利益
他们漠不关心;
他们热心渴望与极力追求的是
发财、虚名和生活的享乐,
他们似乎认为,财富、成就与欢愉
能让不死的灵魂高兴;
但,哀哉,这些都是何等虚假的幻梦!
沉睡其中的人很快就会变得凄惨无比。
因我们的一切快乐在于爱你,
且因你是圣洁而分别为圣。
哦,愿我永远不落入今世的血气与虚荣,
愚昧与纵情。
这是一个不可言喻的悲哀世界,
一个巨大的虚无幻影;
时间不过是短暂片刻、雾气一阵,
其中的所有享乐都是空空气泡,
在疾风中消散无踪,
从中毫无满足的收获;
求你赐恩于我,来坚守你的圣约,
让我拒绝成名的幻想,从今到永远,
以及一切犯罪带来的乐趣和利益。
帮助我牢记
若非在你的爱子里为祂而活,
绝不可能有真正的快乐,
也不可能实现你给我的人生目的。

MAN’S GREAT END

LORD OF ALL BEING,
There is one thing that deserves my greatest care, that calls forth my ardent desires,
That is, that I may answer the great end for which I am made—
to glorify thee who hast given me being,
and to do all the good I can for my fellow men;
Verily, life is not worth having
if it be not improved for this noble purpose.
Yet, Lord, how little is this the thought of mankind! Most men seem to live for themselves,
without much or any regard for thy glory,
or for the good of others;
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue the riches, honours, pleasures of this life,
as if they supposed that wealth, greatness, merriment,
could make their immortal souls happy;
But, alas, what false delusive dreams are these!
And how miserable ere long will those be that sleep in them,
for all our happiness consists in loving thee,
and being holy as thou art holy.
O may I never fall into the tempers and vanities, the sensuality and folly of the present world!
It is a place of inexpressible sorrow, a vast empty nothingness;
Time is a moment, a vapour,
and all its enjoyments are empty bubbles,
fleeting blasts of wind,
from which nothing satisfactory can be derived;
Give me grace always to keep in covenant with thee,
and to reject as delusion a great name here or hereafter,
together with all sinful pleasures or profits.
Help me to know continually
that there can be no true happiness,
no fulfilling of thy purpose for me,
apart from a life lived in and for the Son of thy love.