Page images
PDF
EPUB

richer mercies of thy salvation. Jesus is our Saviour, and heavenly glory is set before us.

But, O Lord, though thou art so gracious, we confess we have not loved thee as we ought. We have forgotten thy goodness, and been rebellious, disobedient children towards thee our heavenly Father, and greatly do we need each night the precious blood of Jesus to wash away the sins of the day; Oh blot them all out, and hide thy face from them.

Bless all our relations and friends; let not one whom we love be walking the ways of eternal death, and above all, O God, grant that our dear children may be made children of God. Give us grace to bring them up for him. for him. Watch over us this night for our Saviour's sake. Amen.

LXXXIX.

TUESDAY MORNING.

STRENGTH FOR THE DAY'S DUTIES.

Almighty God, surrounded with all the mercies of another morning, we would first of all offer our hearty thanks unto thee for all thy goodness, for the quiet sleep of the night, for health and strength for the work of the day, for the light of the sun, for the food we eat, and, above all, for spiritual mercies, all praise be unto thee.

And now, O Lord, another day is before us; give us grace to fulfil its duties, for without thee we can

do nothing. We shall have many temptations to sin, strengthen us to resist them. When Satan would tempt us to any evil thing, may we, like our Saviour, say, Get thee behind me, Satan, and not parley one moment with him. Give us to know sin as that hateful thing which crucified Jesus, and so may we be always on the watch against it.

Let us not only be Christians in name, content with saying our prayers, but Christians in deed and truth all the day long, following always in the steps of Jesus. Take away our sins, watch over us and bless us for his name's sake. Amen.

XC.

TUESDAY EVENING.

LOOKING TO JESUS TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS, AND FOR HIS COMING.

O Lord God, wearied with the labours of another day, we would once again, before we go to rest, seek a blessing from our heavenly Father. We know, O Lord, that every thought, word and work of this day has been open to thy piercing eye, and how much sin hast thou seen in each one of us! how much pride, idleness, selfishness, self-will, forgetfulness of God! how many things we have done that we ought not to have done, and how many we have left undone that we ought to do! Let the precious blood of Jesus wash away all our sins; we have no

hope but in him. How can we thank thee enough for this precious Saviour; he has delivered us from the flames of hell, he bore the dreadful curse instead of us; blessing and honour and glory and power be for ever to Jesus!

O hasten the happy time when Jesus shall come again to our world, when sorrow and sighing shall flee away, and the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Help us now to prepare for that day, that it may not overtake us as a thief, and be a time of terror to us, but may we serve Jesus now in humility, that we may reign with his saints for ever. And now, Lord,

take us under thy protection this night, and give us quiet sleep for our Redeemer's sake.

XCI.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

TO DO ALL WITH A HEAVENLY MIND.

O God, thou hast said, Ask, and ye shall have, seek, and ye shall find; it is thine own promise, fulfil it to us, let us not even come to thee in prayer for a few minutes without gaining a blessing.

Thou knowest how much our time must be occupied in providing for each day's wants, and what danger we are in of forgetting our precious souls; may God preserve us from this; while our hands are busy at work may our hearts be often lifted up to

God; may we remember thy command, "Pray without ceasing."

How

Be with us, and give us thy blessing, that whatsoever we do may prosper. May we remember that the commonest work done in a spirit of love to Jesus, is acceptable spiritual service unto God. May we love our Bibles, may no day pass without our reading them, and may we never read without getting good to our souls. And we pray for these blessings too on all we love. Bless our friends and benefactors, reward them for all their kindness to us. great is thy love to us, that a poor man's prayers, amidst all our own necessities, may call down a blessing from God. Bless our [whole parish, our] minister, the schools, the rich, the poor, every one dwelling here. May we be a people serving God and rejoicing in his goodness; and let us not only pray for this, but do what we can to advance true religion among our neighbours, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

XCII.

WEDNESDAY EVENING.

PRAISE, PRAYER FOR CONTENTMENT, AND FOR A BLESSING ON HEATHEN NATIONS.

O God, the God of mercy, our heavenly Father, what shall we render unto thee for all thy goodness? Surely the least we can do is to praise thy blessed What love thou dost show us! When thou

name.

wast upon earth, thou hadst not where to lay thy head; we have a home to shelter us. Thou wast basely betrayed by thy own disciple; we have all the happiness of loving each other, and dwelling as a happy family together. We do not deserve all these thy mercies, but we delight to view them as the gifts of our Father's love, the purchase of Jesus Christ's blood, by which alone we have any mercy.

May God make us truly thankful; let us never murmur because we are poor in this world. May we strive to become rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which thou hast promised to them that love thee. O grant that instead of coveting this world's wealth, we may think much of the glory of reigning with Jesus; and strive to be rich in faith and rich towards thee, so that we may have treasure in heaven.

And give us, O Lord, a large heart of love to all men, that we may pray much for them; bless the poor heathen, send out missionaries to teach them to worship the God of love, and not bow down to stocks and stones. When it is in our power to give any thing, however little, to help the great work, we pray that God, who did not despise the widow's mite, may bless the humble offering for Jesus' sake. Amen.

« PreviousContinue »