"Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins."--Psalm xix. 13.
Blessed God, Thou hast in Thy mercy permitted me to see the close of
another day. With what unwearying watchfulness has Thou been
compassing my path!--defending me from danger, guarding me from
temptation, hedging up my way with thorns, "preventing me with the
blessings of Thy goodness!" There is no friend in the world I have
like Thee; none so able, none so willing to be my friend. If I have
been successful in resisting sin, it is all Thy blessed grace which
has enabled me. From how many slippery places has Thou rescued me!
When often on the brink of the precipice, ready to fall, Thy
interposing hand has saved me from inevitable destruction. When
through my own weakness and unwatchfulness I must now have been
wandering in hopeless alienation from Thee, Thou hast mercifully not
suffered the bruised reed to be broken, nor the smoking flax to be
quenched.
Lord, my earnest prayer is that Thy grace may still be made sufficient
for me. May no spiritual foe be allowed to invade my peace or endanger
my safety. Let Thy love be restored to its rightful ascendancy in my
affections. May no rival be allowed to usurp its place. May I ever
exercise a holy jealousy over this truant, wandering, deceitful heart;
seeking day by day to subdue unmortified sin.
May all Thy dispensations issue in my sanctification. Let me seek no
unruffled path; may the cross be willingly carried. Thou lovest me too
well to give me my own way. Whatever Thy will and Thy dealings may be,
be it mine cheerfully and rejoicingly to acquiesce in them, knowing
them to be the dictate of infinite wisdom and unchanging love. May all
my worldly business and engagements be interfused and hallowed with
the blessed sense and assurance of Thy favor! Walking all the day in
the light of Thy countenance, I must be safe!
God of Bethel--God of all the families of the earth, vouchsafe Thy
richest benediction on all near and dear to me. Give thine angels
charge over them; let their names be written among the living in
Jerusalem; and oh, may we all seek in our several spheres to glorify
Thee on earth, either by active duty or by patient endurance;
exemplifying in our daily walk the meek and lowly, the unselfish and
self-denying, spirit of Him, who hath left us an example that we
should follow His steps.
Hasten the coming of Thy Son's kingdom. Arise, O God, and plead Thine
own cause. "Save Thy people, bless Thine inheritance, feed them also
and lift them up for ever."
The curtain of night is again drawn around me. If it be Thy will,
spare me to see the light and enjoy the comforts of a new day; may I
seek anew to enjoy them in Thee; may every blessing be doubly sweet to
me, bearing the impress of Thy love in Jesus. Guide me _in_ life,
_through_ death, _into_ glory, for the sake of Him in whom is all my
hope, and to whom, with Thee the Father, and Thee, ever-blessed
Spirit, one God, be ascribed all blessing and honor and glory and
praise, world without end. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."