"The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea."--Isaiah xi. 9.
O God, I desire to draw near into Thy blessed presence, beseeching
Thee to lift upon me the light of Thy countenance and grant me a
Father's blessing. I am utterly unworthy of Thy mercies. And it is
only in Jesus, the Son of Thy love, that I dare venture to cast myself
at Thy footstool.
I rejoice to think that in Him there is an open door of welcome; that
He has by His doing and dying satisfied the demands of Thy righteous
law, and magnified all Thy glorious attributes. I would bury all my
sins in the ocean-depths of His redeeming love. Oh let me now know the
blessedness of _living_, and at last the blessedness of _dying_, at
peace with Thee, in the sure and certain hope of a resurrection to
eternal life.
Darkness is still covering the lands, and gross darkness the people.
Lord, do Thou have mercy on a world lying in wickedness. I rejoice to
think of all Thy glorious promises concerning the latter day. That
this creation of ours, now groaning and travailing in bondage under
sin, is yet to be delivered from the yoke of corruption, and to be
translated into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Glorify Thy
great name in the salvation of sinners! Hasten the period of predicted
glory, when all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God;
when from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the
Lord's name is to be praised. May Thine own omnipotent Spirit brood
over the darkness, as He did over chaos of old, and say, "Let there be
light, and there will be light." May gladsome voices soon be heard
proclaiming, "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of
the Lord is risen upon thee."
Oh may I know personally something of that compassionate yearning over
ruined souls and a ruined world that my Saviour had. Let me be
prodigal in devising means for the extension of His kingdom and the
good of my fellow-men. I would pray the Lord of the harvest that He
would send forth laborers to the harvest. Stand by Thy missionary
servants. May they have many souls for their hire. May mountains of
difficulty be levelled before them; may crooked things be made
straight and rough places plain, and may the glory of the Lord be
revealed. Let them exercise simple faith in the power of Thy word and
the efficacy of Thy grace. May they feel that these are mighty as they
ever were to the pulling down of strongholds.
Arouse Thy churches to greater zeal. May Jesus, faithfully lifted up
by His servants, by the attractive power of His cross draw all men
unto Him. May they be the honored instruments of preparing many gems
for Immanuel's crown, who will be found unto praise and honor and
glory at His second appearing.
Lord, guard me through the silent watches of the night; be the defence
and protection of my friends and relatives; may they too dwell under
the shadow of Thy wings and experience the sleep of Thy beloved; and
when the night of earth's ignorance shall vanish away, may we all wake
up in glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ, our only Lord and
Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS AS
THE EVENING SACRIFICE."