The Project Gutenberg eBook ofEvening IncenseThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Evening IncenseAuthor: John R. MacduffRelease date: January 14, 2016 [eBook #50916]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Heiko Evermann, Chris Pinfield, and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Books project.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EVENING INCENSE ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Evening IncenseAuthor: John R. MacduffRelease date: January 14, 2016 [eBook #50916]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Heiko Evermann, Chris Pinfield, and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Books project.)
Title: Evening Incense
Author: John R. Macduff
Author: John R. Macduff
Release date: January 14, 2016 [eBook #50916]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Heiko Evermann, Chris Pinfield, and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Books project.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EVENING INCENSE ***
Transcriber's Note.Apparent typographical errors have been corrected, as have inconsistencies in the use of hyphens.A Table of Contents has been inserted to assist the reader.
Transcriber's Note.
Apparent typographical errors have been corrected, as have inconsistencies in the use of hyphens.
A Table of Contents has been inserted to assist the reader.
EVENING INCENSE.BY THE AUTHOR OF"MORNING AND NIGHT WATCHES,""WORDS OF JESUS," etc., etc.PHILADELPHIA:H. HOOKER, CHESTNUT & EIGHTH STREETS.1856.
BY THE AUTHOR OF
"MORNING AND NIGHT WATCHES,""WORDS OF JESUS," etc., etc.
PHILADELPHIA:H. HOOKER, CHESTNUT & EIGHTH STREETS.1856.
KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS,9 Sansom Street.
"And thou shalt make anALTARto burnINCENSEupon:"And thou shalt put it ... before theMERCY-SEATthat is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee."And when Aaron lighteth the lamps atEVEN, he shall burnINCENSEupon it."—Exod. xxx. 1, 6, 8.
"And thou shalt make anALTARto burnINCENSEupon:
"And thou shalt put it ... before theMERCY-SEATthat is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
"And when Aaron lighteth the lamps atEVEN, he shall burnINCENSEupon it."—Exod. xxx. 1, 6, 8.
"The star-lit sky's a temple-arch,The calm, still, evening airIs glorious with the spirit-marchOf messengers of prayer."Are gentle moon, or kindling sun,Or stars unnumbered, givenAs shrines to burn earth's incense on—The altar-fires of heaven?"Nay! pale away must moon and sun,And star by star decline;O be, Thou ever living One,Thy 'Golden Altar'—mine!"
"The star-lit sky's a temple-arch,The calm, still, evening airIs glorious with the spirit-marchOf messengers of prayer."Are gentle moon, or kindling sun,Or stars unnumbered, givenAs shrines to burn earth's incense on—The altar-fires of heaven?"Nay! pale away must moon and sun,And star by star decline;O be, Thou ever living One,Thy 'Golden Altar'—mine!"
"The star-lit sky's a temple-arch,The calm, still, evening airIs glorious with the spirit-marchOf messengers of prayer.
"The star-lit sky's a temple-arch,
The calm, still, evening air
Is glorious with the spirit-march
Of messengers of prayer.
"Are gentle moon, or kindling sun,Or stars unnumbered, givenAs shrines to burn earth's incense on—The altar-fires of heaven?
"Are gentle moon, or kindling sun,
Or stars unnumbered, given
As shrines to burn earth's incense on—
The altar-fires of heaven?
"Nay! pale away must moon and sun,And star by star decline;O be, Thou ever living One,Thy 'Golden Altar'—mine!"
"Nay! pale away must moon and sun,
And star by star decline;
O be, Thou ever living One,
Thy 'Golden Altar'—mine!"
EVENING INCENSE.
The writer has endeavored in the following pages to comply with frequent requests made to him to prepare a small volume ofEveningPrayers, suitable as a companion to the "MorningWatches."
May He with whom is "the residue of the Spirit," "cause His Angel to fly swiftly" and touch us in the time of our Evening Oblation; and may all that is amiss in thought and word be lost in the fragrant incense-cloud which ascends from the Golden Altar before the Throne!
December, 1855.
"Abide with us; for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent."—Luke xxiv. 29.
O God,I desire to approach Thy throne of Grace on the evening of this day, beseeching Thee to grant me Thy benediction and blessing. The shadows of night have once more gathered around me; may no shadow of sin or unbelief darken my soul, or interrupt my communion with Thee. "It is not night if Thou art near." Let me enter the inner chamber of Thy presence, and experience conscious fellowship with Thee my Father in Heaven.
Do Thou graciously forgive all the sins of the past day, its sins of omission and of commission, of thought, and word, and deed. Hide me anew in the clefts of the Smitten Rock. I confidently repose my everlasting interests on the finished work and righteousness of a tried Redeemer. May I know more and more of the attractive power of His Cross—the adaptationof His character and work to all the wants and weaknesses, the sorrows and infirmities, of my tried and suffering and tempted nature. May I live more under the sovereign motive of love to Him, and experience more the happiness of life spent in His service.
Gracious Lord! may a sense of Thy favor penetrate with its leavening power every duty in which I engage, lessening every cross and sweetening every care. Take what Thou wilt away, but take not Thyself; no earthly good can compensate for the loss of Thy friendship. Existence would be one vast blank without Thee. Give me to realize the blessedness of unfaltering dependence on Thy covenant mercy, knowing that all which befalls me is the pledge and dictate of unerring love, and that nothing can come wrong that comes from Thy hand.
Thus while my daily walk is hallowed and brightened by Thy presence and fellowship, may I be enabled to look calm and undismayed on the unknown and chequered future, feeling that even over the gloomy portals of the grave, with Thee as my Portion and Heritage, I can write, "To die is gain!" Meanwhile do Thou fit mefor every duty, prepare me for every trial. If Thou givest me the "full cup," give me grace to carry it with a steady hand. If Thou sendest adversity, let me regard it as Thine own gracious discipline, to wean me from earth and train me for glory.
May it be my great ambition, through the help of Thy Blessed Spirit, to attain a gradual resemblance to the character and conformity to the will of my adorable Redeemer. May I be clothed with humility. May I be daily becoming more meek and gentle, more contented and thankful, more submissive and resigned, watching against anything in my heart or conduct that I know would be displeasing to Thee, making it my meat and my drink to do Thy holy will.
Thou unslumbering Shepherd of Israel, vouchsafe Thy guardian care to all near and dear to me: shield them from danger: give Thine angels charge over them; sanctify them body, soul, and spirit; seal them unto the day of eternal redemption.
May we all lie down to sleep this night in Thy fear, and awake in Thy favor, fitted for theduties of a new day. And all I ask is for Jesus' sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great."—Ps. xxv. 11.
Gracious God!do Thou look down upon me this night in Thy great mercy. May I have now the inner sunshine of Thy presence! Ere I retire to rest, let me pitch my tent near Thyself, and enjoy the tokens of Thy favor and blessing. Thy loving-kindness has been new to me every morning, and Thy faithfulness every night.
I desire to render Thee the thank-offering of a grateful heart. My life is one wondrous attestation to Thy patience and forbearance. The kindness of the best earthly friend has been nothing to Thine. Thou mightest long ere now have left me to reap the fruits of myown guilty estrangement, withdrawing the grace and Spirit I have so long resisted, executing against me the awful doom of the cumberer. But I am still spared, a living monument of mercy. Thy ways are not as man's ways, nor Thy thoughts as man's thoughts.
Lord, I would seek anew this night to close with the alone Sovereign remedy! Jesus! there is no other prop but Thee to support a sinking soul and a sinking world. There is nothing between me and everlasting destruction but Thy glorious work and finished righteousness. I rejoice to think that it is all I need—living or dying, for time or for eternity. O blot out in Thy precious blood my many, many sins. Nothing in my own hands I bring; I cling simply to Thy cross. Mercy and truth have there met together; righteousness and peace have embraced each other. Reposing in what Thou has done, and in what Thou art still willing to do, I can rejoicingly say, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul."
Bring me to live more habitually under the constraining influence of redeeming love. Purchased at such a price, may I be willing freelyto consecrate soul and body to Thy service. Let me feel that the bitterest of all trials is the forfeiture of Thy favor and love, and the loftiest joy is the assured possession of Thy gracious friendship. May my spirit be brought into blessed unison with Thine. May I become more gentle, and resigned, and submissive, and unselfish; more heavenly-minded; more Saviour-like. May I be led to regardall, even Thy darkest dealings to me here, as needful parts in Thy plan of stupendous wisdom. May I rest contented in the assurance that what I know not now I shall know hereafter.
Unite me to all my dear friends, and them to me, in the bonds of Christian love. Amid all the fluctuations of this mortal life, may we ever have grace given us to cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart. Treading the same pilgrim-journey, may we arrive at last at the same pilgrim-home.
I would retire to rest this night with my eye on the opened fountain. O give me that peace of Thine which the world knoweth not of, which the world cannot give, and, blessed be God, which the world cannot take away! Abidewith me, for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. Give thine angels charge over me during the unconscious hours of sleep, and, when all my evenings and mornings shall be finished, may it be mine to wake up with Thyself in glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Renew a right spirit within me."—Psalm li. 10.
Blessed God,I desire anew to end this night with Thee! Do Thou enkindle my soul as with a live coal from off Thy holy altar! Let all unhallowed and obtrusive thoughts and cares be set aside, that I may enjoy a season of fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
I rejoice to think that I have such a Friend to repair to—such a never-failing refuge in every season of perplexity and trouble; vicissitudeis written on all around me, but "Thou art the same." Though often, alas! I have changed towards Thee, Thou hast never changed towards me. Thou didst love me from the beginning, and that love remains to this hour, infinite, unalterable!
Lord, I am mourning over my many and grievous backslidings, my base and unworthy requital of all Thine unmerited kindness. Bring me in poverty of Spirit, with deep conscious unworthiness, to say, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Give me a realizing sense of the evil of sin, and my own sin in particular. I feel that I have no abiding and depressing consciousness of my guilt. How little of genuine, heartfelt contrition do I experience! How often Iappearto be humble and penitent when I amnot! How do my very prayers condemn me; and my confessions of sin need themselves to be confessed!
Oh renew me in the spirit of my mind.—May all old things pass away; may all things be made new. Transform me by the indwelling power of Thy quickening Spirit. May affections now alienated from Thee be reclaimedto Thy service. May I seek to be more animated by the sovereign motive of love to Him, whose I am, and whom it is alike my duty and my privilege to obey. Knowing that this is Thy will concerning me, even my sanctification, may it be my constant ambition to be growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I have in myself no might, no power, no sufficiency, to do any of these things. My sufficiency is of Thee. Do Thou make Thy grace sufficient for me, and perfect strength in weakness. Keep me from all evil that would be likely to grieve me. Wean me from all that is fleeting and perishable here, and may all Thy dealings towards me issue in the confirmed habit of a holy life. If Thou sendest affliction, let me regard it as Thine own way of dispensing spiritual blessing, and bow with lowly submission to Thy sovereign appointments.
Bless all my beloved friends. Keep them as the apple of Thine eye. Hide them under the shadow of Thy everlasting wings. Sanctify trial to all in sorrow. Let the widow and the fatherless put their trust in Thee. Succor thepoor and him that hath no helper. Support the aged. Sustain the dying. May we all bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.
As the pillar of cloud has been with me by day, so may the pillar of fire be with me this night. Watch over me during the unconscious hours of sleep, and when I awake may I be still with Thee. And all I ask is for the sake of Jesus Christ, my only Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth."—John xvii. 17.
Blessed Lord,do Thou bend Thy pitying eye of love and mercy upon me this evening. Draw Thou near to me as I venture once more on praying and on pleading ground. I desire to feel that I am one night nearer glory. Oh, enable me to feel, as night after night is silentlystealing over my head, that my seasons and opportunities of grace are fleeting fast away, and that soon the night cometh, wherein I can work no more.
Alas! O God, how little have I improved the time that is past! I am a wonder to myself, that with all my deep ingratitude and utter vileness I am yet permitted to approach Thy footstool: I have sinned against light and love—warning and mercy—grace and privilege. The retrospect of life is a retrospect of guilt. I mourn over my manifold shortcomings—the alienation of my heart from Thee—the fitfulness of my spiritual frames—the ebbings and flowings in the tide of my love. When tried by the lofty and unerring standard of Thy law, how are my best actions and duties marred with defilement! How much self-seeking and self-glorying—how little animated by the predominating motive of love to Thee, and singleness of eye to Thy service!
Blessed Jesus! I flee anew to the pavilion of Thy love. I have no other hope, no other refuge, but in Thy finished work—Thy matchless atonement—Thy spotless righteousness.There is in Thee an all-sufficiency for every want. Finite necessities cannot exhaust Infinite fullness. Let me hear Thy voice saying, "Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee!" O sprinkle me with Thy blood; sanctify me, body, soul, and spirit. Transform me more and more into Thine own image. May I know more and more the happiness of true holiness—that I am really blessed in seeking to walk so as to please God. May the power of grace wax stronger and stronger, and the power of sin wax weaker and weaker. May trials and crosses become light and easy to me when borne in a spirit of meek, unrepining submission to the Divine will. May this quiet every doubt and misgiving, "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Lord, may every providential dealing prove a heart-searcher, testing the reality of my love to Thee, and my meetness and preparedness for Thy heavenly kingdom.
Extend, Lord, Thy cause and Gospel everywhere. Strengthen Thy missionary and ministering servants. May they ever hear the sound of their Master's footsteps behind them. Maythy churches walk in the fear of God and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.
Bless all my beloved friends wherever they are; do Thou be their Almighty Protector and Guide. Let the angel come at this the time of evening incense, touching all our hearts, and granting us an answer to our several petitions. Let us rise to-morrow refreshed for Thy service; and fitted for whatsoever in Thy good providence we may be called either to do or to suffer. Hear me, gracious God, for the sake of Him whom Thou hearest always. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"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 fromdanger, 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 meinlife,throughdeath,intoglory, 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 ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation."—Ps. li. 12.
Blessed God,I rejoice to know that the gates of prayer are ever open;—that for thesake of Jesus Christ, my adorable Redeemer, Thou art waiting to be gracious, not willing that any should perish.
Come in the plenitude of Thy love this evening, that I may feel it to be good for me to draw near to God! Scatter my darkness, Thou better Sun, with the brightness of Thy rising. Give me filial confidence in approaching the mercy-seat, rejoicing in the mightiest of all Beings as my Father and Friend.
Blessed Jesus! I would exercise a simple confidence and trust in Thy finished work, I would seek to wash anew in the opened fountain of Thy blood, to repose anew in the faithful saying which never can cease, to the sin-stricken, sin-burdened soul, to be worthy of all acceptation, that Thou didst come into the world to save the chief of sinners.
I have to mourn, O Lord, my constant proneness to depart from Thee—the instability of my best purposes of obedience. Unsupported by Thy grace I must fall. There is nothing, O Thou great Intercessor within the veil, but Thine omnipotent pleadings between me and irretrievable ruin. But Thou hast prayed, andart even now praying, for me that my faith fail not. Oh if I am still prone to start aside, like a deceitful bow, do Thou bring me back again! Reclaim my truant heart from its wanderings. I would cast myself with simple dependence on Thy grace for the future. This is sufficient for all wants and equal to all exigencies. Thine everlasting arms are lower than my deepest necessities. Adorable Saviour, I may well cast my every care on Thee, for these cares Thou makest Thine own. Thou hast a heart to feel for those who have often no heart to feel for themselves. Oh let me ever seek to hear Thy directing voice and to hear no other.
Do Thou carry on within me Thine own work in thine own way. Thou, Great Shepherd of Israel, canst not lead me wrong. I delight to trace Thy guiding love in the past, and I may well trust Thee still; going up through the wilderness may I lean on Thine arm; when I come to die may the gloom of the dark valley be lighted with the rays of Thy love, and may I hear Thy voice whispering in gentle accents, "Fear not, for I am with thee." Be gracious to all my beloved friends. Trainthem also, by Thy good Spirit, for eternity. Fit them for every duty. Arm them against every temptation. Dispose them to fear Thy glorious name, and to live from day to day under the powers and influences of a world to come. Compassionate the afflicted; comfort the bereaved; support the dying.
Lord, take the charge of me during the silent watches of another night. May I rise on the morrow to renew my work and warfare on earth, looking forward to the time when the twilight of this world shall melt into everlasting day, and when nothing shall evermore mar or interrupt the blessedness of endless communion with Thee: through Jesus Christ, my only Lord and Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Quicken me after Thy loving kindness, so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth."—Psalm cxix. 88.
O God,on this the close of another day, I desire to approach the footstool of Thy throne. Glory be to Thy holy name that I can enjoy freedom of access into Thy presence, and with the confidence of a child unburden and unbosom to Thee all my wants and sins, my sorrows and infirmities, my perplexities and cares.
Lord, how unworthy I am of the least of all Thy mercies! What righteous cause hast Thou to cut me down as a cumberer of the ground. How cold my love, how unfrequent my prayers! How full my heart of pride and vain-glory, self and sin! How little have I habitually realized Thy nearness and sought Thy favor as my chief good! There is enough of coldness and formality in my best approaches to Thy footstool to lead Thee in Thy wrath to spurn me forever away, and to mingle my blood with my sacrifices!
I cast myself as a worthless unworthy sinnerat the feet of Jesus. I need daily, hourly washing at that fountain which He has opened for sin and for uncleanness. Wash me, gracious Lord, fully, freely, and forever. Let me know the blessedness of "no condemnation." Deepen my contrition on account of my sin. I am apt to palliate its enormity, to invent vain excuses for its commission, to hide its heinousness from myself, and to hide it from Thee. Let me see all sin, and my own sin in particular, in the light of Calvary's cross. May I hate it with a perfect hatred, and resolve in Thy grace that it henceforth have no dominion over me. Oh quicken me by the indwelling of Thy blessed Spirit. May I seek to be progressing in the divine life. May my pathway heavenward be brightened by a lively sense of reconciliation through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Let me lean on Thy heavenly arm, seeking Thy glory with singleness of eye. May it be my greatest grief to give Thee pain, my greatest joy and happiness to do Thy will. Keep me from all hard thoughts and unrighteous surmises regarding Thy dealings. May I see them all as designed to quicken my steps in the heavenlyway, to bring me nearer Thyself, and to impart an increasing meetness for glory. Let Thy kingdom come, let Thy blessed Gospel triumph over the pride and superstition and will-worship of man. Put an end to war and discord, and may all the ends of the earth see Thy salvation. Bless Thy ministering servants; may they be valiant for the truth, and have no fear but the fear of God.
Be the Guide and Guardian of all whom I love. Preserve their bodies from danger and their souls from sin. Watch over them and me this night; be about our bed as Thou hast been about our path. Night after night as I retire to rest may I think of the deeper darkness of the night of death, which must, sooner or later encompass me. Reposing in the merits of my gracious Redeemer, may I be enabled to lookbeyonddeath and the grave, to that morning without clouds, when I shall awake in His likeness, and be ushered into the full vision and fruition of Thee my God; and all that I ask or hope for is for His sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe."—Rom. iii. 22.
Almighty God,Father of all mercies, I desire to draw near into Thy sacred presence on this the evening of another day, under a deep sense of my own great unworthiness. What am I, guilty, sinful, polluted, that I should be permitted to take Thy name into my lips, or so much as lift up my eyes to the place where Thou in glory dwellest!
I desire to renounce all dependence on myself. I come with all the great burden of my great guilt to a great Saviour. I seek to bring the unrighteousness of an unworthy creature to the infinite righteousness and everlasting faithfulness of a tried Redeemer. Where would I have been, Blessed Jesus! this night,but for Thee! All I am, and all I have, I owe to Thy free, sovereign, unmerited grace. All my temporal mercies are sweetened to me as flowing from Thy cross, and bearing on them the imageand superscription of Thy love. And for every spiritual blessing I enjoy, and every spiritual hope I entertain, I desire doubly to adore thee, Thou Great Author and Finisher of my faith! Whom have I in heaven but Thee, and there is none in all the earth I desire besides Thee. Thou alone canst fill up the aching voids of my heart. In vain can I look to a transient world, or to the perishable creature, for solid peace and permanent enjoyment. All my well-springs are in Thyself; with Thee for my portion I am independent of every other.
I desire this night to obtain a lively and humbling view of my own spiritual poverty and deep creature destitution, that I may rejoice in the fullness and all-sufficiency of that righteousness which is unto all and upon all them that believe. In that righteousness I would seek to live, and in that righteousness I would seek to die. There is nothing else between me and everlasting ruin. But for Thee, Thou great Covenant-Angel standing in the breach, the fire of God would break forth and mingle my blood with this my evening sacrifice! But I "will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall bejoyful in my God, for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with a robe of righteousness." I take Thee, O adorable Saviour, as mine only, mine wholly; mine for all wants and all exigencies. I rejoice in the inexhaustible riches treasured up in Thee—that Thy fullness is adequate to supply all my present necessities; and out of that fullness I may still continue receiving, and that for ever and ever!
Lord, look in great kindness on all whom I love. Pity a perishing world. Arrest the careless; reclaim the wandering; strengthen the feeble. Hasten Thy Son's coming and kingdom. How long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? Save Thy people; bless Thine inheritance; feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
Let the curtain of Thy protecting providence be drawn around me this night. Let me fall asleep at peace with Thee, ready, if need be, to awake up in glory. And all I ask is for Jesus' sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."—Rom. v. 1.
Gracious God,I would seek to end another day with Thee; I would desire to look up to Thee through Jesus Christ, Thy well-beloved Son, and to be made partaker of that peace which passeth all understanding. There is no other refuge for the sin-stricken, woe-worn spirit. In vain amid other portions and meaner joys can I say to my soul "peace, peace." There is no peace! But reposing, blessed Saviour, on Thy finished work and everlasting righteousness, I have a peace which the world knows not of, and which enables me to rise superior to all the vicissitudes and changes of this changing life.
I desire to remember with a grateful heart that this peace has been purchased for me by the blood of the cross—that it is made as sure as everlasting power and wisdom and faithfulness can make it. O Thou great Prince, whohast power with God and dost prevail, I would lift the undivided eye of faith to Thy bleeding sacrifice! Do Thou dispel every disquieting fear with the thought that Thou hast done all, and suffered all, and procured all for me. Being justified by faith, I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice in the plenitude of Thy promises, that they are all yea and amen to them that believe. Man's word may fail, man's faithfulness may falter, but "the word of the Lord is tried," Thy faithfulness is unto all generations!
O God, enable me to rejoice more and more in Thee as my everlasting portion. May I know nothing to compare with the enjoyment of Thy favor. Other props may be removed, other refuges may prove refuges of lies, but Thou art the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
Give me grace to be active in Thy service while it is called to-day. Opportunities are fleeting. The night cometh wherein none of us can work. May simple believing be followed by the earnest cultivation of every Christian virtue, and by progressive advancement in theheavenly life. May I faithfully employ the talents Thou hast intrusted to me, and seek never to be weary in well doing. Preserve me from every unholy temper and unchristian deed. May I be gentle and meek, patient and forgiving, kind and benevolent, living in charity towards all men.
On all my beloved friends I supplicate Thy richest blessing. Protect them with Thy favor as with a shield. Sanctify them, body, soul, and spirit. Seal them unto the day of eternal redemption.
Bless all poor afflicted ones. Let them receive largely out of the wells of Thine own everlasting consolation. Let them see Thy sovereign hand alone in their trials, and say with unrepining submission, "The Lord's will be done!"
Lord, take the charge of me through the silent watches of the night. May I fall asleep listening to the gracious benediction, "Peace be unto you." And when the gates of the morning are opened, may it be to hear anew Thy voice saying, "My presence will go withyou." Hear, accept, and answer me, for the Redeemer's sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."—Rom. viii. 15.
Blessed Lord!I desire to draw near this night with holy boldness to the footstool of Thy throne, rejoicing that I can look up to Thee as my Father in heaven. "Behold what manner of love is this the Father hath bestowed on me, that I should be called a child of God." Thou mightest have righteously left me orphaned, friendless, portionless for ever. But in the midst of wrath Thou hast remembered mercy: the kindness of no earthly parent, O God, could equal thine. Thou hast borne with all my obstinacy, all my perverseness, and waywardness, and ingratitude. I am at this hour the monument of a love as wondrous as it is undeserved.
Oh teach me to cultivate more and more a spirit of child-like obedience to Thee; to cherish a holy fear of offending so kind and forgiving and beneficent a Father. Whilst Thou art strewing my wilderness path with unmerited blessings, may I be enabled to rise above every earthly gift and mercy to the better inheritance I have in Thee, the bountiful Bestower of all! Let me feel every created blessing to be doubly sweet, as emanating from a Father's hand, and being a proof and pledge of a Father's love. Let the hour of prayer be doubly hallowed by the thought that I am permitted to haunt a Father's presence, and pour my wants into a Father's ear. Let the season of sorrow be sweetened by the thought that the rod is in a Father's hand, and that the voice, though apparently rough, is the tender whispering of parental love.
Blessed Jesus! I desire to remember that it is Thou and Thou only who hast not left me "comfortless." It is Thou who hast devised and completed a way by which "Thy banished" may not be "expelled" from a Father's presence. Thou hast opened a door of welcome tothe chief of sinners. It is Thy blessed voice and Thy glorious work which utter the gracious declaration, "In my Father's house there are many mansions." Oh let me lean with a more simple and entire dependence on Thee; let me live from day to day with an unfaltering trust in Thy mercy. May every new evening, as it finds me laying the incense-offering of gratitude and love on Thine altar, find me also a stage nearer my Father's house, nearerhome, and nearerThee.
Take all my beloved friends under Thy shadowing wings this night. The darkness can not screen them from Thee; the curtains of night can not exclude Thy kind and watchful eye. Guide, guard, protect them, and bring them all at last to Thy heavenly kingdom.
Bless Thy Church everywhere; lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes. Be a wall of fire around Thy Zion and the glory in the midst thereof. Clothe her priests with salvation, let her saints and people shout aloud for joy.
Bless those on whom Thou hast laid Thine afflicting hand. May they take refuge in the arms that are chastising them, and be enabled tosay in unmurmuring submission, "The Lord's will be done." Hear me, gracious Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."—John xvii. 16.
O God,I desire to come into Thy gracious presence this night, beseeching Thee to bless me. Let my prayer come before Thee as incense. May the incense-offering of gratitude and thanksgiving ascend from a grateful heart. How manifold are the proofs I have to recount of kindness on thy part! how deep the ingratitude I have to mourn on my own! My sins have reached unto the clouds; they are more in number than the sand of the sea.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. I cannot evade Thy righteous scrutiny;all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom I have to do! Lord, I have to lament the proneness of this evil heart of unbelief ever to depart away from Thee, the living God. I mourn the debasing influence of earthly things; the fascinating power of a present evil world. How inclined to conform to its evil maxims and unholy practices! How often am I found ranged among those who "mind earthly things;" my soul cleaving to the dust, instead of soaring upwards to Thyself, my alone satisfying portion!
Lord, it is my earnest prayer that Thou wouldst wean me from the world. Keep me from over-anxiety about the things that are seen—from being over-careful and troubled about earth's "many things," to the exclusion of the one thing needful! Break every alluring worldly spell; disenchant things temporal of their false and delusive charm; disengage me by all the salutary discipline of Thy providence from what is fleeting, uncertain, transient, perishable; and unite me to the things which cannot be shaken, but which remain forever! May my citizenship be more in heaven; imbibingmore of the pilgrim spirit, may I declare plainly that I seek a better country.
May the sins of the past day be forgiven; may the blood of sprinkling wash their guilt away. May I be driven nearer and closer to Him who is the true refuge and portion, and Saviour of His people. I rejoice to think that He has a balm for every wound, a comfort for every bosom, a solace for every tear. May it be mine to go up through the wilderness leaning on His arm. May Thy Holy Spirit carry on His own work of sanctification within me. May He enlighten, quicken, comfort, strengthen me; and mould me in gradual conformity to Thy divine will.
Bless all connected with me, by whatever tie. When earth's separations are at an end, do Thou take me and all dear to me to the enjoyment of Thy presence and love in Thine own everlasting kingdom. Let the pillar of Thy presence be over us this night. Guard me during sleep's unconscious hours. Let no unquiet dreams disturb my repose; may I compose myself to rest under the sweet assurance that Thou the Lord sustainest me; and when I awake, may Ibe still with Thee, through Jesus Christ, my only Lord and Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."—Psalm ciii. 2.
O GodAlmighty, do Thou draw near to me at this time in Thy great mercy, and accept of this my Evening Sacrifice! I bless Thee for all that gladdens my earthly lot, for food and raiment, for friends and home, for health of body and soundness of mind. Lord, I delight to trace the wondrous way by which Thou hast hitherto led me! Thou hast compassed my path and my lying down. Thou hast supplied my ever-recurring necessities. My wants have been infinite, but infinite too has been the gracious supply. With a grateful heart I would set up my Ebenezer, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped me." And remembering Thyfaithfulness in the past, I would confidently trust Thee for the future.
May I thankfully employ the manifold gifts of Thy bounty. Impress upon me the feeling that I am but a steward, responsible to Thee for all I possess. Let me not selfishly appropriate the varied means of usefulness thou hast put within my power, but willingly employ these in Thy service for the good of others. When Thou comest to demand a reckoning, may I be able to give a faithful account of my stewardship, paying Thee Thine own with usury.
Lord, while I bless Thee for the other proofs and tokens of Thy love, far above all would I bless Thee forJesus. Where would I have been this night but forHim? How dreary would have been the past! How dismal and hopeless the future! Thanks, eternal Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift! Let me feel, more than Ihavedone, the exceeding riches of Thy grace in Thy kindness toward me through Christ Jesus. Let all Thy dealings only serve to confirm my love to Him, and to lead me to cleave to Him with fuller purpose of heart. May he have my undivided homage. Let noearthly gift or blessing supplant the Giver, but may every rill of creative bliss be doubly sweet to me as flowing from His atoning sacrifice.
I rejoice in the midst of trial and perplexity to think of Thee, Thou tried and sufferingOne. I rejoice that amid my sorrows I can rememberThine, that amid my very tears, I can rememberJesus wept. Thou canst enter into all the peculiarities of Thy people's case, for Thou wert in "allpoints tempted." Let me feel, even amid the changes of life, that what I am apt to call vicissitudes, are the sovereign decrees and allotments of Thine infinite wisdom; and what I cannot comprehend now, be it mine to wait the disclosures of that blessed morning when, standing at the luminous portals of Heaven, I shall joyfully acknowledge that the Lord hath done all things well.
Bless my beloved friends; may they be growing in thy fear and favor; may they all at last, as sheaves in thy heavenly garner, be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
I commend myself, gracious God, to Thy care; let me retire to rest this night in theblessed consciousness of Thy favor; and if spared to see the light of a new day, fit me for whatsoever Thou hast in store for me. And all I ask is for Jesus' sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"I will trust, and be not afraid."—Isaiah xii. 2.
O God,Thou makest the outgoings of the evening and the morning to rejoice over me. I thank Thee for Thy sparing mercy during the past day. While multitudes of my fellow-men have been called away into an eternal world, I am still preserved in the land of the living, and in the place of hope. It is of Thy compassions alone that I am not consumed.
My way Zionward may well be studded with Ebenezers, testifying "the Lord hath helped me." I may well set to my seal that God is true. The pillar of Thy presence has guided me through many a perplexing path. Thy love hassmiled through many a threatening cloud. Thy restraining grace has arrested me in many a slippery way; when "my soul was among lions," how often has the Lord "sent his angel" to rescue me and shut the lions' mouths. I am this night a marvel and miracle of Thy patience, and forbearance, and mercy.
Lord, I joyfully take all these past kindnesses as tokens for the future. To Thee I would confidingly commit the unknown morrow, and cleave to Thy guiding arm with full purpose of heart. The lot is thrown into the lap, but the whole disposing of it is of the Lord; O, be it my joy and privilege, thus reposing in Thy covenant faithfulness, to say, "Undertake Thou for me." Looking forward to that time when all Thy inscrutable dealings will be unfolded, when inner meanings and purposes now undiscerned by the eye of sense will be brought to light, and all discovered to be full of infinite love.
Keep me from dishonoring Thee by the workings of unbelief; I am prone to trust my own wisdom, O give me teachableness of spirit and simplicity of faith, waiting patiently onThee; leaving all that concerns me and mine to Thy better direction.
Blessed Jesus! I would seek to cleave closer and closer to Thy cross. I have no trust but in Thy finished work. Other refuges may fail, but I am as secure in Thee as everlasting love and wisdom and power can make me. O cleanse every guilty stain away in thy most precious blood. Let me live day by day at the opened fountain, and feel that Ionly"live" whilethere. Thus simply relying on Thy justifying grace, may I seek to walk in Thy footsteps and to imbibe Thy spirit. May I follow Thee, O Lamb of God, whithersoever Thou seest meet to lead me. May I never feel as if I would wish one jot or tittle regarding me altered, when the reins of empire are in Thy hands.
Take my beloved friends under Thy special care. Watch over them, provide for them, decide for them. In all their ways may they acknowledge Thee, and in all things seek Thy honor and glory.
Pity the afflicted. Stay Thy rough wind in the day of Thy east wind. Let them rejoice that every bitter drop in the cup of life is appointedby Thee. May they submissively drink it, saying, "Thy will be done!"
Hear, Lord, the voice of my supplications, when Thou hearest, forgive, and grant me an answer in peace, seeing all that I ask is in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, my only Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings."—Phil. iii. 10.
Almighty God,do Thou draw near to me this night in Thy great mercy. What am I, that infinite unworthiness and nothingness should be permitted to stand in the presence of infinite purity, majesty, and glory? Lord, I dare not have ventured to bow at thy footstool in my own merits. I am poor and wretched, and miserable, and blind, and naked. Enter not injudgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight no flesh living can be justified.
But, adored be Thy name, I have an all-sufficient ground of confidence wherewith to approach Thee. I bless Thee, that by the doing and dying of Jesus, Thou hast opened up a way of reconciliation to the chief of sinners. Oh, enable me to know more fully the adaptation of His person and work to all the necessities and exigencies of my character and circumstances. Let me know him in His infinite Godhead, as "mighty to save;" in His spotless humanity, as mighty to compassionate. Let me know Him in all His offices, as my Prophet, my Priest, my King; my Kinsman-Redeemer within the veil, my Refuge in trouble, my Guide in perplexity, my Support in death, my Portion through eternity. I rejoice, blessed Jesus, at the hidden springs of life resident in Thee! Thou art suited to all the varied wants and circumstances, and trials of Thy people—for every moment of need, for every diversity of situation. I can mourn no real blank, if I have Thy presence and blessing.
O Thou, better than the best of earthlyfriends, who, though enthroned amid the hosannas of angels, hast still Thy human sympathy unaltered and unchanged, draw near to me this night, and breathe upon me, and say, "Peace be unto thee." Let me know the melting energy of Thy love, and the attractive power of Thy cross. May I keep the unwavering eye of faith steadily directed to Thy all-glorious sacrifice. Be Thou the habitual object of my contemplation, the source of holiest joy, the animating principle of obedience. May all creature love be subordinated to Thine. May my temper, my walk, my conversation, be regulated in accordance with Thy blessed will and holy example. May this be the lofty aim and ambition of life, to act so as to please Jesus.
Bless my dear friends, may they too be led to count all but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord, whom to know is life eternal. Pity the careless; reclaim the backsliding; comfort the sorrowful; sustain the dying. May the Lord arise and have mercy on Zion; may He show that the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come!
Ere I lay my head on my nightly pillow, I would lay anew my guilt on the head of the Divine Surety; may I fall asleep under the blessed sense of sin forgiven, and look forward to that blessed day when earth's night-shadows shall have vanished forever, and when I shall be enabled more fully "to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge." And all I ask or hope for is for His sake. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
"Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee."—Psalm cxliii. 8.
O God,Thy favor is life, Thy loving-kindness is better than life. Thy mercies have been new to me every morning, and Thy faithfulness every night. Thou hast watched over me from the earliest years of infancy with more than a Father's care. The kindness of the kindest on earth has been coldness itself when comparedwith Thine. I rejoice that I can thus trace in a wondrous past the visible footsteps of Thy love, and fearlessly trust and repose in Thee for the future.
Thou art a rich provider. None so able, none so willing to guide me in every perplexity, to extricate me from every difficulty, and to befriend me amid the fitful changes of life. What a safe anchorage is this amid the world's restless surges of vicissitude, "The Lord reigneth!" Do Thou enable me wholly to follow the Lord my God; to follow Thee not only in smooth places, but even when the path is rough and the way thorny. May I confide in the wisdom of all Thine allotments. I rejoice that all the changes Thou orderest for Thy covenant people are changes for thebetter, and not for theworse.
O blessed Jesus! Thou who art the true pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night, do Thou precede me ever in all my wilderness wanderings. May I encamp only where Thou leadest me. May I strike my tent only when Thou speakest that I "go forward." Let me experience the conscious happiness of knowingno will but Thine, and of being solicitous in all things to follow the guiding voice and footsteps of the Great Shepherd of the flock. If there be aught in Thy providence perplexing me now, I would say in child-like simplicity, "I am oppressed, undertake Thou for me!" "My heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." Hide me in the crevices of that smitten Rock; let me know the safety and joy of being shieldedthere, until earth's calamities be overpast.
Graciously forgive all the sins of this past day—the sins of thought, word and deed; all my selfishness and uncharitableness; all my pride and vain-glory; all my censoriousness and inconsideration of the wishes and feelings of others. Blessed Jesus! let me follow more closely Thy holy footsteps, and drink more deeply of Thy heavenly spirit.
Bless all in sorrow, sanctify to them their trials, may they see and own a "need be" in them all. Prepare the dying for death, and spare useful lives.
Take all belonging to me this night under the shield of Thy protecting providence, letthem ever commit their way onto Thee, and do Thou bring it to pass. Hold up their goings in Thy word, that their footsteps may not stumble.
Watch over me during the unconscious hours of sleep; and when all my days and nights on earth are finished, may it be mine to enjoy Thy presence in a cloudless, nightless Heaven; through Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."