"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 the {23} sake 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, and {24} art 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. train {25} them 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 as
incense: and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice."
