"even so, father; for so it seemed good in thy sight."—matt. xi. 26.
o god, i come into thy presence this night, rejoicing that amid all earth's vicissitudes, i have in thee a rock that cannot be shaken. thou doest according to thy will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth! thou doest all things well, and nothing {79} but what is well. there is no finite wisdom in thy dealings. all is the result of combined faithfulness, power, and love. let me repose in the righteous ordinations of thy will. if thou withhold from me earthly blessings, let me feel that the very denial is precious because it is thy sovereign pleasure. covenant love and wisdom cannot lead or teach me wrong; every burden is imposed by thee. the lot may be thrown into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the lord.
o thou who turnest the shadow of death into the morning, may every wilderness-storm only drive me nearer thyself, my true shelter. thou takest the sting from every cross, the bitterness from every cup. let me recognise in all that befalls me the tokens of a father's love; and if sense and sight should at times fail to descry "the bright light in the cloud," may i see written over every dark trial thine own unanswerable challenge, "he that spared not his own son, but gave him up to the death for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
lord! the end of all thy sovereign dealings {80} is to subjugate my wayward will, and to unfold more of the preciousness of jesus. blessed spirit of all grace! do thou take of the things that are christ's and show them unto my soul. let me not stagger at the promises through unbelief. let me see nothing but love in the past, love in the present, and love looming through the mists of a cloudy future. thou, o god, art seated by every furnace; all is meted out, all is provided for; all has a "need be" in it! magnify the power of thy grace in me, by a sweet spirit of patient submission to thy righteous ordinations. may i seek to have no other prayer than this, "father, glorify thy name." impart thou that inner sunshine which no outward darkness or trial can obscure. may the peace of god, which passeth understanding, keep my heart.
may thy holy spirit shed abroad his blessed influences over the whole church. revive thy work, o god, in the midst of the years. in wrath remember mercy. may thy ministers be more faithful. may thy people be more close and consistent in their walk with thee. may the young be growing up in thy fear and favor; {81} may the aged find in thee the staff of their declining years. may the sick and afflicted pillow their head on thy promises. may the dying fall asleep in jesus.
i commend myself, my friends, and all belonging to me, to thy paternal care and keeping; and when earth's long night-watches of trial and sorrow are ended, may i wake up in the sorrowless morning of glory, to enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with thyself. 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."
