Prayers
Almighty God, we rejoice that Thou hast not covered Thyself with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through. .Thou mightest have made the heavens as brass, so that our cry could not penetrate Thy dwelling-place, but in infinite love Thou dost continue to welcome suppliants to Thy throne. With eyes looking unto Jesus we venture to approach Thee. Our guilty hands grasp the cross whilst we pour out our wants in Thy hearing. Calvary is our altar; we stand there and plead with God. We bless Thee for Jesus. Help us to understand Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. We would dwell upon His beauty till we ourselves become beautiful; we would be transfigured into His likeness; we would be one with Jesus. This petition Thou wilt not deny, for Thou lovest Thine only-begotten Son. We rejoice that Jesus is the true Shepherd, and that we are enfolded among His sheep. We were as sheep going astray, but through infinite mercy we have returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel; lead us into green pastures, and deliver us out of all places where we are scattered in the
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cloudy and dark day. Thou hast promised to feed Thy flock in a good pasture, and to place their fold upon the high mountains of Israel. We feel our security, for no man is able to pluck us out of Thy hand, and already we realize the coming joy; for when the chief Shepherd shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.
Cleanse us from all iniquity. Keep us back from presumptuous sins. O that Thou wouldest bless us indeed, that Thine hand might be with us, that Thou wouldest keep us from evil, that it may not grieve us! Lift up Thy standard against the threatening flood, and save us when the waters overflow. Show Thy seal to our enemies, and may they who would hurt us fall back and be dismayed. May all evil be expelled from our nature by the precious blood of the blessed Saviour. Deepen our horror of sin; -may we hate iniquity with perfect hatred, and repel the subtlest approaches of the enemy. Holy Spirit, dwell within, keeping our understanding from error, and saving our hearts from pollution. Our frailty Thou knowest; Lord, keep the city, lest the evil one should enter with armed forces. Blessed Jesus, Thou art the Conqueror; repeat Thy conquests in all our battles; make our hoofs as flint, and our wheels as the whirlwind, that the devil may flee before us.:
Give us wisdom. Bless us with peace. Kindle within us all heavenly aspirations. Enable us to do or to suffer Thy will, and may our purest joy be ever to glorify the Name which Thou hast exalted above every name in heaven and on earth. Light of all creation, shed Thy quickening rays upon us, and make us glad in the brightness of Thy smile. We ask all for the sake of Christ our Saviour and King. Amen.
Almighty God, Thy people will be still praising Thee. Thy mercies are innumerable, and Thy goodness is past finding out. The light of the morning is the witness of Thy power, and the shades of eventide are the memorials of Thy faithfulness. Thou hast spread our table, and as for our cup, lo, it is flowing over. Thou hast given us the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy gentleness hath made us great. Thou art our strength and power; Thou makest our way perfect. Hear, then, the song of our gladness, and let the expression of our joy come up before Thee with favour. Our souls are laden with sacrifices of praise, and our lips cannot utter all our deepening love. Read our hearts; see what gratitude is there struggling for utterance, and mercifully deign to accept it all.
We mourn our sins. As a cage is full of birds, so have our hearts been full of deceit. Our iniquities have turned away Thy mercies, and our sins have withholden good things from us. But there is mercy with God; the Holy One is full of love. Behold us, Lord, as we bend at Thy throne, and for the sake of the Lamb of God pardon the sins which we mourn. Lay not Thine hand upon the sword of vengeance, but wave over us the sceptre of mercy. Our eyes are directed to the Saviour’s blood, for it cleanseth from all sin; and our impure hands cling, to the Saviour’s cross. Lord God, tenderer than a mother’s love, we tarry here until the light of Thy forgiveness falls upon the tears of our penitence. Thou knowest the number of our sins, Lord, — how great! Our thoughts have been averted from Thee, our will has rebelled against Thy purposes, and our hearts have fled far into the wilderness. We have sinned in secret. Under the covert of the darkness have we defiled ourselves; and we have said, How doth God know? and is there knowledge with the Most High? We have not been valiant for the truth upon the earth. We have gone from evil to evil. We have supplanted our brothers, and walked with slanders. We have taught our tongue to speak lies, and wearied ourselves to commit iniquity. But Thy mercy is not clean gone for ever. Thou wilt even yet lead us into the wilderness and speak comfortably to us. O gentle Saviour, pity us, and lay upon our guilty hearts Thy pierced hand.
Bless Thy people, O Shepherd of Israel. Pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. Pour Thy Spirit upon Thy people, and
Thy blessing upon their offspring. In all their temptations renew their strength. Disarm the power of the tempter. Make the wilderness blossom as the rose. Root us in the love of Jesus. May we grow so like our Saviour, that the world may own the mystery and power of our godly life. Take not Thy Holy Spirit from us. Increase our wisdom. Strengthen us with might in the inner man. Let not evil have dominion over us. Deliver us from all our enemies, frustrate the tokens of liars, and make diviners mad, and glorify Thyself in our deliverance. Great God, be Thou our rock, our shield, our song.
We fall into Thy hands, and there would we rest for evermore.. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, whom we worship as one God, be praise immortal.
Most merciful God, we bow before Thee that we may make confession of our sins. We have perverted our way, and forgotten the Lord our God. As a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have we dealt treacherously with Thee. Yet in Thy boundless mercy Thou dost say, Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Our sins lie heavily on our hearts, and make us sore afraid. They have enkindled Thine anger against us, and greatly grieved Thy Holy Spirit. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for’we have sinned against the
Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth
even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice
of the Lord our God. We remember with bitterness of heart our great impenitence. We have not
responded to Thy corrections, and to the voice of Thy love we have too often been deaf. Thou hast
stricken us, but we have not grieved; Thou hast
consumed us, but we have refused to receive correc-. tion: we have made our faces harder than a rock.
Blessed Lord, be pleased, for the sake of Jesus Christ
our Redeemer, to forgive these our sins. We have
no hope but in Him. Truly, in vain is salvation
hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains. We look unto the bleeding Saviour,
who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world to taste death for every man. We
plead no merit of our own; we trust in Jesus, and flee to Thy precious and abounding grace.
Let it please Thee, most merciful Father, to be with us throughout all the engagements of this day. Put thy Holy Spirit within us. Watch over our hearts. Keep the door of our lips. Make us fruitful in holy works. Mercifully preserve us from all danger, and graciously prosper the labour of our hands. O Lord, hear us. Pity our weakness. Scourge us not in Thy great anger, but come to us in Thine overflowing love. And now unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.
Most merciful God, Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to rejoice. Thou hast preserved us in the hours of darkness and helplessness; and as Thou dost give Thy beloved sleep, so dost Thou touch their eyelids and bid them rejoice in the returning light. We thank Thee for Thy protecting care, and implore Thee to remain round about us during all the day. Cover us with Thy feathers, and under Thy wing may we trust. As Thou hast delivered us from the terror by night, so do Thou defend us from the arrow that flieth by day. Give Thine angels charge concerning us, and be Thyself our refuge and fortress. Bestow upon us, in rich abundance, Thy Holy Spirit, and make us fruitful in all good works. Prosper the work of our hands, for Thou only canst establish us for ever. Put Thy fear in our hearts, and help us to walk in Thy statutes. Watch over us, lest we turn from the ways of righteousness, and bring dishonour on the Saviour’s name. Strengthen us in all holy resolutions, all good desires, all generous and noble sentiments. We ask these mercies in the name of our divine and only Saviour, to whom be the praise of all hearts for ever. Amen.
Blessed Saviour, our hearts faint for Thee; come to us, dwell in us, make us like Thyself. Behold our corruption, and by the efficacy of Thy precious blood destroy it with eternal destruction. Lamb of God, forsake us not; every day come to us, and Thy coming shall be as the dawning to the poor restless one who has been longing for the light. O Saviour! we love Thee, though we cannot tell all our love; and though we often sin, we still feel how dear Thou art to our memories and our hopes. Pity us when we are driven into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil; we would bear Thy shield and wield Thy sword, for no enemy hath power against them. Lord Jesus, give us Thy shield and sword. Teach us the mystery of life; and teach us to lean on Thee while that mystery brightens into revelation. Pity our littleness and frailty, and from Thy holy hill send us enduring help. Look upon our sorrows; their number and their bitterness Thou knowest, and Thou hast the oil of healing and consolation. Thou hast taught us the’value of sorrow, and we bless Thee for the teaching. Thine own hands are wounded, and Thine own side is pierced; so art Thou able to succour those whose hearts are heavy with much grief. We will come to Jesus; we tarry till His smile falls upon our sadness; we will not go without some token of Thy love. If we perish, it shall be where no man ever fell, before Thy presence, with prayer trembling on our lips. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Lord J esus, come quickly.
ALMIGHTY God, Thou hast wounded our hearts as if Thou wert angry with us. Thou hast taken from our midst a companion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, and we now feel desolate and sad. Why dost Thou hush the music which gladdens us all day long? Why dost Thou darken our homes, and bend us down into dust and ashes, and cover us with garments of mourning? Doth the Lord take delight in impoverishing His people, and drawing out their soul unto death? Our hearts mourn with bitterness their irreparable losses, and yet would struggle against every temptation to rebel. Teach us that our dear one is with Jesus, and that he still beams upon us, though hidden from our poor vision. Pour the healing oil into the wound THovu hast inflicted, and fill the tears of sorrow with light that shall make them beautiful as morning dew. Remind the bereaved of the exceeding precious promises recorded for their special benefit, and turn their mourning into joy. Assure them that they, too, will be called to the heavenly rest, and be for ever with the Lord. Show them that time is but a moment, that grief is a flying shadow, and that loss is gain. Quickly come for us, or if we tarry long, let Thy grace
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abide with us through the weary night, until the - horizon smiles upon us with the light that shall shine for ever. Saviour, heal us, and bear for us this mighty woe. It crushes down our poor strength, but Tuy pierced hand is omnipotent.
BLESSED Saviour, we pray for those who never pray for themselves. We have delivered Thy thunders in their hearing, and we have whispered to them the sweet tidings of THINE infinite love. We know not what more we can do. They have seen our tears, they have heard our entreaties, yet is their heart locked up. SaviouR, we return to THEE. Smite them not with THINE iron rod, but spare them until another offer of THy mercy has been made; and do THov come in all the omnipotence of THy tenderness, and turn them from the ways of destruction. They have often clenched their hand in Tuy face, their ingratitude would have lost them a thousand human friends, but THY mercy passeth all comprehension.
GREAT FatuHer of all mankind, hear the new song which has been put into the mouth of those who now in a new name approach Thee. THOU hast given them life out of themselves, and as father and mother they now kneel at Tuy footstool.
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Through this medium of parentage, reveal to them more and more the mystery of Thine own FATHER-Hoop; and enable them so to magnify their own tenderness and compassion, as to get brighter visions of THINE own infinite love. They have known THEE as King, may they now know THEE as FATHER; and as obedient children may they serve THEE every day. Spare their offspring: may the child live before THEE, and be enriched with heavenly wisdom. Early may his feet be turned into the way of righteousness, and his name be recorded among Tuy saints. Disappoint the devils who will seek to ensnare him, and fold him closely to THINE own heart. Upon all families let Thy paternal blessing descend, and in all homes establish Thy gracious name.
AtMIGHtTy God, we would be holy as Thou art holy. Do Thou, by the effectual working of Thy Holy Spirit, so regenerate and sanctify us that we may walk in newness of life, being made dead unto sin, but alive unto Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. We would be planted in the likeness of Christ’s death, that we may also be in the likeness of His resurrection. Thou knowest our infirmities; and Thou knowest the force and range of our evil passions. Sin has reigned in our mortal body, and we have obeyed it in the lusts thereof.
We tremble at our own condition; we shudder as we contemplate our moral ghastliness; but the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin, and herein do we hope for evermore. Create within us a clean heart, and renew within us a right spirit. Watch our enemy, and overthrow him. Keep us close to Thy side, where no evil can befall us. Guard our way, and break Thou the teeth of the devouring lion. Oh, how helpless we are! Our arm is without power, and in our right hand there is no victory. Break us not, for we are bruised reeds: have mercy upon us, for we are dust. O that we might feel our Saviour’s tears falling upon us in pity, and feel the power of His blood in our guilty hearts! then we should hope as those who see the light of morning, and our souls should be refreshed with exceeding comfort. Saviour, stretch out Thine hands towards us, and we shall walk safely on the deep. When we tremble, strengthen us; and when we fear, give us hope. We ask it in Thine own name, for we have no other trust.
ed F, Pitman, 20, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.
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