The Morning Watches, and Night Watches

‘Come near, and blesa us when vre wake, Ere through the world our way we take; Till, in the ocean of Thy love, We lose ourselves in heaven above P itfy Sou

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Ps. oxxx. 6.

This little volume is designed to form, by the Divine blessing, an humble auxiliary in promoting what is pronounced in the best of all manuals of devotion to be “a good thing” — the showing forth of God’s “loving-kindness in the morning]’* and His” faithfulness every night — (Ps. xcii. 2).

It may not be out of place to remark, regarding the verse which forms the key-note to each petition — ‘•’• O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee” — that the word “direct,” in the original Hebrew, may literally be rendered, “set in order.” It refers to the setting in order of the wood for the burnt-sacrifices in the temple of old. While the heart of the believer, according to this beautiful allusion, is represented as a spiritual altar, on which, morning after morning, he offers the oblation of prayer, this motto-verse may also serve as a magnet

VUl THE MORNING WATCHES.

to keep the eye fixed, in each successive petition, on the great Antitypical Sacrifice, through whom alone it is that “the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts” are “acceptable” in the sight of God.

Though more strictly designed for private devotion, and therefore expressed in the first person, it is hoped, by the substitution of the plural pronoun, that the following pages may not be inappropriate for the family altar.

Deoembea 26, 1861.

“For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” — Ps. sxv. 11.

0 God, I bless Thee that Thou hast permitted me to lie down in sleep, and to awake this morning in safety. Thou hast dispersed the darkness of another night: may no shadow of sin obscure the sunshine of Thy favor and love. May the returning light of day be to me the type and emblem of that better radiance with which Thou visitest the souls of Thy people, when they are enabled, in Jesus, to behold a pardoning God seated on a throne of reconciliation and grace.

1 come to Thee, acknowledging my transgressions in all their heinousness. I have nothing to 13lead in extenuation. Warnings iO THE MORNING WATCHES.

have been abused, providences slighted, grace resisted. Thy Spirit grieved. It is of the Lord’s mercies I am not consumed — that Thou hast not long ere now consigned me, with all this load of unpardoned guilt, to that place where pardon is unknown.

But I do rejoice to know that “there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared” — that I can bring my great sins to a great Saviour. May I be enabled to feel that this all-glorious name of a reconciled God in Christ is “a strong tower,” into which I may “run and be safe.” Give me grace, in self-renouncing lowliness, to disown every other ground of confidence or hope of mercy, and to cast myself, a broken-hearted, humbled penitent, at the feet of Him on whom was laid the burden of all my transgressions. May mine henceforth be the blessedness of those “whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” May life’s joys be sweetened, and life’s sorrows sanctified, and life’s terminating hour gladdened, with the as-FOR PAEDON OF SEN”. 11

surance, “I am at peace with my God.” May Thy favor brighten every scene, and the sweet sense of Thy reconciling love be interfused with all my occupations. If sorrow should cloud or darken, may I be brought to feel that there can be no true sorrow or disquietude to the soul which has found its rest in the finished work of Jesus, and which has attained that blessed peace here which is the prelude of glory hereafter. Give me grace to walk more closely with Thee in the time to come. Being forgiven much, may I love Thee all the more. May my life be one habitual effort of self and sin crucifixion, seeking to consecrate my soul’s best energies to Him who is willing to “blot out as a thick cloud” all my transgressions. Overrule the discipline of Thy providence for promoting within me this death of sin, and this life of righteousness. Amid earth’s manifold disquietudes, its crosses and its losses, enable me with joy to look forward to that blessed hour when there shall be no more sin. and therefore no more sorrow — when every tear shall be wiped from every eye, and when I shall be permitted to know all that is comprehended in the holy beatitude, how “blessed” indeed are “the pm’e in heart,” who are to “see God.”

Direct, control, suggest, this day, all my designs, and thoughts, and actions, that every power of my body, and every faculty of my mind, may unite in devotedness to Thy sole service and glory. And all I ask is for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

“CAUSE ME TO HEAR THY LOVING-KINDNESS IN THE MOENING^ FOE IN THEE DO I TRUST.”

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