. NINETEENTH WEEK. 141
WEDNESDAY EVENING.
0 MERCIFUL and gracious Saviour. Thou art the Creator. Redeemer,
and Preserver of the world, and Thou art infinite in goodness and willing to receive all that come unto Thee. Look down, we beseech Thee, with the eyo of Thy divine compassion upon the few of Thine unworthy servants now assembled in Thy presence. As we review our evils from day to day, a sense of Thy power and justice makes us tremble in Thy presence, but as Thy tender mercies fail not, a sense of Thy goodness emboldens us to draw near the throne of grace, that we may find help in every time of need.
Lord, we desire to confess our evils before Thee: we have acted contrary to Thy righteous will, we have neither loved Thee as we ought, nor reverenced Thy sacred name, nor learned of Thee as Thou hast desired, and if Thou shouldest now call us into Thy presence, who among us could stand before Thee? As afamily we have all sinned; not one of us hath wrought righteousness, no, not one. O Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, who delightest not in the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live, visit us, we beseech Thee, with the light of Thy countenance, blot out our transgressions for Thy own name sake; and O help us to examine ourselves, that we may cleanse our hearts and purify our minds, and devote ourselves with greater sincerity to Thy service. Amen.
Our Father, etc.
THURSDAY MORNING.
Almighty and most merciful Lord and Saviour, we humbly approach Thee this morning, desiring to offer our united thanksgivings for the refreshment of our bodies and the invigoration of our minds by the sweet repose of sleep. Surely Thy goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our life, and there is no good thing that Thou hast withheld from us.
O Lord, assist us this morning in our devotions, and grant that Thy Word, which has been read in our ears, may find its way to our hearts. We desire to be more intimately acquainted with Thy nature and Thy perfections, that we may serve Thee with greater spirituality; for to know and serve Thee, and to love Thee from our inmost affections, is to have eternal life abiding in us, according as Thou hast declared: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." O Lord, this is our humble desire, that Thou mayest manifest Thyself unto us; for this, do we feel assured, will fill us with all peace and blessedness. Grant, O Lord God our Saviour, that we may attain to this spiritual perception of Thy presence, and help us to observe the condition, namely, to keep Thy commandments and do them. Amen.
Our Father, etc.
