TENTH WEEK.—TUESDAY. — Evening

AT the close of another day, O Lord, we meet together to offer Thee our praises for thy great goodness to us, and to supplicate thy continued protection during the night. Keep us under the shadow of thy wings; let no evil befall us, suffer no plague to come nigh our dwelling. Each day brings us nearer to the close of life; and we specially ask Thee to prepare us, by the blood of Jesus Christ and the transforming power of thy Holy Spirit, for that last great day when Thou wilt send forth thine angels to gather out of thy kingdom all that offend and all that have done iniquity. May every one of us be found then in Christ; not having our own righteousness, but the righteousness which is by the faith of our Saviour. Keep us all from self-deception; let us not be as tares among the wheat, exposed to the awful misery of discovering our real position by the revelations of the great day of thine appearing. We know from the lips of our blessed Saviour that in that day many will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful works?” and that He will reply, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.” O Lord, our Father, again we ask Thee to save every one of us from this awful doom. Make us know ourselves. Search us, O Lord, and try our hearts, and show us if there is anything that is keeping us from a simple trust in thy beloved Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, as the only hope of our salvation. Help us to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure; to have our loins girded and our lamps burning, as servants, waiting for their Lord’s coming; so that whenever He shall come and call for us, we may be ready. And we ask this not only for ourselves, but for all who are dear to us, and for all mankind. Cause there to be an increased preparation in the hearts of all people for the coming of the Son of Man. Prosper and bless all efforts for the spread of the Gospel, both at home and abroad, and help us as we have opportunity to hold forth the Word of life, and to be as lights of the world, so that men seeing our good works may glorify our Father which is in heaven. We ask thy pardon for all the sins we have committed during the past day; with shame and contrition we confess before Thee that we have sinned in thought, in word, and in deed. If we looked only at our sins, we should despair; but we turn with thankful hope to the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners. For his sake have mercy upon us and forgive us all our sins, and accept our prayers; and to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be glory and praise for ever. Amen.