TENTH WEEK.—WEDNESDAY. — Evening

O GOD, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, subdue our hearts by the remembrance of our own unworthiness as we kneel at thy footstool. Humbly and reverently we come into thy presence. Turn not thy face away in displeasure, but according to thy great mercy in Christ Jesus, give us a token for good, and let us not be ashamed of our hope in Thee.

Blessed be thy name, O Lord our God, for the many mercies of this day. We owe it to thy watchful and tender care that we have been kept in safety, and that our day of grace is prolonged. Forgive us, we pray Thee, our frequent sins, and let them not be remembered. Let us know in our daily experience the healing power of Jesus’ blood, and have the peace which passeth all understanding. Thou hast given us thy Gospel, and gathered us into the number of thy professing people. O God, grant that we may be thine, not by profession only, but in deed and in truth. Teach us that it will avail us nothing to serve Thee with the lips, unless our hearts and lives be given to Thee. Carry on in us thy work, and let its power be seen in the holiness of our conduct. Check and subdue in us every disposition to formalism and hypocrisy, that we may be what we profess to be, true disciples of thy dear Son; and that when the great day of final separation shall come, we may not be cast away. Preserve us from spiritual hardness and insensibility. May our hearts be tender, receiving readily the impressions of thy Word, yielding cheerfully to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and resisting firmly all the temptations of pride and unbelief. Thou hast brought us near to Thyself in the privileges we enjoy. Thou hast revealed to us Jesus, thy dear Son, and hast made clearly known unto us the way of salvation. Having spared Him not, but delivered Him up for us all, with Him Thou wilt freely give us all things. Lord, give us such an increase of faith that we may be willing to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, if so be we may be found in Him, clothed with his righteousness, and sanctified by his Spirit.

Take us now, we pray Thee, under thy protection. Let thy blessing rest on all who are dear to us. Let none of them remain in unbelief. [Especially visit with thy grace the children of this family. May they remember their Creator in the days of their youth, and, under the guidance of thy Holy Spirit, give their hearts now to the Saviour.] We lay our prayers and thanksgivings at thy feet. Accept them, we beseech Thee, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.