TWENTY-FIRST WEEK.—LORD’S DAY. — Evening

O GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, permit us now to address Thee. We have publicly united in worshipping Thee this day, and now we would join in household worship. May the Spirit of light and truth promised to thy Church move us as a family to address Thee aright. First of all, we thank and bless Thee for the many mercies which we have this day enjoyed. As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is thy mercy towards us. We praise Thee for the gift of thy Sabbath, and for the events of which each Lord’s day reminds us. We bless Thee that Thou didst not spare thine own Son, but didst freely deliver Him up for us all. We bless Thee that Christ died for the ungodly, and we thank Thee for the inestimable blessings that become ours by his death. We acknowledge to Thee that we need the blood of Christ to cleanse us from our sin; and that nothing but such a sacrifice can make our sins, which are as scarlet, white as snow. May we all know for ourselves the preciousness and the power of the blood of Christ.

And now hear us, most holy Father, when we entreat Thee to keep us from trampling under foot the Son of God, from doing despite to the Spirit of grace, and accounting the blood of the covenant, whereby we are sanctified, an unholy thing. May Christ be revealed to us in all the beauty of his person, and the glory of his work, and be increasingly precious to us all. May we live by his death, be healed by his stripes, and be in all respects saved by the redemption that is in his blood. Let not our so frequently hearing and reading of the Saviour make our hearts too familiar with thy words about Him, but may the frequency of the contact of our minds with these things deepen the impression of their importance and value. O Lord, grant that we may receive a full blessing from the religious engagements of this closing day.

But not for ourselves alone do we pray: we intercede for all the children of God; and we pray Thee to have mercy upon all men, that all may be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. Have mercy upon all who have heard the Gospel to-day, and who are in danger of neglecting it. Have mercy upon all who are aroused, and are in danger of sleeping again in the insensibility of sin. In innumerable cases let the Gospel, as preached to-day, be made manifest as the wisdom of God and the power of God. May thine own people receive much blessing. O Lord God, hear our prayers, receive our confessions, accept our thanksgivings, and in thy great mercy defend us from all the perils of the night, for Jesus Christ our Saviour’s sake. Amen.