Saturday Evening — Week 1

O God, Thou art glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, continually doing wonders. And it is not one of the least of thy wonderful works that we are yet on this side an awful eternity, and not reaping the due reward of our deeds. We look on each other this evening with astonishment, and exclaim, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Our whole life has been a scene of provocation against thy divine majesty; and if we, with all our ignorance and self-love, can see so much depravity in ourselves, what must have presented itself to thy view, O Thou, who knowest all things, in whose sight the very heavens are not clean, and who seest more pollution even in our duties than we ever found in our sins! There is no health in us. We have no works or worthiness to excite thy regard, and if ever we are saved, it must be according to thy own purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

We come to Thee in the dear name of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us; who magnified the law and made it honorable; who put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and now ever liveth to make intercession for us. This foundation Thou thyself hast laid in Zion and thy word assures us, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not be confounded. We hope our dependence upon Him is not a vain reliance, because we love his service as well as his sacrifice, and long to wear his image as well as to be justified by his blood. We hope we are willing to deny ourselves, and take up our cross and follow Him—in the regeneration—and whithersoever He goeth.

O make us partakers of that salvation which is designed to deliver us from our sins, and to bring us into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Put thy laws into our minds, and write them in our hearts. Render our obedience to thy will holily natural and delightful to us. Rectify all our principles, and give us clear, and consistent and influential views of divine truth. May we never undervalue or neglect any part of thy revealed will; but regard the practice the gospel enjoins, as well as the doctrine it exhibits; prize its commands as well as its promises; and cultivate such a disposition as will render every religious duty a spiritual privilege.

Sanctify in us every relation, office, transaction, and condition in life. Keep us if we prosper from being exalted above measure; and if exercised with adversity, suffer us not to be swallowed up of over-much sorrow. May divine grace preserve the balance of the mind in all our varying circumstances, and teach us, in whatsoever state we are, not only to be content, but to glorify God, and be an edifying example to those around us.

May we always be principally concerned for soul-prosperity, and be willing to submit to any means, however trying, that thy wisdom shall judge necessary to promote and secure it. May we so pass through things temporal as not to miss those that are eternal at last, or to lose sight of them for a moment now. Too long have our feet and our hands been in the mire: O disengage us, purify us, elevate us; our souls cleave unto the dust, quicken Thou us according to thy word. May none of thy mercies be lost upon us; but may they prove the means of exciting our gratitude, warming our devotion, and encouraging our confidence. May none of our trials be unimproved—may all embitter sin, wean us from the world, and endear to us the scriptures, the throne of grace, and the sympathy of that Almighty friend who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

Let none of our religious opportunities be unsanctified; may we be thankful for the frequency of their recurrence; may we gladly avail ourselves of them; and instead of resting in the mere outward performance, may we be concerned to worship Thee in spirit and in truth, and to obtain from thy word all the benefits it is intended and adapted to afford.

For this purpose, we implore thy blessing on the solemnities of the Sabbath which is so soon to open upon us. May we in the morning awake with Thee, and begin, go through, and end the day, in thy faith, fear, and love. May we have satisfactory evidence in our own minds, that we do not wait upon Thee in vain; and may our profiting appear unto all men.

And thus by all the discipline of thy family, and the ordinances of thy house, may we grow in grace, and in our meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. And when the evening of life itself shall arrive, and we are called to retreat from every mortal care, may we close the period of toil and trouble by falling asleep in Jesus, and open our eyes on the rest that remains for the people of God, and enter the temple above, to go no more out. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, now and forever. Amen.