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2 THURSDAY EVENING.

THURSDAY EVENING.

O Lord God, who inhabits the praises of heaven—to You cherubim and seraphim continually fall down and worship. Turn not from us, who meekly desire to intermingle our adoring songs. For all the mercies known and unknown of this departing day we bless You. From Your free bounty they have freely come. You have given Your angels charge concerning us. Evils have been warded off, and in safety we now kneel.

Amazing love! You have sent Your only-begotten Son to suffer in our place, and to achieve complete salvation. You have added Your Holy Spirit to be our teacher, comforter, and sanctifying guide. You have superadded the ministry of angels to be a wall of fire round about us. Thus all heaven serves the welfare of us poor worms. Keep them, we beg You, ever active in our behalf. We know they rejoice when sinners melt in penitence. May they joy rejoice when grace in us expands. They have befriended us in many perils, and snatched our feet from many snares. Never allow them to rest, until the conflict is behind, and we stand a victorious company on salvation's shore!

Grant that our proneness to all evil, and deadness to all good, and resistance of Your Spirit's motions, may never provoke You to abandon us. May our hard hearts awaken pity, and not wrath. Let not the enemy through our corruption get any advantage. Let it be seen that heaven is far mightier than hell, and that those who are for us are more than they who are against us. If You but speak the word—we are more than conquerors over every temptation. If You smile graciously on us—we are more than beautified with every grace!

Hear then our wrestling cry. Arise to our help, and enrich us with all the blessings which Your covenant provides. Keep us ever feeding in the pastures which contain strengthening food, and ever drinking of the stream which makes glad the city of God. Especially cause the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly, in all wisdom. May we search the Scriptures, intent on finding Christ, the treasure of treasures , the wisdom of wisdom, enriching to eternity, making wise unto salvation. May we turn every promise and every precept into prayer , knowing that it is easy with You to do exceeding abundantly above all that You have said, and that Your grace can help us to walk in the highest heights of Your commandments.

But, alas! with all these true desires—how often do our weak hearts sin. Grant that in every fall—we may fall lower on our knees, and when we rise—may it be to loftier flights of true devotedness. If for our godly discipline You see well to visit our waywardness with a scourge; enable us meekly to receive correction, to bless Your reproving hand, to discern why the rebuke is sent, to repent and do the first works. Teach us to bless You for every chastening, and let all Your fatherly dealings make us partakers of Your holiness. May our every cross be sanctified. May our every loss be our true gain. May whatever You are pleased to give —be a heavenward help, and whatever You are pleased to deny —be a spiritual advantage. If dark days should be ordered for us, may much affliction be lightened by the joy of the Holy Spirit. Put into our mouths, songs in the night of trial. If any trouble should tempt us to distrust; may we be conscious that this is our infirmity, and may we remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.

Grant that the falling shadows of this evening may remind us that our earthly day is far spent, and that the night comes when no man can work. If we see tomorrow's dawn, may we arise to gird up the loins of our mind, to quicken our pilgrim steps , to labor in the gospel-vineyard, to leave undone no work to which You are pleased to call us, to use all diligence that we may be found of Christ in peace.

Give us the constant cry, "Lord, what will You have us to do?" Send Your Spirit to beckon us onward in our appointed path. Enable us to view every circumstance in the mirror of eternity . May we go in and out, with the great white throne conspicuously set before our eyes. May remembrance of coming judgment be ever present. Grant that to us—to live may be Christ, so to die shall be gain.

O God of all pitifulness, fulfill the petitions of Your humble servants, through the merits and intercession of Christ Jesus. Amen.

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