4 TUESDAY EVENING.

Blessed Lord God, urged by our need, invited by Your promises, called by Your grace—as a family we enter in spirit into Your immediate presence. We worship You in humble reverence and godly fear. We are filled with awe when we contemplate Your majesty, Your greatness, Your holiness, Your glory. But we take courage, when we remember Your boundless love, Your immeasurable goodness. Each hour of the day now fled, brought tender mercies to our hearts and home. For known deliverances—we bless Your holy name. For unnumbered and unknown benefits—we bring the tribute of our fervent praise.

We feel that every moment records our deep debt in Your book of reckoning. We are all poverty —as well as guilt . We have nothing of our own with which to pay. But we are rich—for Jesus is ours, and we are His. We bring Him in the arms of our faith. We present Him as more than counterpoising all our iniquities. We rejoice in believing that the scales in our behalf weigh down, and that Your justice is more than satisfied.

May we this night and evermore be found in Him, not having our own righteousness, which we utterly abhor—but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of You, O God, by faith.

We humble ourselves for faculties misused, and many opportunities neglected. Grant, we beg You, that no harm may spring up from our unadvised words. Wherever our example has been amiss, may Your grace erase all mischievous impression. Let not any worthless seed, sowed inadvertently by our careless hands—take root, and bring forth bitter fruit. Pardon our vanity, our levity, our lack of watchfulness, our foolish walking, our inconsiderate ways.

May no evil result from fretful temper, unloving walk, or provoking pettishness in us. If by unkindness we have wounded any heart—may You pour in the balm of heavenly consolation. If we have turned coldly from need, and misery, and grief—do not in righteous anger turn from us. If we have withheld relief from poverty and pain, do not withhold Your gracious bounty from us. But by Your Spirit cause our hearts to be an overflowing ocean of tender love and godly compassion.

Give us without measure—that most excellent gift of love which suffers long and is kind, which envies not, which does not boast, which is not puffed up, which does not behave itself rudely, which seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices not in iniquity—but rejoices in the truth; which bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails.

Thus may we be imitators of You, our ever-loving God, whose name is Love. Thus may we shine as disciples of our adored Lord, who has left us His especial commandment, that we love one another . May the robe of love be our clothing, the reign of love be established in our hearts, and the law of love constrain our words and works.

Good Lord, many of Your servants are laboring to promote Your glory. Bless every word which has fallen from godly lips. Sanctify every visit to the cells of misery , and huts of poverty , and chambers of sickness , and abodes of suffering . Give power to those who are taking counsel to devise more extended schemes of benevolence. Fructify all efforts to send Your glorious gospel to the dark, the ignorant, the perishing, at home and abroad. Visit with mercy the heathen, the Jew, the infidel, the heretic, the formalist, and the idolater. If You but speak the word—what wondrous conversions will ensue! Earth waits for Your blessing. Bless it, O heavenly Father. Bless it, O gracious Jesus. Bless it, O Holy Spirit. Amen.

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