unprofitable servant shall be cast into outer darkness, while he that has been faithful shall enter, through the atonement of Christ, into the joy of his Lord. And unto him that is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. ADOPTION. Lord, wilt thou give me the spirit of adoption, by which I may cry "Abba, Father?" I am indeed thine offspring by creation. May I be thine by adoption and be thou my parent in that nobler relation, of a reconciled God and Father in the Lord Jesus. Make me one of the number, and give me, through the merits of Christ, a title to the privileges, of thy dear children. Behold! what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on them, that they should be called the sons of God! O grant that in indulging this hope, I may purify myself, even as thou art pure. Make it a spirit of tenderness and reverence, of gratitude and love, of obedience and zeal. May it give me access to thy throne with an humble confidence in the faith of Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; and keep me from that spirit of bondage, that servile fear and slavish formality in duty, which will make me as a hired servant, instead of an heir, in my Father's house. May it enable me in all the vicissitudes of life to look up to thee as infinitely able and willing to bless me with thy paternal gifts: for if earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children, much more will our heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. Grant that thy Spirit may bear witness with mine that I am thy child; and if a child, then an heir, and a joint-heir with Christ, in that inheritance which fadeth not away. Look in mercy, O God, on thy children by nature, who are wandering as prodigals from their home, and are living without God in the world. Touch their hearts with a feeling of their wants and their apostasy; and do thou bring many back, who shall say they have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and are not worthy to be called thy children. Establish them in the fellowship of thy saints, and make them heirs of the grace of life, through the Lord Jesus Christ. ADORATION. Adorable Jehovah, I would praise thee for thine excellent greatness. Thou dwellest in light that is inaccessible and full of glory: thou coverest thyself with it as with a garment; and thou art clothed with honour and majesty! Thou dwellest on high, and humblest thyself to behold the things that are done in heaven and earth. Thou art infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Thou art not worshipped as though thou needest any thing; for thou givest unto all, life, and breath, and all things. Yet thou art exalted above principalities and powers, that at thy name every knee should bow, and every tongue confess. Thou art O, thou art infinitely worthy of the everlasting adoration of all thy rational creatures. glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. In thee I live, and move, and have my being. From thee I derive every good and perfect gift. It was thy power which created me; it is thy wisdom that governs me; thy goodness that provides for me; and thy grace that saves me. O help me, adorable Jehovah, to feel and express the infinite excellencies of thy character, and to bow before thee as over all, God, blessed forever!-[See PRAISE, and the various Attributes.] AFFLICTION. In the time of trouble, hide me in thy pavilion, O Lord! Prepare me for meeting and bearing all the adversities of life. Support or deliver me in poverty, in sickness, in pain, in bereavement, in persecution, in sorrow, in reproach. Let the trial of my faith in all these work patience and holiness. May I endure as seeing him who is invisible; and so repose on thy wisdom and goodness, that I may say-Thy will be done-do with me as seemeth good in thy sight-thou givest and takest away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Though thy judgments are unsearchable, and thy ways past finding out, I know that thou art too wise to err; for thine understanding is infinite. Thou art too good to be unkind; for thou dost not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men; yea, whom thou lovest thou chastenest, and scourgest every child whom thou receivest. Lord, cause my judgment, and heart, and will to approve of every measure of thy correcting and reclaiming love. O Shepherd of Israel, cause my every adversity to be sanctified to me. Lead me to see thy hand in it; to feel that my sins have far more than deserved it; and to be willing that thy justice may be exalted at my expense, and that I may be brought to acknowledge, "I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. 99 Show me that my cup has been mingled with mercies; for the days of my comforts have far outnumbered the hours of my sorrowsthat my griefs are not peculiar to me; for they are the lot of humanity-that they are not the accidents of life; for thou dost all things-and that I am not called to suffer them alone; for thou hast said, "I will never leave nor forsake thee:" and thy rod and staff they shall comfort and support me, even in the valley and shadow of death. Lord, grant that thy grace may be peculiarly dear to me in the hour of trial; and bring me out from it as gold that is tried in a furnace. Assure me, that branch that beareth fruit, thou purgest, every that it may bring forth more fruit! Enable me to say with thy servant, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I have kept thy word." May that grace strengthen me, that I may glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience a hope that maketh not ashamed. Lead me closer to thy throne, as the only place where I may find abiding help in every hour of need. Grant, merciful Father, that my troubles may lead me to sympathise with all who suffer in mind, body, or estate; remembering them that are in bonds, as being bound with them; and them that suffer adversity, as being myself also in the body. Lord, cause my sorrows, which indeed are but for a moment, to wean me from the vanities and wickedness of earth, to prepare me for eternity, and to work out for me an eternal weight of glory: and vouchsafe to me, in all of them, the consoling thought, that though the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, I have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Grant, O Lord, that the impenitent, when they suffer affliction, may be so influenced by it as afterwards to reap the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Let them not despise thy chastenings, nor faint when they are rebuked of thee. Show them that unless they repent, these are but the beginnings of sorrows, that shall know no relief and no end. Convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Lead them to repent and forsake the error of their ways, and to turn unto him who maketh all things work together for good to them that love him. These prayers I offer through_the_prevailing name of Jesus; to whom, with the Father and Spirit, be all honour and rule forever. ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GOD Sovereign of the Universe, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thy fulness. Thou art the infinite source of blessedness. Giving doth not impoverish thee, neither doth withholding make thee rich. It is in thee that my weakness is made strength, and the iniquities of my heart removed. O Lord, let a full persuasion of thy boundless sufficiency fill my heart, that I may forsake the broken cisterns of human happiness, and go to the fountain of living All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Be thou more precious to me than music to the ear, or light to the eye, or fragrance to the smell, or sweetness to the taste, or friendship to the heart. Make thy love my continual feast. May I commit all my wants and trials to thee; may I be encouraged in the midst of danger and distress; be persuaded that infinite wisdom and goodness govern waters. |