Part 18
At present, the way of providence in general is dark and mysterious. There is a depth in it, for which we have no line. There are many seals on it, not fit as yet to be opened. But when the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne, shall open the seals, and shew the meaning of all the dark passages in that mysterious book, and every one is made to view that part of it that related to the way in which they were brought through manifold tribulations to the kingdom, when they will all strike up on the highest key, and sing “HE HATH DONE ALL THINGS WELL!”
Believers ought to comfort one another with these words. It is heartsome for travellers on the road in a dark night, and going to the same place, to speak to each other in the language of the country to which they are going, and to say, “What of the night! what of the night!” And to encourage one another, by often reiterating that animating reply, “The morning cometh.”
The shadows of the evening are daily growing longer with all the travellers to the heavenly Sion. But at evening time it shall be light. The bright shining of the sun of Righteousness will make even the passage through the dark valley of the shadow of death lightsome and pleasant. Faith can see eternal day at the farther end of it. Jesus went through the Jordan of death when it overflowed all its banks, and was brimful of the curse. But his death drank up the curse, and left nothing but a blessing to all his redeemed: and his sweet and cheering voice is still to be heard in the passage--“Fear not! I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of death!”
“IF THEIR UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS,” said the Lord respecting ancient Israel, “be humbled, and they ACCEPT of the punishment of their iniquity, then will I remember my covenant with Jacob,” &c. Lev. xxvi. 41.--of the punishment of their iniquity! that is, bear it willingly contentedly. It is a happy state of mind when our trials are ACCEPTED ones: when God’s chastening hand is even esteemed a kindness.--Lord! may the believer say, I will not puzzle myself with hows, and whys, and yets. THOU hast done it; I rest there. It seemed good in thy sight that is a sufficient reason. Let God choose my portion; I am sure it will be best in the end.--Even when He acts as a Sovereign, he forgets not his relation as a father.
SCRIPTURE PROMISES.
Psalm 68--6. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow is God in his holy habitation.
Jeremiah 49--11. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
Job 5--17. Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Verse 18. For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
Psalm 119--67. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word Verse 71. It is good for me, that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 75. I know, O Lord, thy judgements are right, and thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
2. Corinthians 4--16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Verse 17. For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Hebrews 21--6. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Verse 7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 10. They verily, for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, unto them which are exercised thereby.
Deut. 8--5. As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.
Job 36--8. And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction. Verse 9. Then he sheweth them their work and their transgressions, that they have exceeded. 10. He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
Psalm 94--12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord and teachest him out of thy law. Verse 13. That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Romans 5--3. We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.
Job 19--26. Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Verse 27. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins shall be consumed within me.
Isaiah 26--19. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs: and the earth shall cast out the dead.
A
PRAYER BOOK
FOR
FAMILIES
AND PRIVATE PERSONS,
UPON VARIOUS SUBJECTS AND OCCASIONS
In which all the Prayers are so arranged, that when any one is too long to be used without inconvenience, it may be shortened by leaving out some of the paragraphs: and this may be done without injury to the connection.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED,
GRACES FOR YOUNG PERSONS.
GLASGOW: PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.
PRAYER-BOOK.
The following admonition read occasionally before Family-worship, is very proper to produce seriousness of mind, and to keep up a godly jealousy, lest hypocrisy and formality should render this important duty of no use.
My Friends and Fellow-Christians,
We, dust and ashes, are assembled to speak unto the holy Lord God of heaven and earth, our Maker and our Judge, who deserves from us all possible reverence whenever we presume to call upon Him. We are going to pray to that God who strictly charges us to take heed that we draw not nigh to him with our lips, whilst our hearts are far from him--to that God who is of purer eyes to regard our services without the meditation of the Holy One and the Just, who died for our sins, but hath promised to give us whatever we shall ask of him in his name, and to perform all our petitions.
Now, therefore, let us lift up our hearts to him that he may fill us with reverence and godly fear, with sincerity and lowliness of mind, with lively faith in the blood and prevailing intercession of Jesus, and with assurance that we shall receive whatever we ask according to his will. With these holy dispositions we should always desire to bow down our knees before God.
A FAMILY MORNING PRAYER.
O Thou, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and God of glory, who hast so loved the world as to give thy only-begotten Son, to the end, that all who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life, mercifully regard us merciful sinners. Thou seest how slow of heart we are to believe the record thou hast given of thy Son. Though we read of his glory, how little does it affect us! Though he has a name which is above every name in heaven or earth, how little affiance do we feel in him! or consolation from all that he hath done and suffered!
Have compassion upon us, O Lord, and help us. Give us what thou hast most graciously promised, the Spirit of truth to open our understanding, that we may understand the things which are spoken of thy Son in the scriptures. O give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; of his person and his office; of his love and power towards all that hear his voice and follow him; that so we may abound in clear, magnificent, and endearing thoughts of Jesus Christ the Lord; that he may be no less precious to us than he was to the glorious company of the Apostles, and the noble army of the martyrs. Thou, O God, hast declared that thy Son shall be exalted and extolled, and shall be very high. Help us, we earnestly pray thee, to give him the honour day by day, more perfectly. Enable us to comprehend with all saints the immeasurable extent of his love; the breadth and length, the height and depth thereof.
We beg this of thee, O our God, in order that we may have our affections raised up to heaven, where Christ sitteth on thy right hand; that we may grow more dead to the world, and walk more becoming our Christian character: that we may be enriched as much as possible with light and grace, joy and peace in this present life; and to shew forth the praise of Him who hath called us out of darkness into marvellous light.
We beseech thee, that the excellency of our knowledge of Christ may be evidenced to others, by our adding day by day to our faith a noble Christian courage, in defence of his truth, honour, and government: by a constant victory over our corrupt affections; by a moderate use of all lawful comforts; by a meek and quiet spirit under all our trials, and by resignation to the will of our heavenly Father.
Grant, O Lord, that our knowledge of the redemption that is in Jesus may work effectually this day upon our hearts. Let the Saviour’s love to us be the pattern of ours to all that are round about us; let it make us zealous to embrace all opportunities of ministering to the happiness of one another. If we cannot assist the needy by our alms, or protect the oppressed by our power, O let us diligently exercise love, in abstaining from all uncharitableness of speech, from all forwardness and evil tempers: let us look upon the failings of others with pity, as if they were our own: make us kind and tender hearted, forbearing and forgiving all, as thou, for Christ’s sake, hast forgiven us. Banish from our dwelling all variance, whisperings, heart-burnings, and evil surmisings. Let peace and gentleness, meekness and goodness, be exercised by all of us one towards another, and the only contention in our family be this, who shall conform most to the will of God, by abounding in brotherly kindness and fervent charity. Thou, O God, that makest men to be of one mind that dwell together, inspire us with a spirit of concord, and harmonize all our naturally selfish tempers. O let this benefit at least be found from our family-devotion, that we may agree better together, and live more in peace and quietness, than those who call not upon thee; who lie down and rise up like the herd of the stall, never saying, Where is God the Maker!
Continue, we beseech thee, if it seemeth good to thee, the voice of health and strength amongst us, and the favour of thy prosperous providence; but give us grace to expect and to be ready for a change. And, as in a day, nay, in an hour, our prosperity may be turned by thee into deep affliction, our health into pining sickness, our ease into tormenting pain, and our life into death. O Lord God, establish us in Christ Jesus, and give the earnest of thy spirit in our hearts, that, whatever we are called to suffer, we may not be afraid with any amazement, but bear our cross cheerfully, to the edification of those around us.
Comfort and protect continually all our near relations and dear friends. Sanctify to them their present circumstances whatever they are. May they mind the things of the Spirit, and never be deluded by things of time and sense. Be their guide through life, and at death give them admission into thy kingdom and glory.
Promote, O God, the peace and welfare of this our country. Let thy servant, our most gracious King, be continually, guided by thy counsel, and reign over us in righteousness. May he and his Ministers with unwearied labour, seek to promote thy glory and his people’s good.
Free and relieve all who are distressed or oppressed; regard their hearts, bear their sighs and make them to see their sin in their suffering, to humble themselves under thy hand, and find that it is good for them to be afflicted. Bless our enemies; do good to them who hate us; and ever enable us to return good-will for evil.
Accept our praises for our continued preservation by thy goodness, who has first brought us into being; for sleep upon our beds, for the return of the day after the shades of darkness, for the use of our reason, the comfort of this opportunity of worshipping thy name, and above all, for the light of life, the Son of Righteousness, Christ Jesus; for whom, with all that is within us, we should bless thy name; in whom we command ourselves and our services to thee; and to whom, with thyself and the Holy Ghost, one God over all, be all honour and praise, love and obedience, for evermore.
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
A FAMILY EVENING PRAYER.
Blessed and holy Lord God, who didst make all things by thy power, who rulest all things by thy providence, and fillest all things by thy presence, we, thy unworthy creatures, beseech thee to fill our hearts with an awful sense of thee, and with humility, sincerity, and faith in Christ in our approaches to thee.
We thankfully acknowledge our absolute dependence upon thee; for our lives, and all the comforts of them, we are indebted to thy bounty. Thy hands have fashioned us in the womb, brought us into this world, and ever since we saw the light, filled us with variety of good. We adore thy sparing mercy. Justly mightest thou have brought upon us all the curses written in the book of thy law against thy transgressors: and had thy ways been as our ways, and thy thoughts like our thoughts towards our enemies, we had long since been past the power of offering to thee our thanks and praise, beyond the benefit of prayer, or the hope of pardon.
We confess, O Lord, we have been transgressors of thy law, in thought, word, and deed. We are chargeable with the workings and defilements of pride and hypocrisy, of uncharitableness and sensuality of self-love, and worldliness of heart, notwithstanding all the methods thou hast taken to heal these diseases of our souls. We have sinned against the clear revelation of thy will, and the strongest obligations binding us to comply with it. We have sinned against thy most inviting promises, and thy most dreadful threatenings: against the frequent warnings of thy Word, the renewed motions and powerful convictions of thy Spirit, and the precious blood of Christ. We have sinned against the light of our understanding, against promises and purposes of obedience, and against the strongest remonstrances of our own conscienses.
O God, we cannot recount the number of our sins, nor fully set in order all their aggravations. We should not therefore presume to ask for thy pardoning mercy, if we do not trust that thy Spirit has created within us a holy mourning for all our wickedness, and for that corruption of our nature, from whence as their fountain, all these poisonous streams have flowed. O humble us effectually, and place before us all the detestable qualities which meet together in every act of sin, that injustice and contempt towards thee, that rebellion and ingratitude which prevail in it. And oh! most merciful Father, speak peace to our souls, weary and heavy laden with guilt, through the death and sufferings of thy dear Son, and for the sake of his precious sacrifice, avert the punishment from us. Increase in us the faith whereby we only can be justified, and have peace with thee, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accompany thy pardoning mercy with thy purifying grace. Help us, O Father, thou God of all power and might, to put of the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man which is created after thine own image, in righteousness and true holiness. Give us a new heart and put within us a new spirit. O grant us a mind weaned from the pomps and pleasures, the profits and honours, and all the transitory enjoyments of the flesh; but hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Prevent us by thy grace, that we may never more commit sin with the deceitful hope of gaining advantage by it. Impress us continually with the conviction, that the gaining of the whole world can be of no recompense for the loss of the soul.
O let that solemn account we must ere long give, when the throne shall be set, the books be opened, and the dead, small, and great, stand before God, influence the whole course of our lives; O let us so believe and so obey, that when Christ shall come in the clouds with power and great glory, we may then cry out in holy raptures. Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us! This is the Lord, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!
In thy merciful protection, O God, we humbly commit ourselves, our dear friends and relations this night. The darkness is no darkness with thee, but the night is as clear as the day. Defend, we beseech thee, our persons, our dwellings, and our possessions. Refresh us with sweet sleep; and with the health and strength of our bodies, and the vigour of our minds, let us serve thee all our days, till through the gate of death we enter into that blessed kingdom, where there is no night; where we all receive the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls, through Jesus Christ; in dependence upon whose righteousness and intercession we farther pray: Our Father, &c.
FOR THE LORD’S DAY MORNING.
Thanks be unto thee, O most merciful and gracious God, for having devoted this day to thy service. Never can we sufficiently express the obligations we owe thee for this stated season of rest from labour; for this delightful opportunity afforded us of imitating the heavenly host, whilst we assemble ourselves with one heart and voice to glorify thee, O God, our heavenly Father; and thee O Christ, our Advocate, Righteousness, and Life; and thee, O eternal Spirit, the Comforter and Sanctifier of the Church of God.
We praise thee, who instead of loathing our persons for our sinful pride and stubborn forgetfulness of thee, hast taken the most effectual methods to teach us the knowledge and plant in us the love of thy name. We praise thee that thou hast commanded us to make, on this day, public confession of our guilt, and of thy hatred of sin; of our disobedience and the riches of thy forbearance towards us; of our weakness, depravity, and need of thy perpetual grace to help us. We praise thee for commanding us to make public intercession for all sorts and conditions of men, in order that our hearts may be the more enlarged towards them, and our hands the more ready to minister to their necessities. We praise thee for this opportunity of hearing thy holy scripture, which is profitable for our reproof, for our correction, and for our instruction in righteousness.
We bless thee that we have our habitation fixed in the land of liberty, under the bright beams of thy glorious gospel; that we can worship thee according to our conscience, no one making us afraid; that we are not required to pay adoration to those who by nature are not gods, nor compelled to bow down at the altar of idols. We praise thee that we are in health and strength to use the sacred opportunity of going with the multitude that keep thy holy day, into the house where thou hast recorded thy name, and promised to meet and bless us. How amiable are thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts; one day employed in them is better than a thousand engrossed by the business of the world.
We praise thee also for passing by all the provocations and insults which we have offered unto thee by abusing and profaning this holy day, by our detestable presumption in compassing thee about with deceit and lies. O how often have we rushed into the courts of thy house without meditation, without prayer, without any desire to worship thee with an holy worship! how often have we dissembled and pretend to give thee glory, when we were yet living in our sins, making thee angry with us every day, and casting thy law behind us!
O, our God, let the time past suffice for us to have entered into thy courts thoughtless and unhumbled, self-satisfied, and self-sufficient. Now teach us effectually to reverence thy sanctuary: make us feel awful conceptions of the God with whom we have to do, and of the infinite importance of the holy exercises in which we are going to engage. Thou knowest our souls cleave to the very dust of the ground. O send thy quickening Spirit to raise our thoughts and desires up to thee in every part of thy holy worship. Shield us on every side from the flesh, the world, and the devil, that they may have no power to fill us with sinful distractions, and make us absent in spirit while we are presenting our bodies in thy temple.
While we confess our guilt, open thou our understanding, we beseech thee, that we may understand all the aggravations of our wickedness. Call back to remembrance whatever at any time has made us appear most vile in our own eyes, that we may now feel a godly sorrow, and be really ashamed and confounded at the sight of our iniquity.--Accompany, we beseech thee, the reading of thy most holy word with the power of thy own Spirit, that so the practice of thy saints, and thy peculiar favour towards them, may stir us up to be diligent followers of their examples: that we may receive the strong consolation from thy promises, which in Christ Jesus are all sure and infallibly certain, and, by hearing the gospel proclaimed, attain to clearer views of thy great salvation. When we are offering up our intercession to thee, give us to feel tenderness of heart, melting pity towards all our fellow creatures in distress, and very fervently desire that thou wouldst immediately appear for their relief. When we ask for mercy and forgiveness, strength and holiness of heart, may we ask with an earnestness suited to the value of these gifts, and with a strong conviction of our unavoidable misery, if our suit is rejected.
When we join in giving thanks unto thy name, O make all thy goodness to pass before us. Excite in us such a lively remembrance of the multitude of thy mercies towards us, as shall fill our souls as it were with marrow and fatness, whilst our mouths are praising thee with joyful lips.--From the beginning to the conclusion of the service of thy sanctuary, by the perpetual influence of thy free Spirit, do thou uphold us, that we may be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, and offer to thee a pure offering in righteousness.
And, as thou, O Lord, hast ordained that the people should seek thy law at the mouth of thy ministers, do thou fill them with knowledge and sound doctrine; that they may preach not themselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord. Under their instructions delivered according to thy will, may our ignorance be dispelled, our slothful hearts quickened, our fears removed, our hope encouraged, and our souls established in grace.
Finally, we beseech thee, O God, to incline our hearts to sanctify this whole day. Make it our delight to employ our time in reading thy word, in meditation and privacy, not yielding to the sinfulness of our hearts, or the custom of the world, in speaking our own words, in thinking our own thoughts, and finding our own pleasure on thy holy day. And grant us grace so to use this day of rest and of public worship in this life that we may none of us fail of having a part in the everlasting adoration, praise, and love of thy name in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A FAMILY PRAYER ON THE EVENING OF THE LORD’S DAY.