【英文文学】Evening Incense.docx

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1、【英文文学】Evening IncenseFIRST EVENING. FOR COMMunion WITH GOD.Abide with us; for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent.Luke xxiv. 29.0 God, I desire to approach Thy throne of Grace on the evening of this day, beseeching Thee to grant me Thy benediction and blessing. The shadows of night have

2、once more gathered around me; may no shadow of sin or unbelief darken my soul, or interrupt my communion with Thee. It is not night if Thou art near. Let me enter the inner chamber of Thy presence, and experience conscious fellowship with Thee my Father in Heaven.Do Thou graciously forgive all the s

3、ins of the past day, its sins of omission and of commission, of thought, and word, and deed. Hide me anew in the clefts of the Smitten Rock. I confidently repose my everlasting interests on the finished work and righteousness of a tried Redeemer. May I know more and more of the attractive power of H

4、is Crossthe adaptation 8 of His character and work to all the wants and weaknesses, the sorrows and infirmities, of my tried and suffering and tempted nature. May I live more under the sovereign motive of love to Him, and experience more the happiness of life spent in His service.Gracious Lord! may

5、a sense of Thy favor penetrate with its leavening power every duty in which I engage, lessening every cross and sweetening every care. Take what Thou wilt away, but take not Thyself; no earthly good can compensate for the loss of Thy friendship. Existence would be one vast blank without Thee. Give m

6、e to realize the blessedness of unfaltering dependence on Thy covenant mercy, knowing that all which befalls me is the pledge and dictate of unerring love, and that nothing can come wrong that comes from Thy hand.Thus while my daily walk is hallowed and brightened by Thy presence and fellowship, may

7、 I be enabled to look calm and undismayed on the unknown and chequered future, feeling that even over the gloomy portals of the grave, with Thee as my Portion and Heritage, I can write, To die is gain! Meanwhile do Thou fit me 9 for every duty, prepare me for every trial. If Thou givest me the full

8、cup, give me grace to carry it with a steady hand. If Thou sendest adversity, let me regard it as Thine own gracious discipline, to wean me from earth and train me for glory.May it be my great ambition, through the help of Thy Blessed Spirit, to attain a gradual resemblance to the character and conf

9、ormity to the will of my adorable Redeemer. May I be clothed with humility. May I be daily becoming more meek and gentle, more contented and thankful, more submissive and resigned, watching against anything in my heart or conduct that I know would be displeasing to Thee, making it my meat and my dri

10、nk to do Thy holy will.Thou unslumbering Shepherd of Israel, vouchsafe Thy guardian care to all near and dear to me: shield them from danger: give Thine angels charge over them; sanctify them body, soul, and spirit; seal them unto the day of eternal redemption.0 God, enable me to rejoice more and mo

11、re in Thee as my everlasting portion. May I know nothing to compare with the enjoyment of Thy favor. Other props may be removed, other refuges may prove refuges of lies, but Thou art the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.Give me grace to be active in Thy service while it is called to-day.

12、 Opportunities are fleeting. The night cometh wherein none of us can work. May simple believing be followed by the earnest cultivation of every Christian virtue, and by progressive advancement in the (34 heavenly life. May I faithfully employ the talents Thou hast intrusted to me, and seek never to

13、be weary in well doing. Preserve me from every unholy temper and unchristian deed. May I be gentle and meek, patient and forgiving, kind and benevolent, living in charity towards all men.On all my beloved friends I supplicate Thy richest blessing. Protect them with Thy favor as with a shield. Sancti

14、fy them, body, soul, and spirit. Seal them unto the day of eternal redemption.Bless all poor afflicted ones. Let them receive largely out of the wells of Thine own everlasting consolation. Let them see Thy sovereign hand alone in their trials, and say with unrepining submission, The Lords will be do

15、ne!Lord, take the charge of me through the silent watches of the night. May I fall asleep listening to the gracious benediction, Peace be unto you. And when the gates of the morning are opened, may it be to hear anew Thy voice saying, My presence will go with (35 you. Hear, accept, and answer me, fo

16、r the Redeemers sake. Amen.LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIRING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE.TENTH EVENING. FOR THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION.Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.Rom. viii. 15.Blessed Lord! I desire to draw near this ni

17、ght with holy boldness to the footstool of Thy throne, rejoicing that I can look up to Thee as my Father in heaven. Behold what manner of love is this the Father hath bestowed on me, that I should be called a child of God. Thou mightest have righteously left me orphaned, friendless, portionless for

18、ever. But in the midst of wrath Thou hast remembered mercy: the kindness of no earthly parent, 0 God, could equal thine. Thou hast borne with all my obstinacy, all my perverseness, and waywardness, and ingratitude. I am at this hour the monument of a love as wondrous as it is undeserved.(36 Oh teach

19、 me to cultivate more and more a spirit of child-like obedience to Thee; to cherish a holy fear of offending so kind and forgiving and beneficent a Father. Whilst Thou art strewing my wilderness path with unmerited blessings, may I be enabled to rise above every earthly gift and mercy to the better

20、inheritance I have in Thee, the bountiful Bestower of all! Let me feel every created blessing to be doubly sweet, as emanating from a Fathers hand, and being a proof and pledge of a Fathers love. Let the hour of prayer be doubly hallowed by the thought that I am permitted to haunt a Fathers presence

21、, and pour my wants into a Fathers ear. Let the season of sorrow be sweetened by the thought that the rod is in a Fathers hand, and that the voice, though apparently rough, is the tender whispering of parental love.Blessed Jesus! I desire to remember that it is Thou and Thou only who hast not left m

22、e comfortless. It is Thou who hast devised and completed a way by which Thy banished may not be expelled from a Fathers presence. Thou hast opened a door of welcome to (37 the chief of sinners. It is Thy blessed voice and Thy glorious work which utter the gracious declaration, In my Fathers house th

23、ere are many mansions. Oh let me lean with a more simple and entire dependence on Thee; let me live from day to day with an unfaltering trust in Thy mercy. May every new evening, as it finds me laying the incense-offering of gratitude and love on Thine altar, find me also a stage nearer my Fathers h

24、ouse, nearer home, and nearer Thee.Take all my beloved friends under Thy shadowing wings this night. The darkness can not screen them from Thee; the curtains of night can not exclude Thy kind and watchful eye. Guide, guard, protect them, and bring them all at last to Thy heavenly kingdom.Bless Thy C

25、hurch everywhere; lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes. Be a wall of fire around Thy Zion and the glory in the midst thereof. Clothe her priests with salvation, let her saints and people shout aloud for joy.Bless those on whom Thou hast laid Thine afflicting hand. May they take refuge in the

26、 arms that are chastising them, and be enabled to (38 say in unmurmuring submission, The Lords will be done. Hear me, gracious Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIF

27、ICE.ELEVENTH EVENING. FOR WEANEDNESS FROM THE WORLD.They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.一John xvii. 16.0 God, I desire to come into Thy gracious presence this night, beseeching Thee to bless me. Let my prayer come before Thee as incense. May the incense-offering of gratitude and

28、 thanksgiving ascend from a grateful heart. How manifold are the proofs I have to recount of kindness on thy part! how deep the ingratitude I have to mourn on my own! My sins have reached unto the clouds; they are more in number than the sand of the sea.Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity

29、. I cannot evade Thy righteous scrutiny; 39 all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom I have to do! Lord, I have to lament the proneness of this evil heart of unbelief ever to depart away from Thee, the living God. I mourn the debasing influence of earthly things; the fascinating

30、power of a present evil world. How inclined to conform to its evil maxims and unholy practices! How often am I found ranged among those who mind earthly things; my soul cleaving to the dust, instead of soaring upwards to Thyself, my alone satisfying portion!Lord, it is my earnest prayer that Thou wo

31、uldst wean me from the world. Keep me from over-anxiety about the things that are seenfrom being over-careful and troubled about earths many things, to the exclusion of the one thing needful! Break every alluring worldly spell; disenchant things temporal of their false and delusive charm; disengage

32、me by all the salutary discipline of Thy providence from what is fleeting, uncertain, transient, perishable; and unite me to the things which cannot be shaken, but which remain forever! May my citizenship be more in heaven; imbibing (40 more of the pilgrim spirit, may I declare plainly that I seek a

33、 better country.May the sins of the past day be forgiven; may the blood of sprinkling wash their guilt away. May I be driven nearer and closer to Him who is the true refuge and portion, and Saviour of His people. I rejoice to think that He has a balm for every wound, a comfort for every bosom, a sol

34、ace for every tear. May it be mine to go up through the wilderness leaning on His arm. May Thy Holy Spirit carry on His own work of sanctification within me. May He enlighten, quicken, comfort, strengthen me; and mould me in gradual conformity to Thy divine will.Bless all connected with me, by whate

35、ver tie. When earths separations are at an end, do Thou take me and all dear to me to the enjoyment of Thy presence and love in Thine own everlasting kingdom. Let the pillar of Thy presence be over us this night. Guard me during sleeps unconscious hours. Let no unquiet dreams disturb my repose; may

36、I compose myself to rest under the sweet assurance that Thou the Lord sustainest me; and when I awake, may I (41 be still with Thee, through Jesus Christ, my only Lord and Saviour. Amen.LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE.TWELFTH E

37、VENING. FOR GRATITUDE FOR THE PAST.Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all His benefits.Psalm ciii. 2.0 God Almighty, do Thou draw near to me at this time in Thy great mercy, and accept of this my Evening Sacrifice! I bless Thee for all that gladdens my earthly lot, for food and raiment, for f

38、riends and home, for health of body and soundness of mind. Lord, I delight to trace the wondrous way by which Thou hast hitherto led me! Thou hast compassed my path and my lying down. Thou hast supplied my ever-recurring necessities. My wants have been infinite, but infinite too has been the graciou

39、s supply. With a grateful heart I would set up my Ebenezer; saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped me. And remembering Thy (42 faithfulness in the past, I would confidently trust Thee for the future.May I thankfully employ the manifold gifts of Thy bounty. Impress upon me the feeling that I am but a

40、steward, responsible to Thee for all I possess. Let me not selfishly appropriate the varied means of usefulness thou hast put within my power, but willingly employ these in Thy service for the good of others. When Thou comest to demand a reckoning, may I be able to give a faithful account of my stew

41、ardship, paying Thee Thine own with usury.Lord, while I bless Thee for the other proofs and tokens of Thy love, far above all would I bless Thee for Jesus. Where would I have been this night but for Him? How dreary would have been the past! How dismal and hopeless the future! Thanks, eternal Thanks

42、be unto God for His unspeakable gift! Let me feel, more than I have done, the exceeding riches of Thy grace in Thy kindness toward me through Christ Jesus. Let all Thy dealings only serve to confirm my love to Him, and to lead me to cleave to Him with fuller purpose of heart. May he have my undivide

43、d homage. Let no 43 earthly gift or blessing supplant the Giver, but may every rill of creative bliss be doubly sweet to me as flowing from His atoning sacrifice.I rejoice in the midst of trial and perplexity to think of Thee, Thou tried and suffering One. I rejoice that amid my sorrows I can rememb

44、er Thine, that amid my very tears, I can remember Jesus wept. Thou can st enter into all the peculiarities of Thy peoples case, for Thou wert in all points tempted. Let me feel, even amid the changes of life, that what I am apt to call vicissitudes, are the sovereign decrees and allotments of Thine

45、infinite wisdom; and what I cannot comprehend now, be it mine to wait the disclosures of that blessed morning when, standing at the luminous portals of Heaven, I shall joyfully acknowledge that the Lord hath done all things well.Bless my beloved friends; may they be growing in thy fear and favor; ma

46、y they all at last, as sheaves in thy heavenly garner, be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.I commend myself gracious God, to Thy care; let me retire to rest this night in the 44 blessed consciousness of Thy favor; and if spared to see the light of a new day, fit

47、 me for whatsoever Thou hast in store for me. And all I ask is for Jesus sake. Amen.LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE.THIRTEENTH EVENING. FOR TRUST FOR THE FUTURE.I will trust, and be not afraid.Isaiah xii. 2.0 God, Thou makest t

48、he outgoings of the evening and the morning to rejoice over me. I thank Thee for Thy sparing mercy during the past day. While multitudes of my fellow-men have been called away into an eternal world, I am still preserved in the land of the living, and in the place of hope. It is of Thy compassions al

49、one that I am not consumed.My way Zionward may well be studded with Ebenezers, testifying the Lord hath helped me. I may well set to my seal that God is true. The pillar of Thy presence has guided me through many a perplexing path. Thy love has (45 smiled through many a threatening cloud. Thy restra

50、ining grace has arrested me in many a slippery way; when my soul was among lions, how often has the Lord sent his angel to rescue me and shut the lions mouths. I am this night a marvel and miracle of Thy patience, and forbearance, and mercy.Lord, I joyfully take all these past kindnesses as tokens f

51、or the future. To Thee I would confidingly commit the unknown morrow, and cleave to Thy guiding arm with full purpose of heart. The lot is thrown into the lap, but the whole disposing of it is of the Lord; 0, be it my joy and privilege, thus reposing in Thy covenant faithfulness, to say, Undertake T

52、hou for me. Looking forward to that time when all Thy inscrutable dealings will be unfolded, when inner meanings and purposes now undiscerned by the eye of sense will be brought to light, and all discovered to be full of infinite love.Keep me from dishonoring Thee by the workings of unbelief; I am p

53、rone to trust my own wisdom, 0 give me teachableness of spirit and simplicity of faith, waiting patiently on (46 Thee; leaving all that concerns me and mine to Thy better direction.Blessed Jesus! I would seek to cleave closer and closer to Thy cross. I have no trust but in Thy finished work. Other r

54、efuges may fail, but I am as secure in Thee as everlasting love and wisdom and power can make me. 0 cleanse every guilty stain away in thy most precious blood. Let me live day by day at the opened fountain, and feel that I only live while there. Thus simply relying on Thy justifying grace, may I see

55、k to walk in Thy footsteps and to imbibe Thy spirit. May I follow Thee, 0 Lamb of God, whithersoever Thou seest meet to lead me. May I never feel as if I would wish one jot or tittle regarding me altered, when the reins of empire are in Thy hands.Take my beloved friends under Thy special care. Watch

56、 over them, provide for them, decide for them. In all their ways may they acknowledge Thee, and in all things seek Thy honor and glory.Pity the afflicted. Stay Thy rough wind in the day of Thy east wind. Let them rejoice that every bitter drop in the cup of life is appointed (47 by Thee. May they su

57、bmissively drink it, saying, Thy will be done!Hear; Lord, the voice of my supplications, when Thou hearest, forgive, and grant me an answer in peace, seeing all that I ask is in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, my only Saviour. Amen.LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE ASINCENSE: AND THE

58、 LIFTING UP OF MY HANDSAS THE EVENING SACRIFICE.FOURTEENTH EVENING. FOR KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST.That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. Phil. iii. 10.Almighty God, do Thou draw near to me this night in Thy great mercy. What am I, that infinite unwort

59、hiness and nothingness should be permitted to stand in the presence of infinite purity, majesty, and glory? Lord, I dare not have ventured to bow at thy footstool in my own merits. I am poor and wretched, and miserable, and blind, and naked. Enter not in 48 judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sigh

60、t no flesh living can be justified.But, adored be Thy name, I have an all-sufficient ground of confidence wherewith to approach Thee. I bless Thee, that by the doing and dying of Jesus, Thou hast opened up a way of reconciliation to the chief of sinners. Oh, enable me to know more fully the adaptati

61、on of His person and work to all the necessities and exigencies of my character and circumstances. Let me know him in His infinite Godhead, as mighty to save; in His spotless humanity, as mighty to compassionate. Let me know Him in all His offices, as my Prophet, my Priest, my King; my Kinsman-Redee

62、mer within the veil, my Refuge in trouble, my Guide in perplexity, my Support in death, my Portion through eternity. I rejoice, blessed Jesus, at the hidden springs of life resident in Thee! Thou art suited to all the varied wants and circumstances, and trials of Thy peoplefor every moment of need,

63、for every diversity of situation. I can mourn no real blank, if I have Thy presence and blessing.0 Thou, better than the best of earthly (49 friends, who, though enthroned amid the hosannas of angels, hast still Thy human sympathy unaltered and unchanged, draw near to me this night, and breathe upon

64、 me, and say, Peace be unto thee. Let me know the melting energy of Thy love, and the attractive power of Thy cross. May I keep the unwavering eye of faith steadily directed to Thy all-glorious sacrifice. Be Thou the habitual object of my contemplation, the source of holiest joy, the animating princ

65、iple of obedience. May all creature love be subordinated to Thine. May my temper; my walk, my conversation, be regulated in accordance with Thy blessed will and holy example. May this be the lofty aim and ambition of life, to act so as to please Jesus.Bless my dear friends, may they too be led to count all but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord, whom to know is life eternal. Pity the careless; reclaim the backsliding; comfort the sorrowful; sustain the dying. May the Lord arise and have mercy on Zion; may