02. The Eve of the Sabbath

The Believer's preparation for Worship.

EXHORTATION.

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." Ps. xxvii. 4.

Immediately after the fall, God taught our first parents the worship of sacrifice, and they transmitted the injunction to their children, Cain and Abel, for the sacrifices made by the latter two, are expressly mentioned in Gen. iv. 3, 4. These offerings were not made in silence, but with a confession of sins, a prayer for God's forgiveness, and a declaration of faith in the coming Messiah, whose blood was shed, like that of the sacrifice, for the redemption of man. At such times they also praised the goodness of the Lord, and preached his name. For this worship was set apart the seventh day, which the Lord himself had hallowed as a day of rest, when, after having created the world in six days, he rested THE BELIEVER'S on the seventh. This was the kind of worship observed ever after by all the patriarchs, until God caused the Tabernacle in the wilderness to be established, over which Solomon subsequently built the Temple. Under the New Testament, Christians also consecrate one day out of seven, Sunday, to God, that being the day on which Christ rose from the dead, and the Holy Spirit was poured out. On the approach of this day, the true believer shall 1. Lay down his work early on Saturday evening, and disentangle his mind from worldly cares and troubles.

2. Prepare himself for the coming Sunday with prayer, and praise God for the many mercies vouchsafed to him throughout the week.

3. Read the Gospel or the Epistle appointed to be read and expounded on the following day; reflect upon it, and thus prepare himself to a devout attention of the word of God. 4. Retire to rest betimes, with such good thoughts, so that he may be found punctually and with invigorated frame and active mind in the house of the Lord. Gracious and merciful God! I come before thee this day with praise and thanksgiving, that thou hast so kindly preserved me during

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP.

the past six days, and so freely blessed the work of my hands. Thou hast preserved me in my going and my coming, and hast done great mercies to my body and my soul; wherefore I thank and praise thee in the fulness of my heart. Hence, ye cares! I am building a temple unto God in my heart! It shall be a house of prayer, wherein I will serve my God alone. I "forget the things which are behind," I lay down my labors and my handicraft, and direct my thoughts to heaven alone, to God, that I may rejoice in him. O, the unspeakable love of the great God, who has appointed unto men a day of rest from all their toils! This rest is a token vouchsafed unto us in remembrance of the rest of Paradise, where our constant occupation would have been to serve God, without any grievous labor. This rest is an emblem of the rest in Heaven which is to come; for there is yet a perfect rest offered and promised unto the children of God, which will commence in the life that is to come; when they shall be free from all toil, all suffering and all sorrow, and free from sin. O gracious God! Let me spend the approaching Sunday in thy fear and favor. Preserve me from evil company, lest Satan, with his instruments, deter me from attendance upon the worship of thee, and if he send them, help THE BELIEVER'S me to refuse to follow them. Guard me, that the holy day which thou hast set apart for my edification in the teachings of the Gospel, for thy praise and service, may not be spent in idleness, sloth, luxury, amusement and sin, to the greatest damage of my soul; but give me thy Holy Spirit, that I may devote the whole day, from morning unto night, to thy service. Keep my heart in unceasing devotion, so that no worldly cares may steal their way into it; and if any obtrude themselves, that I may banish them by thy power; or, if Satan should send me a bad neighbor, who should offer to bring worldly gossip into thy house, give me strength to turn a deaf ear to what he says, and to arouse and encourage him to thy service by my attention and silence. When thy Word is preached, open thou my heart, that I may apprehend it; gather it into my heart, and preserve it as a precious treasure. Help me that upon this Sunday I may grow in the faith, and increase in the knowledge of the truth, that what is spoken and heard, may alter, sanctify, convert and make of me a new man, so that as my years increase, my inner man may likewise grow in faith and piety, and become as a new creature, vea, a living member of the body of my Lord. Let me devoutly end the worship, carefully keep what I have learned, and close the day with PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP.

prayer and praises. Oh! let me ever remember the words I have heard, that my walk and conversation, my life and my actions, may accord with it, and prove me not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word. Thus let me celebrate Sunday after Sunday and Sabbath after Sabbath, until thou shalt admit me, through Jesus, my only Saviour and Preserver, to the unceasing joys of Heaven, the eternal Sabbath.

I will to God's own house with God's own people go,

Before his altar stand, dressed in a robe of snow.

My heart beneath his will, shall nestle as a dove;

My hands shall nought essay, but works of need and love.

Enter into my heart this day, thou King of kings!

Thy blessing and thy peace, spread over me thy wings.

Let thy all-saving grace upon my soul alight,

That so the Sabbath may find favor in thy sight.

Amen

1. How lovely is thy word! It fills my heart with joy,

My soul draws from it still comfort without alloy.

It is the dearest prize in all the world I have,

It shall enrich me still, when I am in my grave.

2. Thy word it is the light that shines upon my way,

And warns me out of hand whence'er my foot would stray.

PREPARATION FOR THE SABBATH.

Unto this word I cling unto the bitter end,

I know 'twill guide me safe where all my wishes tend.

3. It is my honey-comb, with which I do regale me,

Whene'er the bitter gall of trouble doth assail me;

How sweet unto the soul, all loaded down with care,

Is the consoling tale thy Word doth still declare?

4. Thy Word it is my hoard, more worth than earthly treasure,

In life and death from this alone I draw my pleasure;

This prize no thief shall steal, no cunning foe despoil,

It lies too firmly locked within my spirit's coil.

5. Let folly love to search for silver and for gold,

The souls that worship thee, thy Word more precious hold;

If both thy Word and gold, be set before their eyes,

They stretch their hands to reach thy Word, the gold despise.

6. Some go to seek advice, who stand in fear to err,

Thy Word my counsel is, to which I still recur;

I ask what shall I do, for better or for worse?

And straight thy Word, the best advisement doth rehearse.

7. By this sweet word of life, I'll shape my travel here,

It shall my load-star be, by which alone I'll steer

EXHORTATION FOR PRAYER.

Fearless and prompt, whate'er it bids me shall be done,

And all it doth forbid with jealous care I'll shun.

8. Oh from my thirsty lips take not thy Word away

Until my dying hour let it my woes allay;

And when these earthly lips no more of food shall take,

Like living water still thy Word my soul shall slake.

9. Thus am I well bethought both while on earth I stay,

And when my spirit leaves its tenement of clay!

And what thy covenant doth promise here below,

Shall be most richly mine when unto heaven I go.

Exportation for Prayer on Sabbath Morning.

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for unto Thee I will pray."—Psalm v. 2-4.

All our life is nothing but prayer and thanksgiving, that is to say, we should cry to God every day in our prayers for his blessing, assistance, comfort and grace, and when these are obtained, we should give thanks unto Him with all our hearts. Therefore, O believer! when thou dost awake in the morning from thy slumEXHORTATION FOR PRAYER.

bers, let it be thy first care to raise thine eyes to heaven, think not immediately of thy business and thy toils, plunge not at once into the search of gain, but fall upon thy knees, thank God, and commend thyself to his gracious protection. Do not think it a loss of time to devote half an hour in the morning to prayer. Oh no! the time consumed in prayer will return with usury a thousand fold in thy labors, and what thou readest will lie in thy mouth all the day like honeycomb. When thou awakest, therefore, and arisest in the morning, hale and strong, reflect: 1. How many a devout Christian, more faithful, perhaps, than thyself, has spent the past night in fear and sorrow, in sickness, in suffering, in terror and great anxiety, of which thou hast experienced nothing. 2. Consider that others in the world have fallen into misfortune, loss, danger and trouble, which thou hast been spared, and thank God therefor. 3. Pray to God at daybreak to keep thee throughout the day in his grace, that thou mayest not sin against him nor against Thy neighbor. 4. Pray God to guide thee throughout the day, to preserve thee, and to bless thee in thy business and occupation

PRAYER ON SABBATH MORNING.

5. Yea, surrender thyself unto God, so that throughout the day thou mayest stand in his love, speak of him, think of him, and not offend him wittingly or willingly, and then doubt not that the Lord will be graciously pleased to hear thy sighs and prayers, and give and grant unto thee throughout the day the things that shall be profitable to thy body and thy soul. PRAYER ON SABBATH MORNING.

Lord, early wilt thou give ear unto my voice; early will I stand before thee. Almighty and most merciful God! Thou art worthy to receive praise, honor and glory. Who would not fear thee, thou King of nations, who would not honor thee, most loving Father? At the dawn of morning I appear before thee with humble thanks that thou hast flung thy mantle over me and mine this night, and hast renewed again thy goodness and thy truth. Fare with me and protect me this day also in all my ways. Let this day be a day of edification and blessing to my soul. In thy loving kindness thou hast disentangled this day from bodily labor, that thou mightest have thy work in me. O, then, instruct, enlighten and sanctify my soul, and help me to lay up treasures which may give joy unto my spirit in danger and in death, in sorrow and in 2*

PRAYER ON SABBATH MORNING.

tribulation, which neither moth nor rust shall corrupt, nor thieves dig up and steal. My God! this day it shall be my delight to hear thy word, to refresh myself in the thought of thee, to sing songs of praise to thy honor and glory, to pray fervently and to yield up my heart to thee. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul rejoiceth in the living God. But let me not be a hearer only, deceiving myself, but a doer of the Word. Open thou my heart, like that of Lydia, that with joy I may receive the seed of thy word, and then do thou seal it up that Satan may not rob me of it again. May I this day lay a firm foundation in faith, in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, in love, in self-denial, in indifference, deadness to the world and in every Christian grace; so that during the whole of the coming week I may meditate upon it, act up to it, and bear good fruit. Preserve me from temptation; if Satan should send his emissaries, so that I may not give up to the world the hours sacred to thee, or sacrifice to its sinful intercourse the time I should devote to thy honor, and thus bring a curse upon my soul, which would weigh me down throughout the week. O let my public and private worship—my prayers, reading, hearing and singing be pleasing unto thee. Be thyself my teacher, Lord Jesus, that my inner man may thrive until I SABBATH MORNING HYMN.

shall be united with thee inseparably in the realms above.

Holy Ghost, thou heavenly teacher,

Mighty comforter and preacher;

Let thy tabernacle be

In my heart eternally. Amen.

MORNING HYMN.

1. Dark night has left the heaven,

Then let my heart be given

To prayer and to singing,

To God my service bringing.

2. As loving mothers oft

Their children cradle soft,

And come, times without number,

To see how sound they slumber.

3. E'en so his kind affection,

Has been my sure protection,

Wrapped up as in a manger,

I lay secure from danger.

4. His goodness passes showing,

My heart is overflowing

With thankfulness of feeling,

Thy love and truth revealing.

5. Give praise unto the Highest,

Who to our hearts comes nighest,

Who carefully arranges

Our life through all its changes.

SABBATH MORNING HYMN.

6. Until the day forsake us,

Let us to him betake us,

Keep faith and comfort by us,

And let no sin come nigh us.

7. Soon as my limbs are stirring,

Oh God! unrest and erring,

And doubt and dread and sorrow

Rise with the earliest morrow.

8. Make all lie lightly on me,

Turn grief and trouble from me,

And let the sun of gladness

Shine on my tears and sadness.

9. My walk and conversation

Preserve from all temptation,

Grant that where'er I wander,

My thoughts on thee may ponder.

10. My heart be thy dominion!

Deck it to thy opinion,

With the most holy savor

Of thy enduring favor.

11. Thine ear is ever willing

To prayer and to fulfilling;

Grant what my heart now prays thee,

And it shall ever praise thee. Amen

EXHORTATION FOR THE SABBATH.