05.10. TENTH WEEK

TENTH WEEK

SUNDAY MORNING

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, we beseech You to take away our sin. O God, the Father of all mercies, who did not spare Your only begotten Son — but delivered Him up for us all — for His sake give us all things needful for our comfort, our strength, and our salvation. May we be ever submissive and obedient to Your holy will. May we live to You, giving to You in consecrated service, all that You give to us so richly out of Your hand. Make us truly like Yourself.

We ask You that You will give us grace for this day’s life. Set a watch before the door of our lips, that we may speak only such words as shall honor You. Keep our hearts in Your own holy keeping, for we cannot keep them for You — and may we think only reverent, loving, true, pure, and worthy thoughts. Prepare us for Your worship, in our own home, and in Your sanctuary. May we be truly in the Spirit on this Lord’s day.

Bless our home-life today. May it be holy and happy. May Your love sweeten ours. May we live together as a family, patiently, affectionately, with mutual thoughtfulness and kindliness. Bless us in all our relations with others.

We beseech You to pour out Your Spirit to all who will preach the gospel, to all who will teach in Sunday schools, to all missionaries. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Prepare the world for Jesus’ coming again. Bless us and keep us. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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SUNDAY EVENING

O God of love, we render You hearty thanks for all Your mercies — but especially for Your unspeakable gift, Jesus Christ, Your Son, in whom all gifts and blessings are included. We thank You that You loved us in our sin, not waiting for us to come to You with our love, to win Your love — but that You commend Your love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us. We humbly adore this wonderful love, without which we would have perished forever in our sins.

O may our hearts respond to Your love. Our love is so small in comparison with Yours — so unworthy, so fickle and uncertain, that we are ashamed to present it to You. Have mercy upon us, O God, and grant to us more of Your grace and of Your Holy Spirit, that our love may be deepened and strengthened. May this Sunday be blessed to us. Fix in our hearts, all good things heard and learned. Sanctify to us all our worship, the instruction we have received, the holy impressions made upon us. Accept what we have tried to do to help and bless others.

Bless us again as a family as we bow at Your feet. Give us many rich blessings out of Your own grace. Bless our mingling together this day. May our home friendships become more and more deep and tender. Teach us how to love each other better. Preserve us from those miserable little faults that mar the life of love in so many homes — criticism, impatience, discourtesy, thoughtlessness, lack of gentleness. May love so abound in each heart, that our home life may be sweet and full of blessing.

We creep beneath the shadow of Your wings as we go to our rest. Keep us, enrich us with all goodness and mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MONDAY MORNING

O God, who grants mercy and truth to Your people, from generation to generation — we come with confidence to You. You have never allowed any who came to You, to be turned away. Not one word of Your has ever failed of fulfillment. Your promises have always been kept with those who have accepted them and leaned upon them. Your name has been a strong tower to every one who has run into it for safety. You are . . .
an everlasting rock,
an eternal refuge,
a very present help in times of trouble, to all who have turned to You.

We come as Your children to You at the beginning of a new day. Your mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. We beseech You to show us Your face before we go out into the day. If we have Your blessing, we shall not fear any experiences that we may have to meet. In the light of Your countenance may we walk all the hours — and then we shall be safe. Put into our hearts holy thoughts and heavenly aspirations. We desire to live the heavenly life in this world, and we can do it only if You will put Your thoughts into our minds.

We are going out into a world that is full of evil, with unholy influences on every side. We have no power of our own to move through all this evil world — to keep ourselves unspotted. We come to You for grace to help us. May You keep us from the evil. Keep our hearts, that only holy feelings and desires may spring up in them. Preserve us from the power of evil in others around us. Let us . . .
not listen to wicked suggestions,
nor be swayed by wrong examples,
nor yield to unholy motives.
Let not passion or appetite rule us.

We commit ourselves to Your safe keeping, in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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MONDAY EVENING

Heavenly Father, whose favor is life, whose loving kindness is better than life — we thank You for all the favors You have shown to us. Through another day You have led us. Goodness and mercy have followed us all the way. We enter now into the quiet and rest of the eventide, and Your banner over us is love. We hide in the shadow of Your wings.

We remember before You this evening, all the interests of our household. We thank You for all that home means to us of love and shelter. Bless us in our family life, making it more and more like the heavenly life. Lord, You have been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. A thousand years in Your sight, are but as yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

We are but creatures of a moment, dying and passing away. We are like the grass which in the morning flourishes and grows up, and in the evening is cut down and withers. We spend our years as a tale that is told. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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TUESDAY MORNING

O Lord, open our lips — and our mouth shall show forth Your praise. We praise You for all You are in Yourself — the glory of Your being, the excellency of Your power and goodness, Your faithfulness and loving kindness. We praise You, that all You are and have is ours, that You are our own God, that we can say, "The Lord is my Shepherd," "God is our refuge and strength." You have given Yourself to us. You are our Father — and we are Your children. All the blessings our Father’s house are ours.

Graciously pardon all our iniquities, and help us to make sincere confession, assured that if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us. Save us, O God, from trying to hide or cover our sins from You, and help us to confess them.

Let a blessing rest upon us today in all the affairs of our life. Give us this day our daily bread. We ask not for luxuries, lest we forget our dependence upon You. Preserve us from poverty and want — lest we be tempted to sin. Give us only our daily bread, and give us contentment therewith. Let us not murmur nor complain. Give us trust and peace.

We beseech You to use us in whatever ways we can best serve You. We consecrate our lives to You. Let us not live for ourselves — but may we so employ all our talents and possessions that our lives shall be blessings to others.

Deal gently, Lord, with the sick and the dying. Show Your favor to the needy and the outcast. Be the friend of the friendless. Guide the young, and lead all men to trust in You. Cover us now with the shadow of Your wings. We ask in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

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TUESDAY EVENING

O Lord, we humbly beseech You to accept this, our evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Mercifully grant to us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, Your Son, the remission of our sins, and all the blessings of eternal life. Fill our hearts, we ask You, with Your Spirit. Simply to your cross we cling, O Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. The night is now before us. We do not know what perils are veiled in the darkness. We know only that we are safe in You, by night as by day — for the darkness and the light are both alike to You. Your eye sees in the night — as clearly as at noonday. So, while we sleep, You will watch over us, and we shall be as safe as if it were day above us. Be our shelter, our keeper — protecting us from all danger.

We may not all live throughout the night. If any of us shall end our life here and go away before the morning — may it be unto You that we shall go. We ask that You will shed abroad your love in our hearts. May Your will be done here in our home — as it is done in Heaven. We ask for special individual blessings. We have different needs. Some of us are strong, and others are weak. As our day is — so may our strength be. Let none of us ever be overwhelmed by this world’s evil.

We ask for refreshing rest in sleep. May nothing disturb our repose until the morning. Give us in sleep, the blessings of Your love. May we be stronger for the night’s rest. Fit us for whatever is before us. Watch over us and bring us to the morning light in peace and in health. Guide us in safe and good paths, and help us to be useful to many others. We ask it in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ WEDNESDAY MORNING

We would come into Your presence, O God, this morning, with a song. We do not praise You as we ought — and as You deserve. We come to You with our requests, our supplications, our pleadings — and then when our prayers are answered, we fail too often to thank You for the blessings we receive. We take Your gifts from the unseen hand — and do not think of the Giver, from whom all our favors come. We get discouraged too easily when shadows creep over us, or when fragments of cloud come into our sky, and our hearts fill with fear. We confess all this little faith and all this ingratitude — and we ask You for the grace of thankfulness, that we may suitably remember Your love. Having eyes — may we see Your love in all the manifold blessings that come to us in so many forms and ways.

Teach all of us how to sing praise to You. There always are countless reasons for praise. In the darkest day, there is far more light than darkness. Our troubles are always infinitesimally small — in comparison with our mercies and blessings. Give us eyes to see the bright things, and hearts to number our comforts. Teach us not to mind the cares and worries — but to sing through them all. Teach us to rejoice always, even though we are suffering or enduring discomfort.

We thank You for all the mercies we now enjoy. We thank You for the good things of Your providence, and the better things of Your grace — for home and friends, and health and books, and schools and churches, and all Your favors. Give us the spirit of praise. Help us to make this a day of rejoicing in Jesus Christ our Lord. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be on us forever. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ WEDNESDAY EVENING

We thank You, our Father, for the privilege of trusting You, and abiding in Your love. We thank You that in this great world of peril, You are accessible everywhere, that wherever we are we, can find You — and, finding You, be safe. You are a very present help in times of trouble. You are our refuge and our rock, our high tower, our deliverer and our shield. We are glad that we are Your redeemed children, and that You care for us with infinite tenderness. We rejoice in the privilege of having You for our hearts’ home.

We are Yours, O God, for You have made and redeemed us. We would confess ourselves Yours, and would consecrate ourselves to You. We have tried to serve You today, and to be faithful to You. Wherein we have failed — may You forgive us. We bring the broken things of our obedience and service now to Your feet — we have nothing but broken things to bring. Accept them in Jesus’ precious name, and use them in Your service.

We have many interests that are dear to our hearts on which we would ask Your blessing at the close of the day. Bless our common task-work. It is not easy. Much of it is wearisome — the same rounds day after day. May the very routine do us good, teaching us to be patient and diligent, to be prompt and energetic, and to be earnest and faithful. May these tasks all be part of the Father’s business, and may we do all of them in the name of Jesus, and thus find joy and delight in them.

We pray also for all our spiritual interests, the things that concern our souls. Let nothing harm us. May all things work together for good to us. Receive us now to rest in Your care, we ask in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ THURSDAY MORNING Our Father in Heaven, we, Your earthly children, worship You. We thank You for Your word, which we can read at the opening of the day, taking it for a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. May it be to us indeed a light this day, shining for us and showing us the way of holiness. We always need a divine lamp, for earth is dark. Sin has made it perilous to travel on these treacherous ways without a lamp. No human friend can guide us infallibly. We cannot guide ourselves. We would never find the way home, were it not for the light of truth which You have given, which makes every smallest part of the path through this world clear and plain if we will walk in the light.

Let us not try to walk in the light of our own understanding, and stumble and fall. We put our hands in Yours this morning, and we would be led by You all the day. We do not know where our paths will take us. It may be that darkness lies before us — or hard and rough ways, that we must enter some Gethsemane. Lead us, O Jesus, where You will — and give us grace to follow submissively.

We seek Your blessing upon all the work of this day. Show us what You will have us to do. May we find the tasks You have in Your plan and purpose for us, and then do them faithfully. Let us never resist Your gracious leading. Enable us always to do Your will, as it is done in Heaven. Bless us . . .
in our home life,
in our friendships,
in our social life,
in our play and our work,
in our praying and our serving,
in our toil and our struggle,
in our joy and in our sorrow.

We ask all in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ THURSDAY EVENING

O Lord, give Your blessing to us this evening. Let Your face shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, and give us peace. May our sins be forgiven. May our errors be corrected. May the work of our hands be blessed. May the influence of our lives upon others be sanctified.

We can never have this day again to amend anything in it, to recall that which is evil, or to add that which is lacking. So we leave it with You, asking for Your blessing upon it.

We remember the community around us, asking that You would send Your blessing upon all its homes. Remember all the children, and keep them in their tender years; carry all these in Your bosom, Good Shepherd. Remember all the young people amid the world’s temptations and attractions. Keep them, and may they become noble men and women. Remember the sick, the old, the sorrowing, and the poor, and have pity upon the unsaved.

We pray for our country. Remember those who rule over us, and give them wisdom to rule in Your fear, and for You. Bless all our institutions. May Your grace more and more rule in them, making them influences for good in the world. Keep Your protection around those who go upon the seas and those who work amid dangers.

We pray for Your church. Bless its ministers, and may they be faithful and earnest. Bless all its members, and may they be true in all their life before men. May their light so shine, that all who see them shall be led to believe in the power of Jesus. Hear us, bless us, and keep us through the night. We ask in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

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FRIDAY MORNING

O Jesus, You have called us with a holy calling. We desire to be worthy of the honor which You have put upon us. You have redeemed us by Your blood. You have taken us into fellowship with Yourself. You are not ashamed to call us brethren. You have made us heirs of God, joint heirs with You. You have given us eternal life!

Make us indeed worthy of this exalted honor. Cleanse and purify us, that we may be like You in spirit, in disposition, in character. Give us the same desires that are in Your heart — that we may hate what You hate, and love what You love. May we be partakers in Your work for the upbuilding of Your cause and the extending of Your kingdom.

Give us this day, the same mind that was in You. You left Your heavenly glory and became man, that You might be our Redeemer. You lived to serve — giving out Your life in unsparing service, even dying in love for Your people. We desire to have the same spirit. Save us from all selfishness, which would lead us to withhold ourselves from serving others with the best that is in us. Save us from all pride, which would lead us to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and may we ever be clothed with humility. Lead us into Your ways of service.

Lord Jesus, help us to live this day, as You would live if You were here in our place. May we be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. May we be kindly in all our relations as a family, and with those outside. Help us to be diligent in all our business. May we live unspotted from the world. Bless us in all ways in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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FRIDAY EVENING

We hear Your voice this evening inviting us to come to You for rest. We need rest, and we thank You for Your ordinance of night, when we can cease our labors and find renewal of strength in the quiet of the evening. We thank You for sleep, which refills nature’s exhausted fountains, and renews the life which has been used in the day’s experiences. May You give us blessing in sleep tonight.

We thank You also for the spiritual rest which You give to those who come to You. You alone can give us this rest. You alone can take away sin and the consciousness of guilt, and deliver us from sin’s penalty and power. You alone can give us rest in the assurance of Your love, and in Your power to make all things work together for our good. Give us Your own peace. We ask not for the taking away all care out of our life — but for so much of the power of Your own life in us that, come what may, our souls shall be quiet in You. As we learn of You, may we find rest to our souls. In the darkness, may You hide us and shelter us. Let no harm befall us. Keep our dwelling from danger. Preserve us all in good health. Sanctify to us all the experiences of this day. Bless all that we have done, and use the words that we have spoken. Forgive our mistakes, follies, and all our sins.

We ask for blessings on all our friends. Bless our friendships and make them more and more tender, constant, and true. May we all be Your friends — faithful, true, and constant. Help us to receive Your friendship into our hearts, and may its blessing enrich our lives. Forgive us, and grant us Your protecting care this night. We ask in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SATURDAY MORNING

O God, as the morning has risen upon us, may the Sun of righteousness also rise upon us. Chase away the shadows of darkness from us, and may we be light in the Lord. Enable us to put off all the works of darkness, whatever belongs to the old evil nature, and to put on the garments of light, doing the works of the day and not of the night. May our light shine before men, that seeing us, they may glorify You.

We desire to grow in grace. As the deer pants after the water-brooks, so our souls long after You. Our souls thirst for God, for the living God. Nothing else will satisfy them. This world has in it nothing to meet the needs of our immortal spiritual natures. Let us not try to feed ourselves on that which is not bread — but may we learn to bring all our needs to You who alone can satisfy them.

We come to You to begin the day — that we may have Your blessing upon it. Nothing is complete without You. As the flowers need the dew and the sunshine to make them fragrant — so do our lives need Your blessing to make them truly happy. Lay Your hand upon our heads as we bow before You. Direct our feet in all the day’s paths. We want to carry out Your plan, not our own. Older our steps in Your word. Give us our work as we go on. Help us to be truthful, honest, and diligent in all our words and conduct. Prosper us in all our undertakings, unless they are wrong. Defeat whatever we undertake that is not agreeable to Your will.

We go out now in our Savior’s name, and we ask You to take us and use us to do Your will and to bless others. We ask all for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SATURDAY EVENING

We will praise You, O God, with our whole heart. We will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your loving kindness and for Your truth — for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when we cried to You, and You answered us. We thank You for Your love, which never fails; and for Your grace, which is given for every moment of need. Though You are high — yet You have respect unto the lowly. Your eyes see even the least of Your redeemed children. The youngest child is watched over by You. You hear the cry of the birds in their hunger. We rejoice to think of the care You have for every child of Your own, and how secure we are in the keeping of Your love. You have been, and You are, our dwelling-place.

Though we walk in the midst of trouble, You will protect us. You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of the Evil One, who seeks our destruction. Forsake not the work of Your own hands. Allow us not to fall away into darkness, and into the pains of eternal death — but deliver us, we beseech You, from all sin, and save us to eternal life. May this evening be one of preparation for the coming Sunday. Grant us rest that we may be ready for the day’s duties and worship. Then turn our thoughts and affections toward Sunday worship, that we may be in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. Give holy thoughts to all who are preparing to speak the words of life to Your people. Warm their hearts with Your love, and hold them near to You, that they may come from the very secret of Your presence to stand and speak for You before men. We ask all in the name of our Redeemer. Amen.

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