FOURTH EVENING. FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE.

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth."—John xvii. 17.

Blessed Lord, do Thou bend Thy pitying eye of love and mercy upon me this evening. Draw Thou near to me as I venture once more on praying and on pleading ground. I desire to feel that I am one night nearer glory. Oh, enable me to feel, as night after night is silently {17} stealing over my head, that my seasons and opportunities of grace are fleeting¹ fast away, and that soon the night cometh, wherein I can work no more.

Alas²! O God, how little have I improved the time that is past! I am a wonder to myself, that with all my deep ingratitude³ and utter vileness⁴ I am yet permitted to approach Thy footstool: I have sinned against light and love—warning and mercy—grace and privilege. The retrospect⁵ of life is a retrospect of guilt⁶. I mourn over my manifold shortcomings—the alienation⁷ of my heart from Thee—the fitfulness of my spiritual frames—the ebbings and flowings in the tide of my love. When tried by the lofty and unerring standard of Thy law, how are my best actions and duties marred⁸ with defilement⁹! How much self-seeking and self-glorying—how little animated¹⁰ by the predominating motive¹¹ of love to Thee, and singleness of eye to Thy service!

Blessed Jesus! I flee anew to the pavilion of Thy love. I have no other hope, no other refuge, but in Thy finished work—Thy matchless atonement—Thy spotless righteousness. {18} There is in Thee an all-sufficiency for every want. Finite necessities cannot exhaust Infinite fullness. Let me hear Thy voice saying, "Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee!" O sprinkle me with Thy blood; sanctify me, body, soul, and spirit. Transform me more and more into Thine own image. May I know more and more the happiness of true holiness—that I am really blessed in seeking to walk so as to please God. May the power of grace wax stronger and stronger, and the power of sin wax weaker and weaker. May trials and crosses become light and easy to me when borne in a spirit of meek¹², unrepining submission¹³ to the Divine will. May this quiet every doubt and misgiving¹⁴, "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Lord, may every providential dealing¹⁵ prove a heart-searcher, testing the reality of my love to Thee, and my meetness and preparedness for Thy heavenly kingdom.

Extend, Lord, Thy cause and Gospel everywhere. Strengthen Thy missionary¹⁶ and ministering servants. May they ever hear the sound of their Master's footsteps behind them. May {19} thy churches walk in the fear of God and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

Bless all my beloved friends wherever they are; do Thou be their Almighty¹⁷ Protector and Guide. Let the angel come at this the time of evening incense¹⁸, touching¹⁹ all our hearts, and granting us an answer to our several petitions. Let us rise to-morrow refreshed for Thy service; and fitted for whatsoever²⁰ in Thy good providence²¹ we may be called either to do or to suffer. Hear me, gracious God, for the sake of Him whom Thou hearest always. Amen.

"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH²² BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."

1 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

2 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

3 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

4 vileness   

n.讨厌，卑劣

参考例句：

• Separating out the vileness is impossible. 分离其中不良的部分是不可能的。 来自互联网
• The vileness of his language surprised us. 他言语的粗俗令我们吃惊。 来自互联网

5 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

6 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

7 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

8 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

9 defilement   

n.弄脏，污辱，污秽

参考例句：

• That the miraculous spring would wash away all defilement. 奇妙的泉水会洗掉一切的污秽。 来自辞典例句
• Follow the wisdom of Manjusri Bodhisattva, keep away from troubles and defilement. 具备文殊菩萨的智慧，远离恼害。 来自互联网

10 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

11 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

12 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

13 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

14 misgiving   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕

参考例句：

• She had some misgivings about what she was about to do.她对自己即将要做的事情存有一些顾虑。
• The first words of the text filled us with misgiving.正文开头的文字让我们颇为担心。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

17 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

18 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

19 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

20 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

21 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

22 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。