Blessed Lord! I desire to draw near this night with holy boldness to the footstool of Thy throne, rejoicing that I can look up to Thee as my Father in heaven. "Behold2 what manner of love is this the Father hath bestowed3 on me, that I should be called a child of God." Thou mightest have righteously left me orphaned4, friendless, portionless for ever. But in the midst of wrath5 Thou hast remembered mercy: the kindness of no earthly parent, O God, could equal thine. Thou hast borne with all my obstinacy6, all my perverseness7, and waywardness, and ingratitude8. I am at this hour the monument of a love as wondrous10 as it is undeserved.
{36} Oh teach me to cultivate more and more a spirit of child-like obedience11 to Thee; to cherish a holy fear of offending so kind and forgiving and beneficent a Father. Whilst Thou art strewing12 my wilderness13 path with unmerited blessings15, may I be enabled to rise above every earthly gift and mercy to the better inheritance I have in Thee, the bountiful Bestower of all! Let me feel every created blessing14 to be doubly sweet, as emanating16 from a Father's hand, and being a proof and pledge of a Father's love. Let the hour of prayer be doubly hallowed by the thought that I am permitted to haunt a Father's presence, and pour my wants into a Father's ear. Let the season of sorrow be sweetened by the thought that the rod is in a Father's hand, and that the voice, though apparently17 rough, is the tender whispering of parental18 love.
Blessed Jesus! I desire to remember that it is Thou and Thou only who hast not left me "comfortless." It is Thou who hast devised and completed a way by which "Thy banished19" may not be "expelled" from a Father's 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 Father's house there are many mansions20." Oh let me lean with a more simple and entire dependence21 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 incense22-offering of gratitude9 and love on Thine altar, find me also a stage nearer my Father's house, 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 watchful23 eye. Guide, guard, protect them, and bring them all at last to Thy heavenly kingdom.
Bless Thy Church everywhere; lengthen24 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 salvation25, let her saints and people shout aloud for joy.
Bless those on whom Thou hast laid Thine afflicting26 hand. May they take refuge in the arms that are chastising27 them, and be enabled to {38} say in unmurmuring submission28, "The Lord's will be done." Hear me, gracious Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour29. Amen.
"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH30 BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."
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1
adoption
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n.采用,采纳,通过;收养 | |
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2
behold
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v.看,注视,看到 | |
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3
bestowed
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赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
orphaned
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[计][修]孤立 | |
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5
wrath
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n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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6
obstinacy
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n.顽固;(病痛等)难治 | |
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7
perverseness
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n. 乖张, 倔强, 顽固 | |
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8
ingratitude
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n.忘恩负义 | |
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9
gratitude
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adj.感激,感谢 | |
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10
wondrous
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adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
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11
obedience
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n.服从,顺从 | |
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12
strewing
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v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
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13
wilderness
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n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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14
blessing
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n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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15
blessings
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n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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16
emanating
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v.从…处传出,传出( emanate的现在分词 );产生,表现,显示 | |
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17
apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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18
parental
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adj.父母的;父的;母的 | |
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19
banished
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v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
mansions
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n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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21
dependence
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n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属 | |
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22
incense
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v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气 | |
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23
watchful
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adj.注意的,警惕的 | |
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24
lengthen
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vt.使伸长,延长 | |
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25
salvation
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n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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26
afflicting
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痛苦的 | |
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27
chastising
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v.严惩(某人)(尤指责打)( chastise的现在分词 ) | |
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28
submission
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n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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29
saviour
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n.拯救者,救星 | |
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30
forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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