SEVENTEENTH EVENING. FOR THE LIFE OF FAITH.

"The life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."—Gal. ii. 20.

O God, I desire to draw near unto Thy blessed presence on this the evening of another {57} day, adoring Thee for all the loving-kindness Thou art continually making to pass before me. May I ever be enabled to look up to Thee as the Author and Bestower of all my mercies. May no created good ever be suffered to dispossess Thee of my affections. May all that I enjoy, alike temporal and spiritual, be traced to Thee, the Fountain of all happiness. May prosperity be hallowed by receiving it as a pledge of Thy favor, and may trial lose its bitterness by the consciousness that every thorn in my path is permitted by Thee, and every bitter drop in the cup appointed by Thee.

May I thus seek, O God, from day to day, to live a life of simple faith and dependence² on Thy grace; with confiding³ love may I commit my every care and want and perplexity to Thy better direction, feeling sweetly assured that Thou wilt⁴ guide me by a right way to the city of habitation.

Above all would I seek a renewed interest in those covenant⁵ blessings⁶ which Christ died to purchase and which He is exalted⁷ to bestow¹. All my hope is in Him; weak, helpless, perishing, I flee to Him, as the help and hope and {58} portion of all who seek Him. Hide me, O blessed Jesus, in Thy wounded side. I would overcome alone through the blood of the Lamb. Wash me thoroughly⁸ in Thy precious blood. May I hear Thine own voice of pardoning love saying, "Your sins which are many are all forgiven."

After all Thou hast done for me, let me harbor no guilty and unworthy suspicions of Thy faithfulness. Let me feel assured that tender love regulates all Thy allotments. Thou art pledged to use the dealing⁹ and discipline best suited for Thy people's case, and what will best effect Thine own will concerning them, even their sanctification. Carry on within me Thine own work in Thine own way. Fortify¹⁰ me against temptation; let me not surrender myself to the base compliances of a world lying in wickedness. But, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, may I know that He who is with me is greater far than all that can be against me. Oh enkindle afresh my expiring, languishing¹¹ love; let me live more under the influence of "things not seen," having the eye of faith more upwards¹² {59} and homewards, looking for that blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of the great God my Saviour¹³.

Let Thy kingdom come! Arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause. May all the ends of the earth soon be gladdened with the Gospel's joyful¹⁴ sound!

Bless all in sorrow, all bereaved¹⁵ of near and dear friends; may they see no hand in their trials but Thine. Thou givest us our blessings; and when Thou seest meet Thou revokest the grant. Let us see love in every threatening wave, all rolling at Thy bidding.

Lord, take the charge of me this night. Abide¹⁶ with me, blessed Saviour, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. Oh, may it be mine to feel that each successive evening as it brings me nearer eternity¹⁷, is ripening¹⁸ me for its never-ending joys. And all I ask is for Jesus' sake. Amen.

"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH¹⁹ BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE²⁰: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."

1 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 confiding   

adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句

4 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

5 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

6 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

9 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。

10 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

11 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

12 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

13 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

14 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

15 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

16 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

17 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

18 ripening   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成

参考例句：

• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 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。