TWENTY-FIRST EVENING. FOR HEAVENWARD PROGRESS.

"The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines more and more onto the perfect day."—Proverbs iv. 18.

O God, I bless Thee that Thou hast spared me during another day, and permitted the shadows of another evening to gather around me in peace. It is Thou, Lord, only who makest me to dwell in safety. Enable me to live from day to day as the pensioner¹ on Thy bounty²; to feel my dependence³; to receive every created blessing⁴ and gift direct from Thy hand, and to {70} seek to have all of them sweetened and hallowed as the pledges of Thy covenant⁵ love in Jesus.

I bless Thee, gracious God, for the richer tokens of Thy redeeming⁶ grace in Him. I bless Thee that His infinite merit has come in the place of my infinite demerit, that in Him there is "no condemnation⁷;" that in His precious blood I have a secure shelter from the terrors of Thy righteous law and the accusations⁸ of a guilty conscience. May I know more and more the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. May my every hope of pardon centre in His cross. May I be living from day to day under the constraining⁹ influence of His love, and experience now a sweet foretaste of that everlasting¹⁰ communion which awaits me in His presence hereafter.

Lord, quicken me in my heavenly way; let me not loiter or linger on the road. Let this be my habitual¹¹ feeling and watchword, "I am journeying." May I seek to mark my progressive advancement¹² in the divine life, my increasing conformity¹³ to the image and will of Thee, my God. Keep me humble¹⁴, cherishing a constant sense of my dependence on Thee. Oh in {71} every step Zionward, may I be led to cry, "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe." Let there be no longer any halting between two opinions, any wavering or indecision. May I regard life as a great mission to please Thee. Let my animating¹⁵ wish be to be nearer Thee now, ere I come to be with Thee for ever in glory everlasting. Walking heavenwards, may I feel I am walking homewards.

May I spend each day as if possibly it were my last, so that should the midnight cry break upon my ears, "Prepare to meet Thy God," it might be to me no unexpected summons, but as an angel whispering, "The Master is come and calleth for thee."

Look down in mercy on the dark places of the earth full of the habitations of horrid¹⁶ cruelty. How long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? Go forth¹⁷ with Thy missionary¹⁸ servants in heathen lands; may they witness much of Thy power; may Thy word still be mighty¹⁹ as ever to the pulling down of Satan's strongholds. Give thy Churches at home grace to be more faithful in the fulfilment of the great commission of their Great Head—"Go ye into {72} all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature!"

Take all my beloved friends this night under Thy guardian²⁰ care. Shield them from all danger; and if Thou art pleased to spare us till to-morrow, may we rise refreshed and invigorated for the duties of a new day. And all I ask is for Jesus' sake. Amen.

"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE²¹: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."

1 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

2 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

3 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。

4 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

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 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

7 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 constraining   

强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• He was constraining his mind not to wander from the task. 他克制着不让思想在工作时开小差。
• The most constraining resource in all of these cases is venture capital. 在所有这些情况下最受限制的资源便是投入资本。

10 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

11 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

12 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

13 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

14 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

15 animating   

v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
• They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句

16 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

17 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。

18 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。

19 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

20 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

21 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。