TWENTY-SECOND EVENING. FOR HUMILITY OF HEART.

"He giveth grace unto the humble¹."—James iv. 6.

O God, Thou art great and greatly to be feared. Thy greatness is unsearchable. Thou art seated on a throne that is high and lifted up; myriads² of blessed spirits cease not day nor night to celebrate Thy praise in their ever-triumphant hymn³, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts."

But I rejoice to think that though Heaven is Thy dwelling-place Thou deignest to dwell in {73} the humble and contrite⁴ heart; no sacrifice dost Thou so love as that of the broken spirit; no incense⁵ so prized by Thee as the incense of a grateful, believing soul, which, oppressed with its own unworthiness and sin, reposes⁶ with unwavering trust in the work and righteousness of the Great Surety.

Lord, on this ever-living, ever-loving Saviour⁷ I desire wholly to lean. As helpless, hopeless, friendless, portionless, I cast myself on Him who is Helper of the helpless and Friend of the friendless. There is nothing but Thy sacrifice and intercession, O Thou Lamb of God, between me and everlasting⁸ destruction. O wash every crimson⁹ and scarlet¹⁰ stain away in Thy precious blood. Let me lie low at the foot of Thy cross. Give me a lowly estimate of myself, and a lofty view of Thy all-glorious work and finished righteousness. I have no other hope of mercy, and, blessed be Thy name, I need no other.

While I take Thee as my Saviour, may I be enabled to follow Thee also as my pattern; conscious of the supreme¹¹ enthronement of Thy love in my heart, may I feel superior to all the fluctuations¹² and changes of a changing world. May {74} I live as the chartered heir of a better inheritance; while in the world, may I seek not to be of it. May I diffuse¹³ around me the noiseless influence of a heavenly life, subordinating all I do to Thy glory. Lord, enable me to be useful in the sphere in which Thou hast placed me, to work while it is called to-day, remembering that there is no work nor device nor labor¹⁴ in the grave whither I am going.

Bless all in sorrow. Sanctify their trials. Keep us ever from the guilty atheism¹⁵ of looking to second causes. May we ever rejoice in the elevating assurance that "the Lord God Omnipotent¹⁶ reigneth," and that Thou orderest all things wisely and well. May the Holy Spirit the Comforter pour his own balm into every bleeding heart.

Have mercy on a world lying in wickedness. Hasten that glorious period when creation, now groaning¹⁷ and travailing in sin, shall be delivered from the bondage¹⁸ of corruption¹⁹ and be translated into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Let Thy word everywhere have free course and be glorified²⁰. May Jesus, faithfully {75} "lifted up" by the attractive power of his cross, draw all men unto him.

Let Thy best benediction²¹ rest on my friends. The Lord watch between them and me when we are absent one from another. May we experience Thy guardian²² care this night; and if spared to awake in the morning, may it be to spend a new day in Thy service, through Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH²³ BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."

1 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。

2 myriads   

n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each galaxy contains myriads of stars. 每一星系都有无数的恒星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sky was set with myriads of stars. 无数星星点缀着夜空。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

4 contrite   

adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的

参考例句：

• She was contrite the morning after her angry outburst.她发了一顿脾气之后一早上追悔莫及。
• She assumed a contrite expression.她装出一副后悔的表情。

5 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。

6 reposes   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Below this stone reposes the mortal remains of his father. 在此石块下长眠的是他的父亲的遗体。 来自辞典例句
• His body reposes in the local church. 他的遗体安放在当地教堂里。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 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。

9 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

10 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

13 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 atheism   

n.无神论，不信神

参考例句：

• Atheism is the opinion that there is no God.无神论是认为不存在上帝的看法。
• Atheism is a hot topic.无神论是个热门话题。

16 omnipotent   

adj.全能的，万能的

参考例句：

• When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science.我们达到万能以后就不需要科学了。
• Money is not omnipotent,but we can't survive without money.金钱不是万能的，但是没有金钱我们却无法生存。

17 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

18 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

19 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

20 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

21 benediction   

n.祝福；恩赐

参考例句：

• The priest pronounced a benediction over the couple at the end of the marriage ceremony.牧师在婚礼结束时为新婚夫妇祈求上帝赐福。
• He went abroad with his parents' benediction.他带着父母的祝福出国去了。

22 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。

23 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。