THIRTIETH EVENING. FOR PREPARATION FOR JUDGMENT.

"Prepare to meet thy God."—Amos iv. 12.

O God, Thou art daily loading me with Thy benefits. Thou art making the outgoings of the evening and morning to rejoice over me, giving me unnumbered causes for gratitude¹ and thankfulness. No earthly friend could have loved and cared for me like Thee. Oh may the life Thou art thus preserving by Thine unceasing bounty² be unreservedly dedicated³ to Thy praise.

Lord, keep me mindful that I am soon to be done with this world, that I am fast borne along the stream of time to an endless futurity. {98} "It is appointed unto all once to die, and after death the judgment⁴." May I be living in a constant state of preparedness for that solemn hour when small and great shall stand before God, and the books shall be opened. Educate me for eternity⁵. Let me not be frittering away these fleeting⁶ but precious moments. Impress on me the solemn conviction that "as men live so do men die," that as death leaves me so will judgment find me. Oh let death leave me falling asleep in Jesus, united to Him by a living faith, that so judgment may find me seated at His right hand, listening to the joyous⁷ welcome, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Blessed Jesus, all my hope of a glorious resurrection centres in Thee. I look to Thee as the strong tower which cannot be shaken. I flee anew to the holy sanctuary⁸ of Thy covenant⁹ love. Sheltered there, amid a dissolving earth, and burning worlds, I shall be able joyfully¹⁰ to utter the challenge, "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?" Meanwhile may I seek to "occupy" till my Lord comes. Keep {99} me from all negligence¹¹ and unwatchfulness. Trim my flickering¹² lamp. Let me live with Thy Judgment-throne in view. Whether waking or sleeping, may I bear about with me the thought that I must soon give an account of myself to God. May I feel that all the talents and means Thou hast given me are trusts to be laid out for Thee. When thou comest to demand a reckoning, may I not be among the number of those who have hid their talent in the earth, and have the cheerless retrospect¹³ of a misspent time.

Lord! bless my friends, reward my benefactors¹⁴, forgive my enemies. Sanctify sorrow to all the sons and daughters of trial. May the torch of Thy love light up their gloomy prospects¹⁵. May every providential voice sound loud in their ears, "Arise and depart ye, for this is not your rest!"

Gracious God, watch over me during the night, and grant that at last, when all earth's evenings and mornings shall have passed away, I may, on the great day-break of glory, wake up in Thy likeness¹⁶, through Him in whom is all my hope, and to whom, with Thee, O Father, {100} and Thee, ever blessed Spirit, one God, be everlasting¹⁷ praise, honor, and glory, world without end. Amen.

"LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH¹⁸ BEFORE THEE AS
INCENSE¹⁹: AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS
AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE."

1 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

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 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 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。

6 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。

7 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

8 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

9 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。

10 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

11 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

12 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

13 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。

14 benefactors   

n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人

参考例句：

• I rate him among my benefactors. 我认为他是我的一个恩人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We showed high respect to benefactors. 我们对捐助者表达了崇高的敬意。 来自辞典例句

15 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

16 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。