"bless the lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits."—psalm ciii. 2.
o god almighty, do thou draw near to me at this time in thy great mercy, and accept of this my evening sacrifice! i bless thee for all that gladdens my earthly lot, for food and raiment, for friends and home, for health of body and soundness of mind. lord, i delight to trace the wondrous way by which thou hast hitherto led me! thou hast compassed my path and my lying down. thou hast supplied my ever-recurring necessities. my wants have been infinite, but infinite too has been the gracious supply. with a grateful heart i would set up my ebenezer, saying, "hitherto hath the lord helped me." and remembering thy {42} faithfulness in the past, i would confidently trust thee for the future.
may i thankfully employ the manifold gifts of thy bounty. impress upon me the feeling that i am but a steward, responsible to thee for all i possess. let me not selfishly appropriate the varied means of usefulness thou hast put within my power, but willingly employ these in thy service for the good of others. when thou comest to demand a reckoning, may i be able to give a faithful account of my stewardship, paying thee thine own with usury.
lord, while i bless thee for the other proofs and tokens of thy love, far above all would i bless thee for jesus. where would i have been this night but for him? how dreary would have been the past! how dismal and hopeless the future! thanks, eternal thanks be unto god for his unspeakable gift! let me feel, more than i have done, the exceeding riches of thy grace in thy kindness toward me through christ jesus. let all thy dealings only serve to confirm my love to him, and to lead me to cleave to him with fuller purpose of heart. may he have my undivided homage. let no {43} earthly gift or blessing supplant the giver, but may every rill of creative bliss be doubly sweet to me as flowing from his atoning sacrifice.
i rejoice in the midst of trial and perplexity to think of thee, thou tried and suffering one. i rejoice that amid my sorrows i can remember thine, that amid my very tears, i can remember jesus wept. thou canst enter into all the peculiarities of thy people's case, for thou wert in "all points tempted." let me feel, even amid the changes of life, that what i am apt to call vicissitudes, are the sovereign decrees and allotments of thine infinite wisdom; and what i cannot comprehend now, be it mine to wait the disclosures of that blessed morning when, standing at the luminous portals of heaven, i shall joyfully acknowledge that the lord hath done all things well.
bless my beloved friends; may they be growing in thy fear and favor; may they all at last, as sheaves in thy heavenly garner, be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of jesus christ.
i commend myself, gracious god, to thy care; let me retire to rest this night in the {44} blessed consciousness of thy favor; and if spared to see the light of a new day, fit me for whatsoever thou hast in store for me. and all i ask is for jesus' sake. amen.
"let my prayer be set forth before thee as
incense: and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice."
