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TOPIC: MacDuff, John - Gates of Prayer (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 31 Day 31
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31st Morning—BANISHED FEARS
"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings—his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." Psalm 112:7
Heavenly Father, I desire to approach Your gracious presence through this blessed Gateway of Trust. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed—I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation. I bless You that in this holy confidence, I can enter on the work and duties—the joys and sorrows—the trials and temptations of a new day. You have been in the past a refuge in the time of trouble, vouchsafing help when vain was the help of man. I will trust You still; leaning on Your arm—confident in Your grace, I will go in the strength of the Lord God, making mention of Your righteousness, even of Yours alone.
I come to You supplicating Your pardoning mercy. Forgive my many sins in all their heinousness and aggravation—may every guilty stain be washed away—may I stand now and ever in Your sight, accepted in the Beloved. Other Refuge—other Savior—other Righteousness—I have none, and I need none—I cast my helpless soul for time and for eternity on His finished work and atoning sacrifice. May the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of all grace—promised by Him on His departure from the world, come down to cleanse and regenerate and sanctify me, and make me fit to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Your Spirit, O God, is good, lead me to the land of uprightness.
Lord, equip me this morning for Your service. May the great predominating motive, to love and to glorify You, regulate and control my actions—quicken my energies—and give direction to all my schemes and purposes. Clothe and panoply me with the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. The name of my spiritual foe is "legion," for they are many. I have no might against this great multitude, neither know I what to do—but my eyes are upon You. Your hand is never shortened; Your ear is never heavy. He who is with me and for me, is greater far than those who are against me. I will trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. "O Lord, in You have I trusted, let me never be confounded."
And may all near and dear to me enter by this same Gate of the righteous; and exercise the same loving, unwavering confidence in Your faithfulness. If any are in trouble—support them; if any are bereaved—comfort them. May they know, in their happy experience, that those who trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. If any are dying—flood the dark Valley with glorious light; and when the dust returns to its dust, may the spirit return to the God who gave it.
Bless this great country in its varied interests, civil and sacred. May it be distinguished for the righteousness which alone exalts. May there be more of lofty principle and sterling integrity and honor, regulating and influencing transactions between man and man. Grant us the inestimable blessing of peace. May the sword long slumber. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Bless Your Church throughout the whole world. Be a wall of fire around Your Zion, and the glory in the midst thereof; over all the glory be a defense. Bless Your ministering servants—the ambassadors of Your Word at home, as well as Your faithful missionaries abroad. May it specially be theirs, amid manifold discouragements, to rise by faith above the fear of evil tidings, and to have their hearts fixed trusting in the Lord. May the joy of the Lord be their strength.
And now, Lord, what do I wait for? my hope is in You. Hear in heaven, Your holy habitation, these my unworthy prayers; and when You hear, forgive, and grant me an answer in peace—through Jesus Christ, in whom is all my trust; and to whom, with You the Father, and the Holy Spirit—Three in one in covenant for my salvation—be ascribed all blessing, and honor, and glory, and praise world without end. Amen.
31st Evening—THE EVERLASTING LIGHT
"Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end." Isaiah 60:20
O God, I come to You this evening, as the Everlasting Light; with whom there is no darkness at all. I beseech You show me Your glory. May the din of the world be shut out—allow not its distracting thoughts and cares to intrude in this the hour of my evening oblation. Bring me under the solemnizing influence of unseen realities. May the Gate of prayer become as the Gate of heaven.
I bless You for the glimpses given of the things prepared within the veil, for those who love You. I thank You for the images and emblems contained in Your most holy Word, of this future world of bliss—"the rest which remains"—"the kingdom which cannot be moved"—"the Father's house" with its "many mansions"—"the sun that shall no more go down"—the moon that shall never wax nor wane—a sinless, sorrowless, tearless immortality. All present joys are transient, shadowy, unreal, compared with these. Grant, Lord, that when I awake from the sleep of death, I may partake of endless life in You—satisfied with Your likeness; and served heir to Your own gracious beatitude—"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Alas! the love which ought to have reigned paramount, has too often been supplanted and superseded by other affections. I have to lament my bias to sin—the latent principles of corruption—the evil heart of unbelief which is ever tempting me to stray from the living God—the burdens and impediments which clog the wings of faith and prevent me soaring heavenwards. Lord, elevate my affections, purify my desires, quicken my new obedience. May my life become, more than it has been, an offering of gratitude—a sacrifice of praise for all Your many mercies. By the blessings You are bestowing, as well as by the beneficial discipline of Your providence in curtailing or removing these, may I become gradually prepared for the enjoyment of Your presence—for taking my place as a worshiper in that Temple, where my present imperfect and divided service and love will be merged in the bliss of perfect, unalloyed, uninterrupted consecration. Meanwhile, keep me from the absorbing power, the benumbing influence of earthly things. Keep me mindful that my little day is flitting fast, and that opportunities of serving and glorifying You must speedily terminate. May I be enabled so to live, that when the hour of departure arrives, I may lean with unfaltering and unwavering trust on the promised rod and staff, and pass from a death full of hope to an immortality full of glory.
I pray for all mankind. Lord, pity the heathen kingdoms, still the habitations of cruelty; hear the loud cry of oppression and tyranny and wrong which is ever ascending from an enslaved world. Break these bonds asunder; and send the nations forth, walking and leaping and praising God. Prince of Peace! take to Yourself Your great power and reign. Upbuild the walls of Zion, and hasten the fulfillment of the glorious things spoken of the city of God.
Have mercy on the afflicted—the poor—the orphaned—the widowed—the friendless—the sick—the dying. Reveal Yourself to all such as the Great Physician. May those lamenting the earthly loss of loved ones—fallen asleep in Jesus—rejoice that to them the shadow of death has been turned into the morning, and that the Lord their God has become their everlasting light.
Bless those connected with me by ties of kindred or affection. Be to them as a pillar of cloud by day, and as a pillar of fire by night. If You send them blessings, may they connect every gift with the Great Bestower—if You give the full cup, may they be enabled to carry it with a steady hand. If You appoint them crosses, may they have strength to bear them—afflictions and bereavements, may they regard them as Your own special messengers sent on a mission of wisdom and mercy. However far we may be separated from one another here, may an entrance at last be ministered unto us abundantly, into the abiding Home, whose walls are Salvation, and its GATES, PRAISE.
Anew I commit myself to Your gracious protection. Give me quiet and refreshing sleep, and spare me, if it be Your will, to see the light and to enjoy the comforts of another day.
And now, unto Him who alone is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy—Unto Him who loved me, and washed me from my sins in His own blood—Unto Him who, Himself having overcome the sharpness of death, has opened the Kingdom of Heaven and the Gates of Righteousness to all Believers—be ascribed all blessing and honor, might, majesty, and dominion, world without end. Amen.