Prayers: Blessings of the Justified
The Blessings of the Justified
O Lord, give to all that have believed in Thee a sense of perfect deliverance from sin. Let us not be saying, "I know that I shall be justified in the Day of Judgment." Let us not postpone that blessing, but may we enjoy it now; for truly if Thou art the Resurrection so that we may believe in Thee now, surely Thou art our Justification to be accepted and rejoiced in now? And we do accept Thee—Jesus. Thy blood is our cleansing; Thy righteousness is our vesture. We stand accepted in the Beloved, as many of us as have believed in Thy holy Name. Let Thy people enjoy now that sweet peace which comes of being justified by faith; and if any here have not believed, oh that they might put their trust in Christ! May faith be wrought in them. May they cheerfully and at once receive the great Atonement and be saved thereby.
O our Blessed Lord, Thou hast ascended on high and received gifts for men. We pray Thee to grant us our measure of those gifts. Give to Thy believing people the Holy Spirit. May we receive Him abundantly, in clearness of insight into Thy Word, in closeness of fellowship with Thyself, in greater likeness to Thy character, in greater zeal for Thy glory. What are Thy people, without Thy Spirit rest on us? Holy Ghost, dwell in us. We cannot even pray aright without Thee; and for those works of holiness to which we are set apart, we have no strength without Thee. But if Thou art with us, we can perform all things. Rest on the preacher when he tries to preach to the congregation; on every minister in every place who shall tell of Jesus' love. And rest also in large measure upon all who personally speak to individuals, upon all who teach in our schools, upon all who stand in the street to proclaim a living Saviour. Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, the Riches and the Endowment of the Church, and let us realize Thine extraordinary power to-day. It is Thine to convince Thy people, and to convert them, so that truth shall be in their hearts a deep convincement, and comfort shall rise into delight. But we want Thy power upon the unconverted. Oh come, sweet Spirit, to take away the heart of stone out of men's flesh, and give them the heart of flesh. Now the stone to flesh convert! Let the obdurate accept their Lord, the prejudiced, the wilful, be subdued to the sweet sceptre of divine love. We want to see the churches built up and increased with the increase of God. Multiply us with men as with a flock, and let every scatterer of the good seed reap an hundredfold harvest.
We want for ourselves, also, that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We long to be confirmed and established in the truth, and in the life of God. We wish to rise higher and higher in the likeness to our Lord, and in the possession of His Spirit. Oh bring us up out of our grave, out of our sins, out of the world, and everything that drags us down. Bring us up into the higher regions of spirituality, and of divine light and power. Oh, be with us our God; give us all the blessings of the Covenant without stint.
Take care of all sick ones very graciously, and may such as are appointed unto death feel a sweet agreement with the appointment, and find heaven begun in their hearts while yet they linger here below. The Lord prosper His own cause throughout the earth. Let the heathen be brought to Christ by myriads. May men that now sit in darkness behold great light.
Remember our country. God save and bless the Queen, and all in authority and let this land be visited with providential power. May there be a quickening of trade! May there be more work for the poor and the needy. May there be less complaining in our streets. May there come better and brighter days for this country. We pray the same for all lands, for we feel that there is a touch of grace which has made us one with all the saints in every nation. We forget nationality in our being all citizens of the New Jerusalem. The Lord send a blessing upon all saints everywhere; and chiefly this blessing, that He Himself may come. Come quickly, even so; come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.
April 20, 1884.