ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward; not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you; and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him". Thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee: at the voice of thy cry, when He shall hear it, He will answer thee". And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, Which teacheth thee to profit; Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldst go. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget; yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands'. e Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Isai. xxx. 19. 2 Pet. iii. 9. Ibid. ver. 21. Isai. xlix. 15, 16. 5 Isai. xxx. 18. k Isai. xlviii. 17. In an acceptable time have I heard thee: and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve theeTM. The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works". Practical inferences from the foregoing. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serviceo. Knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance". O fear the Lord, ye that are His saints; for they that fear Him lack nothing". Love Him, because He first loved us'. O that men would therefore praise the Lord for His goodness; and for His wonderful works to the children of men ". O give thanks unto the Lord: for He is good, for His mercy endureth for evert. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ". m Isai. xlix. 8. Psal. cxlv. 9. 9 Psal xxxiv. 9. Psal. cvi. 1. • Rom. xii. 1. r 1 John iv. 19. u James i. 5. They who seek the Lord, shall want no manner of thing that is good*. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful . And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". God be merciful to me a sinner! Our Father, Which art in Heaven &c. Prayer for such becoming apprehensions of God, as may beget in us a holy fear of His majesty, and trust in His power. O most glorious Lord God! terrible in Thy judgments, and wonderful in all Thy dealings towards the children of men! possess my soul, I beseech Thee, with awful and becoming apprehensions of Thy divine Majesty. Give me a serious sense and sorrow for ever having hardened my heart from Thy fear, and provoked that vengeance which can consume me in a moment. Lord, make me to feel and know Whom I ought to dread: and let me never, for the gratification of any sinful inclination, forget any more the Lord my Maker; and incur * Psal. xxxiv. 10. y Luke vi. 36. Z Eph. iv. 32. the displeasure of Him, Who is able to cast both soul and body into Hell. And as I implore Thy grace, that this consideration of Thy power may be an effectual check to all my unruly appetites; so, I beseech Thee, let it be my stay and confidence in all dangers and distresses: that forsaking the broken reeds of all worldly succours I may put my whole trust in Thy mercy; and, evermore serving Thee in holiness and pureness of living, may even in death itself be more than conqueror; through the merits of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for such a lively sense of God's excellency and goodness, as may excite in us an earnest desire to please Him, and to be made like unto Him. O most blessed and gracious God! the Father of mercies, and fountain of happiness! in Whose presence is fulness of joy, and at Whose right hand are pleasures for evermore! inspire me, I beseech Thee, with such a lively sense of Thine infinite excellency and goodness, and with such a vehement desire of that eternal weight of glory which Thou hast promised to all those that love and obey Thee, as may every day more and more raise and improve my love of Thee, and dispose me more cheerfully to run the way of Thy commandments, and to be holy as Thou art holy, in all manner of conversation. Fix my thoughts, my hopes, and my affections upon Heaven, and heavenly things. Engage all the powers and faculties of my soul to love and delight in Thee; and to endeavour (as much as is possible) to be like Thee in all the imitable perfections of Thy nature. Make my heart the seat of prayer and holy meditation; and my body a fit temple for Thy Holy Spirit to dwell in; that the one being inured to spiritual objects, and the other continually exercised to godliness, I may be prepared both in body and soul to pass eternity in the contemplation of Thy glorious excellencies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth One God, world without end. Amen. To the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality; dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to Him be honour and power everlasting". Amen. z 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. |