Look upon my affliction and my pain, Rejoice the soul of Thy servant, For unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. I am afflicted very much ; Quicken me, O Lord, according to Thy word. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Put Thou my tears into Thy bottle : I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, According to Thy word unto Thy servant. Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, That I may live. Into Thy hands I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, I am Thine, save me : Preserve my soul, for I am holy. What is man, that Thou shouldst magnify him, And that Thou shouldst set Thine heart upon him! ciful God, these prayers and praises; and pardon, comfort, sanctify, and, if it may be, relieve Thy poor child, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Short Prayer for Submission with Joy O God, let my earnest prayer now ascend with acceptance before Thee through Jesus. Father, withhold not thy tender mercies from me, but let Thy grace replenish my soul. Give me a very enlarged patience, even grace to rejoice in tribulation, however severe or long continued. Give me a more humbled heart, a sense of my need of suffering, a deeper sense of the value of suffering, a deeper sense of my own unworthiness, and of Thy great goodness in refining and purifying me for Thyself. Ah! Lord, let me not shrink from Thy holy discipline, or faint under Thy kind rebukes. Let me never be weary of Thy corrections, or turn away with an unwilling and unthankful heart from the medicinal cup of affliction. Engrave with thine own Spirit on my heart those gracious words, "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." May every day and hour of trial cut the holy lines yet deeper into the substance of my spirit. Teach me to estimate more highly the value of trial as a means of glorifying Thee, and as affording golden opportunities of showing my love to Thee, and exercising the graces which are by Jesus Christ unto the praise and honour of God. Let me, like a good soldier of the cross, rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer for and with my Lord, and with a firm and grateful heart let me take and keep my appointed station, though in the hottest of the battle. O God, weak and feeble, and utterly helpless as I am in myself, I yet trust in Thee to make me strong in Thyself, and in the power of Thy might; for Thou givest power to the faint, and to them that have no might Thou increasest strength. Amen, so let it be to me, for Jesus Christ's sake! to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost be all praise, and honour, and glory, henceforth even for ever. A General Prayer with Confession O my God, hear me, I beseech Thee, at this time, in the name of Jesus Christ. Give me Thy holy Spirit to help me to pray, and enable me to draw near to Thee acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, with confidence and filial love, with a deep sense of need, and a hearty desire to obtain the blessings for which I ask. Give me grace, I beseech Thee, to confess my sins before Thee, and lead me to a true and perfect knowledge of myself. Alas! my God, I confess how little I feel the burden of sin, the plague of my own heart. How and insufficient is my repent poor ance! how insensible am I to the real nature of sin! how little do I mourn for it! how imperfectly do I hate it! how little do I feel towards it as Thou wouldst have me feel! Lord, I am truly ashamed of the hardness of my heart, and sincerely bewail and deplore it before Thee. I confess also the coldness of my love to Thee. Oh, how little am I penetrated with the sense of Thy love to me! How little do I love Thee in return! Alas! my heart is dull and hard. I can hear, and read, and think of Thy sufferings and Thy love; and yet neither hate deeply the sins which made Thee suffer, nor love Thee deeply for the love which made Thee willing to suffer. I am ready to cling to, and to love my earthly treasures; but to Thee, O God, my Saviour, how little do I cleave! how cold, even when it is warmest, is my love to Thee! And my love to my neighbour, how small is that also! This also I confess with shame and sorrow. How little of a brother's heart have I for those around me! How slow am I to seek their welfare how inconsiderate often of their happiness! How few are the prayers which I put up for them! How little am I moved by their sins and miseries! How selfishly I seek my own comfort and happiness! how little the comfort of my brethren! How soon am I weary of doing good! how easily turned aside from acts of charity! how impatient of the faults of others! how unwilling to sacrifice myself even for those who are dear to me! And, alas! alas! my God, I often even dislike and despise those for whom Christ died, and am displeased if they come in my way. This didst not Thou, O Lord Jesus; but with shame I confess how little I am conformed to Thee, my Lord and Master. Who can tell how oft he offendeth? And when I begin to confess, where shall I end? How often am I discontented and impatient, unwilling to suffer, and unhappy and fretful under Thy chastenings ; anxious to get rid of my burden, rather than anxious to profit by it; weary of Thy corrections, or inattentive to their meaning; indisposed to obedience, fond of my own way, or following Thine reluctantly; unwilling to bear with others, though expecting to be borne with myself; impatient of contradiction, proud, earthly-minded, often indisposed to prayer, and oftener still to praise; careless in private prayer, careless in Thy house, careless in reading Thy word, careless about truth, careless about time, irreverent, unthankful! O Lord, what shall I say? I will cover my face with shame; I will smite upon my breast and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner; for Thy Name's sake, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." Yes, it is great, yet pardon it; and because it is great, for Thy Name's sake pardon it. Oh, magnify in the full and free pardon of my great iniquity the riches of Thy grace, the greatness of Thy mercy, the depth of Thy love, the height of Thy compassion, the length of Thy long-suffering, the breadth of Thy loving-kindness. It is Thine own word, that if we confess our sins, Thou art faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, I am persuaded of it; I most earnestly embrace it; I bless Thee for its |