FAMILY PRAYERS
BY John MacDuff, 1885
Prayer for a Day of Humiliation
Almighty and Most Merciful God, You are glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, continually doing wonders. You are of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity—You cannot look upon sin but with abhorrence.
Do pour out upon us this day the spirit of grace and of supplication—the
spirit of humility and deep abasement. In self-renouncing lowliness we
desire to take the publican's place and cry out, "Unclean, unclean! God be
merciful unto us sinners!" Father! we have sinned against heaven and in Your
sight, we are no more worthy to be called Your children. Our sins have
reached unto the clouds; they are highly aggravated; they have been
committed against manifold privileges, solemn warnings, earnest entreaties,
innumerable mercies.
The kindness of the best earthly friend has been nothing
to Yours. Morning and evening have had the same testimony to bear, of
unmerited patience, and condescension, and love—and yet our hearts have been
ungrateful and unthankful. They have been mercies abused; warnings slighted;
providences unsanctified. We acknowledge our sins as individuals. Our hearts
have been estranged from You—we have been lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. Divine things have not been exercising a paramount influence
over us. We have been living for earth; seeking our chief good short of
Yourself, the only soul-satisfying portion. Our love has been cold—our faith
weak—our graces languid—our services polluted. Self and sin have mingled
with our best attempts to glorify You. We have not been exercising a holy
watchfulness over ourselves. We have been guilty of envy and jealousy; we
have harbored unkind suspicions of others; we have not had that love which
hopes all things, and believes all things, and endures all things. In
prosperity, we have been unmindful of the Author of our mercies. In
adversity we have been tempted to give way to hard thoughts and unrighteous
surmises about the faithfulness and rectitude of Your dealings.
We acknowledge our sins as families. We have not been
exhibiting consistency of walk. Your Word has not been prized as it ought.
The flame of love and devotion has not burned brightly on the domestic altar
as it ought. The leaven of vital godliness has not been pervading, with its
hallowed influences, our family engagements, and occupations, and duties. We
have not done what we might have done for You. We have been more set on
selfish and worldly schemes and objects, than on devising measures for the
promotion of Your glory and the good of our fellow-men. The religion
professed by the lip—has not been verified and exemplified by holy and
devout practice.
We confess our sins as a church and as a nation. Lord,
You have filled our cup with mercies. You have dealt with us as You have not
dealt with any other people. But, alas! have we not abused our privileges?
We mourn and blush to think of the vice and profligacy—the intemperance and
ungodliness, which is rising up in terrible memorial against our land. We
mourn our deserted sanctuaries, and unread Bibles. We mourn the eye-service
and the lip-homage which, too often among Your professing people, takes the
place of heart and soul consecration. We mourn the little we have done, the
much we have left undone, to promote Your cause in the world. Father,
forgive us these our many and heinous offences. Humble us in the dust
because of all our unworthiness. Give us grace this day, while we mourn the
past, humbly, but earnestly, to resolve to live more devotedly to You in the
future. Accept of our unworthy confessions, for Jesus' sake. Sprinkle these
guilty hearts with His precious blood.
In the prospect of sitting down at Your holy table, may
we be enabled to look upon Him whom all these transgressions of ours have
pierced, and to mourn. May we be melted under a sense of our own great
unworthiness, and of His amazing love. When we take into our hands the
memorials of His anguish and sufferings, may they read to us an affecting
lesson of the evil of that accursed thing, which cost the Son of God so
much. Let us not venture on that holy ground with one sin unrepented of, or
uncrucified. Let us go, humbly resolving that we are to be wholly Yours—that
whatever others do, as for us, we will serve the Lord. Let us seek, in all
time to come, to walk before You in holiness and righteousness of life, to
the glory of Your holy name.