And dost Thou hear my broken cry? O Holy Spirit, is it Thou, My tenderest Friend, refused too long? And art Thou pleading, striving now? I come, I come: make weakness strong. Yes, Lord, I come : Thy heart of love E. H. B. B THE COLLECT. ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. THE Lord's Prayer is followed by the most beautiful collect for purity of heart. In this collect there is first the deep conviction expressed that all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do: we then earnestly pray for the cleansing of the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and, this being granted, we humbly grasp by faith the blessed issue of love and praise. If we would come with a truly penitent and contrite heart to the holy feast of the Lord's Supper, we must see ourselves in the light of God's Presence. Is it not a frequent lament with us that our sense of sin is so feeble and faint? Ah! would we know what sin is, we must draw nigh to God. When Abraham "stood yet before the Lord," he said, Behold, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." When the a Gen. xviii. 27. Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, the penitent patriarch confessed, Behold I am vile: what shall I answer Thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth." When Isaiah saw the Lord upon His throne, and heard the voices of the veiled Seraphim, he said, Woe is me! for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips." When St. Peter, awestruck by the miraculous draught of fishes, was deeply conscious of the Presence of Emmanuel, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. When St. Paul recalled to mind the vision which arrested him on his way to Damascus, and the grace which committed the Gospel to his trust, he calls himself the least of the apostles, yea, less than the least of all saints, yea, the chief of sinners." And when the disciple whom Jesus loved saw his Lord in Patmos, he fell at His feet as dead." Whenever we are tempted to think lightly of our sins, let us patiently consider how these holy men of God regarded themselves, and quietly and slowly repeat to ourselves the first few words of this collect, "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid." Should we not shrink from even our closest earthly friend knowing all the selfish, worldly, distrustful thoughts of our bosom? Yet all are known to God. There is no a b Isa. vi. 5. c Luke v. 8. Job xl. 4. d I Cor. xv. 9; Eph. iii. 8; 1 Tim. i. 15. veil betwixt our soul and Him. The one who begins his meditation before God, saying with the Psalmist, "O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me," will never rest until at last he pleads with Him, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." a Under the deep conviction of the searching Eye of God we pray, Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration (the inbreathing) of Thy Holy Spirit. We so truly feel that nothing is hid from God; He knows all our weaknesses and waywardnesses, our failures and falls, all our broken resolves in the past and all the pressing claims and duties that lie before us; we can only throw ourselves on the aid of His Omnipotent Spirit. So far as in us lies, we would open our hearts to all the sacred influences of the Holy Ghost. But God Himself must breathe that Spirit into our inmost being. He, the Spirit, can shed light upon all that is dark within us. He can sprinkle our anxious conscience with the atoning blood of Christ. He can whisper a peace which passes understanding. He can take away the secret desire of sin. He can infuse that Divine passion, the hunger and thirst after righteousness. He can shed abroad in our hearts the love of God. He can strengthen the vacillating will. He can enable us to set our affections on a Ps. cxxxix. I and 23, 24. As we ponder these things, we long Our things above. for His heavenly assistance; we pray for it. prayer will not be refused. For it will be preferred by our Great High Priest, who says, I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever. And Him the Father heareth always. The issue will be most blessed: that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy holy Name. "Perfectly love Thee," that is, with entire self-surrender. We do not expect to attain sinless perfection in love or obedience on earth; but we do pray with the Psalmist, Unite my heart to fear Thy Name, and long to echo the apostle's experience, This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark." And then it is well to realize we are on our way to sinless perfection. He will present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. The interval is short at the longest before Christ will present His bride, the Church, to Himself in glorious beauty, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blame before Him in love. And at this sacred feast we may humbly but confidently expect to have our love to God quickened and confirmed. There is room for illimitable growth and expansion in this, for we shall love Him just as we know a Phil. iii. 13, 14. b Jude 24. |