Are you washed in holy water, You so long by sin defiled? Should He say, "My son," "My daughter," Can you say, "Behold Thy child!" Are you ready? are you ready? Are you ready for the meeting Oh! for that great Day prepare! Anon. My Redeemer and my Lord, With my lamp well trimmed and burning! Longfellow. "I DELIGHT to do Thy will, O my God."Psalm xl. 8. "Teach me to do Thy Will, for Thou art my God."-Psalm cxliii. 10. "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and go pray yonder. And He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with Me. And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup may not pass from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”—St. Matt. xxvi. 36-44. "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me, nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground.”—St. Luke xxii. 42-44. "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent Me."-St. John v. 30. "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me."St. John vi. 38. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine."-St. John vii. 17. "The will of the Lord be done."-Acts xxi. 14. "Doing the will of God from the heart." -Eph. vi. 6. "For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promises. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry."-Heb. x. 36, 37. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."-1 St. Peter iv. 19. "He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."-1 St. John ii. 17. Thy will be done." How very easy it is to say these words, how very hard it is to live them. There is nothing that tests our love to God so much as this, whether we choose to do His will, or our own. I fear we generally choose the latter. In this, as in everything else in life, we must think which our dear Lord chose when He was on earth. He is our Pattern, and we must try to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and become like unto Him, But we shall see it, when we reach the Haven, When all earth's weary workers are at rest.' Yes, in the midst of all our anxious, hurrying, troubled life here, let us often look onward to "the rest that remaineth for the people of God," and then we shall not become weighed down, or overwhelmed with the cares which beset us. But remember that these are very solemn words, and must not be used lightly. When we say, "Thy kingdom come," we are asking God to come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him. We are asking that our time of probation, our short life on earth, may be ended, and that God may come to judge both the living and the dead. Are we ready for this? If the second coming of Christ was to take place this very day, should we be prepared to meet Him? Should we be like those wise Virgins, who had watched, and waited, and made ready for the Bridegroom's coming, so that when He did come they were prepared, and went in with Him to the marriage? Or should we be like the foolish Virgins, |
