Many people are now looking upon you, who once were as you are now. And, I doubt not, they are praying that you may be as they now are. Try to pray for yourself; our God is assuredly in the midst of us. His gracious ear is attentive to every supplicant. Seek Him while He is to be found. Jesus died for sinners, and He has said, Him that “come to me I will in no wise cast out” (Joh 6:37). He is likewise the author of that faith by which alone you can come rightly to Him. If you ask it of Him, He will give it you; if you seek it, in the means of His appointment, you shall assuredly find. If you refuse this, there remains no other sacrifice for sin. lf you are not saved by faith in His blood, you are lost forever (Rom 3:25). Oh, “kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psa 2:12)!
Prayer for Our Nation
Lord, while Thy judgments shake the land,
Thy people’s eyes are fixed on Thee;
We own Thy just uplifted hand,
Which thousands cannot, will not, see.
How long hast Thou bestowed Thy care
On this indulged, ungrateful spot!
While other nations, far and near,
Have envied and admired our lot.
Here peace and liberty have dwelt,
The glorious Gospel brightly shone;
And oft our enemies have felt
That God has made our cause His own.
But ah! both heaven and earth have heard
Our vile requital of His love;
We, whom like children He has reared,
Rebels against His goodness prove.
His grace despised, His power defied,
And legions of the blackest crimes,
Profaneness, riot, lust, and pride,
Are signs that mark the present times.
The Lord, displease, has raised His rod;
Ah! where are now the faithful few
Who tremble for the Ark of God,
And know what Israel ought to do?
Lord, hear Thy people everywhere,
Who meet to mourn, confess, and pray;
The nation and Thy churches spare,
And let Thy wrath be turned away.
John Newton:
The Imminent Danger and Only Sure Resource of Our Nation
from: http://www.chapellibrary.org/
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