Morning, May 25
Go To Evening Reading
“Forsake me not, O Lord.”
Psalm 38:21
Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial
and temptation, but we too much forget that we have need to use this
prayer at all times . There is no moment of our life, however holy, in which we can do
without his constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in
communion or in temptation, we alike need the prayer, “Forsake me not, O Lord.” “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” A little child, while learning to walk, always needs the nurse’s aid. The ship left by the pilot drifts at once from her course.
We cannot do without continued aid from above; let it then be your
prayer today, “Forsake me not. Father, forsake not thy child, lest he fall by the
hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not thy lamb, lest he wander
from the safety of the fold. Great Husbandman, forsake not thy plant,
lest it wither and die. ‘Forsake me not, O Lord,’ now; and forsake me not at any moment of my life. Forsake me not
in my joys, lest they absorb my heart. Forsake me not in my sorrows,
lest I murmur against thee. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance,
lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake
me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest faith degenerate into
presumption. Forsake me not, for without thee I am weak, but with
thee I am strong. Forsake me not, for my path is dangerous, and full
of snares, and I cannot do without thy guidance. The hen forsakes
not her brood; do thou then evermore cover me with thy feathers, and
permit me under thy wings to find my refuge. ‘Be not far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near, for there is none
to help.’ ‘Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!’”
“O ever in our cleansed breast,
Bid thine Eternal Spirit rest;
And make our secret soul to be
A temple pure and worthy thee.”