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Let us mark, lastly, in these verses, what a rare thing is thankfulness. We are told that of all the ten lepers whom Christ healed, there was only one who turned back and gave Him thanks. The words that fell from our Lord’s lips upon this occasion are very solemn: “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” The lesson before us is humbling, heart-searching, and deeply instructive. The best of us are far too like the nine lepers. We are more ready to pray than to praise, and more disposed to ask God for what we have not, than to thank Him for what we have. Murmurings, and complainings, and discontent abound on every side of us. Few indeed are to be found who are not continually hiding their mercies under a bushel, and setting their wants and trials on a hill. These things ought not so to be. But all who know the church and the world must confess that they are true. The wide-spread thanklessness of Christians is the disgrace of our day. It is a plain proof of our little humility. Let us pray for a daily thankful spirit. It is the spirit which God loves and delights to honor. David and St. Paul were eminently thankful men.—It is the spirit which has marked all the brightest saints in every age of the church. M’Cheyne, and Bickersteth, and Haldane Stewart, were always full of praise.—It is the spirit which is the very atmosphere of heaven. Angels and “just men made perfect” are always blessing God.—It is the spirit which is the source of happiness on earth. If we would be careful for nothing, we must make our requests known to God not only with prayer and supplication, but with thanksgiving.

Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, how help meets men in the path of obedience. We are told that when the lepers cried to our Lord, He only replied, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” He did not touch them and command their disease to depart. He prescribed no medicine, no washing, no use of outward material means Yet healing power accompanied the words which He spoke. Relief met the afflicted company as soon as they obeyed His command. “It came to pass that as they went they were cleansed.” A fact like this is doubtless intended to teach us knowledge. It shows us the wisdom of simple, childlike obedience to every word which comes from the mouth of Christ. It does not become us to stand still, and reason, and doubt, when our Master’s commands are plain and unmistakeable. If the lepers had acted in this way, they would never have been healed. We must read the Scriptures diligently. We must try to pray. We must attend on the public means of grace. All these are duties Which Christ requires at our hands, and to which, if we love life, we must attend, without asking vain and captious questions. It is just in the path of unhesitating obedience that Christ will meet and bless us. “If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine.”

Above all, let us pray for a deeper sense of our own sinfulness, guilt, and undeserving. This, after all, is the true secret of a thankful spirit. It is the man who daily feels his debt to grace, and daily remembers that in reality he deserves nothing but hell,—this is the man who will be daily blessing and praising God. Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility.

The conduct of the ten lepers is very instructive. It throws light on a most important subject in practical Christianity, which we can never understand too well. That subject is prayer. How is it that many never pray at all? How is it that many others are content to repeat a form of words, but never pray with their hearts? How is it that dying men and women, with souls to be lost or saved, can know so little of real, hearty, business-like prayer? The answer to these questions is short and simple. The bulk of mankind have no sense of sin. They do not feel their spiritual disease. They are not conscious that they are lost, and guilty, and hanging over the brink of hell. When a man finds out his soul’s ailment, he soon learns to pray. Like the leper, he finds words to express his want. He cries for help. How is it, again, that many true believers often pray so coldly? What is the reason that their prayers are so feeble, and wandering, and lukewarm, as they frequently are? The answer once more is very plain. Their sense of need is not so deep as it ought to be. They are not truly alive to their own weakness and helplessness, and so they do not cry fervently for mercy and grace. Let us remember these things. Let us seek to have a constant and abiding sense of our real necessities. If saints could only see their souls as the ten afflicted lepers saw their bodies, they would pray far better than they do.

Verse 1

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.

Verse 2

Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dewdrops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed.

Verse 3

Shall not we Thy sorrow share,
And from earthly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Glad with Thee to suffer pain?

Verse 4

And if Satan, vexing sore,
Flesh or spirit should assail,
Thou, his Vanquisher before,
Grant we may not faint nor fail.

Verse 5

So shall we have peace Divine;
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us too shall angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.

Verse 1

Where high the heavenly temple stands,
The house of God not made with hands,
A Great High Priest our nature wears,
The Guardian of mankind appears.

Verse 2

He who for men their Surety stood,
And poured on earth His precious blood,
Pursues in heaven His mighty plan,
The Saviour and the Friend of man.

Verse 3

Though now ascended up on high,
He bends on earth a brother’s eye;
Partaker of the human name,
He knows the frailty of our frame.

Verse 4

Our Fellow-sufferer yet retains
A fellow-feeling of our pains,
And still remembers in the skies
His tears, His agonies, and cries.

Verse 5

In every pang that rends the heart
The Man of Sorrows had a part;
He sympathizes with our grief,
And to the sufferer sends relief.

Verse 6

With boldness, therefore, at the throne
Let us make all our sorrows known,
And ask the aids of heavenly power
To help us in the evil hour.

Verse 1

Lord, in the morning Thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;
To Thee will I direct my prayer,
To Thee lift up mine eye:

Verse 2

Up to the hills, where Christ is gone
To plead for all His saints,
Presenting at His Father’s throne
Our songs and our complaints.

Verse 3

Thou art a God before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne’er be Thy delight,
Nor dwell at Thy right hand.

Verse 4

But to Thy house will I resort,
To taste Thy mercies there;
I will frequent Thy holy court,
And worship in Thy fear.

Verse 5

O may Thy Spirit guide my feet
In ways of righteousness;
Make every path of duty straight
And plain before my face.

Verse 1

From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat;--
’Tis found before the mercy-seat.

Verse 2

There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads,--
A place, than all besides, more sweet;
It is the blood-bought mercy-seat.

Verse 3

There is a spot where spirits blend,
Where friend holds fellowship with friend;
Though sundered far, by faith they meet
Around one common mercy-seat.

Verse 4

There, there, on eagle’s wings we soar,
And time, and sense seem all no more;
And heaven comes down our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy-seat!

Verse 5

Oh! may my hand forget her skill,
My tongue be silent, cold, and still,
This bounding heart forget to beat,
If I forget the mercy-seat!

Verse 1

Prayer is appointed to convey
The blessings God designs to give:
Long as they live should Christians pray;
They learn to pray when first they live.

Verse 2

If pain afflict or wrongs oppress;
If cares distract, or fears dismay;
If guilt deject; if sin distress;
In every case, still watch and pray.

Verse 3

’Tis prayer supports the soul that’s weak,
Tho’ thought be broken, language lame,
Pray, if thou canst or canst not speak,
But pray with faith in Jesus’ name.

Verse 4

Depend on him, thou canst not fail;
Make all thy wants and wishes known;
Fear not, his merits must prevail,
Ask but in faith, it shall be done.

Verse 1

My God, is any hour so sweet
From blush of morn to evening star,
As that which calls me to thy feet,
The calm and holy hour of prayer?

Verse 2

Blest is the tranquil break of morn,
And blest the hush of solemn eve,
When on the wings of prayer up-borne,
This fair, but transient, world I leave.

Verse 3

Then is my strength by thee renewed;
Then are my sins by thee forgiven;
Then dost thou cheer my solitude,
With clear and beauteous hopes of heaven.

Verse 4

No words can tell what sweet relief,
There for my every want I find;
What strength for warfare, balm for grief,
What deep and cheerful peace of mind.

Verse 5

Lord, till I reach the blissful shore,
No privilege so dear shall be,
As thus my inmost soul to pour
In faithful, filial prayer to thee!

Verse 1

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known:
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief;
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Verse 2

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids he seek his face,
Believe his word, and trust his grace,
I’ll cast on him my ev’ry care
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Verse 3

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing thro’ the air,
Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!

Verse 1

I love to steal awhile away
From ev’ry cumb’ring care,
And spend the hours of setting day
In humble, grateful prayer.

Verse 2

I love in solitude to shed
The penitential tear,
And all his promises to plead,
Where none but God can hear.

Verse 3

I love to think on mercies past,
And future good implore,
And all my cares and sorrows cast
On him whom I adore.

Verse 4

I love by faith to take a view
Of brighter scenes in heaven;
The prospect doth my strength renew,
While here by tempests driven.

Verse 5

Thus, when life’s toilsome day is o’er,
May its departing ray
Be calm as this impressive hour,
And lead to endless day!

Verse 1

Lord! teach us how to pray aright,
With reverence and with fear;
Though dust and ashes in thy sight,
We may, we must draw near.

Verse 2

God of all grace, we come to thee,
With broken, contrite hearts,
Give, what thine eye delights to see,
Truth in the inward parts;

Verse 3

Patience, to watch, and wait, and weep,
Though mercy long delay;
Courage, our fainting souls to keep,
And trust thee though thou slay.

Verse 4

Give these, and then--thy will be done--
Thus strengthened with all might,
We by the Spirit and thy Son,
Shall pray, and pray aright.

Verse 1

The Savior bids thee watch and pray
Through life’s momentous hour;
And grants the Spirit’s quickening ray
To those who seek his power.

Verse 2

The Savior bids thee watch and pray,
Maintain a warrior’s strife;
Oh, Christian! hear his voice to-day;
Obedience is thy life.

Verse 3

The Savior bids thee watch and pray,
For soon the hour will come
That calls thee from the earth away
To thy eternal home.

Verse 4

The Savior bids thee watch and pray
Oh, hearken to his voice,
And follow where he leads the way,
To heaven’s eternal joys.

Verse 1

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.

Verse 2

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.

Verse 3

Prayer is the simplest form of speech,
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Verse 4

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air:
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.

Verse 5

Oh, Thou, by whom we come to God,--
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord! teach us how to pray.

Verse 1

A throne of grace! then let us go
And offer up our prayer;
A gracious God will mercy show
To all that worship there.

Verse 2

A throne of grace! oh, at that throne
Our knees have often bent,
And God has showered his blessings down
As often as we went.

Verse 3

A throne of grace! rejoice, ye saints!
That throne is open still;
To God unbosom your complaints,
And then inquire his will.

Verse 1

Talk with us, Lord, thyself reveal,
While here o’er earth we rove;
Speak to our hearts, and let us feel
The kindling of thy love.

Verse 2

With thee conversing, we forget
All time, and toil, and care:
Labor is rest, and pain is sweet,
If thou, my God! art here.

Verse 3

Here, then, my God, vouchsafe to stay,
And bid my heart rejoice:
My bounding heart shall own thy sway,
And echo to thy voice.

Verse 4

Thou callest me to seek thy face--
’Tis all I wish to seek;
T’ attend the whisperings of thy grace,
And hear thee only speak.

Verse 1

Come, my soul! thy suit prepare;
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.

Verse 2

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.

Verse 3

Lord! I come to thee for rest,
Take possession of my breast;
There thy blood-bought right maintain,
And without a rival reign.

Verse 4

While I am a pilgrim here,
Let thy love my spirit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my journey’s end.

Verse 1

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!

Verse 2

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Verse 3

Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?--
Precious Savior, still our refuge,--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In his firms he’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

Verse 1

Our Father who art in heaven, | Hallowed | be thy | name, ||
Thy kingdom come; thy will be done in | earth, as it | is in | heaven,

Verse 2

Give us this | day our | daily bread, ||
And forgive us our debts, as | we for- | give our | debtors.

Verse 3

Lead us not into temptation, but de- | liver | us from | evil; ||
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for | ever. | A- | men.

Verse 1

Come at the morning hour,
Come, let us kneel and pray;
Pray’r is the Christian pilgrim’s staff
To walk with God all day.

Verse 2

At noon beneath the Rock
Of Ages, rest and pray;
Sweet is that shelter from the sun
In weary heat of day.

Verse 3

At evening, in thy home,
Around its altar, pray;
And finding there the house of God,
With heaven then close the day.

Verse 4

When midnight veils our eyes,
Oh, it is sweet to say,
I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord!
With thee to watch and pray.

Verse 1

Behold the throne of grace!
The promise calls me near;
There Jesus shows a smiling face,
And waits to answer prayer.

Verse 2

That rich atoning blood,
Which sprinkled round I see,
Provides, for those who come to God,
An all-prevailing plea.

Verse 3

My soul! ask what thou wilt;
Thou canst not be too bold;
Since his own blood for thee he spilt,
What else can he withhold?

Verse 4

Thine, image, Lord! bestow,
Thy presence and thy love;
I ask to serve thee here below,
And reign with thee above.

Verse 5

Teach me to live by faith;
Conform my will to thine;
Let me victorious be in death,
And then in glory shine.

Verse 1

Are you weary, are you heavy-hearted?
Tell it to Jesus.
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a Friend that’s well known;
You have no other such a friend or brother!
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Verse 2

Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Tell it to Jesus.
Have you sins that to man’s eye are hidden?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Verse 3

Do you fear the gath’ring clouds of sorrow?
Tell it to Jesus.
Are you anxious what shall be to-morrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Verse 4

Are you troubled at the tho’t of dying?
Tell it to Jesus.
For Christ’s coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Verse 1

Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before His feet,
For none can perish there.

Verse 2

Thy promise is my only plea;
With this I venture nigh:
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

Verse 3

Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without, and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

Verse 4

Be Thou my Shield and Hiding-place,
That, sheltered near Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him, Thou hast died.

Verse 5

O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead Thy gracious Name!

Verse 1

Christian, seek not yet repose,
Cast thy dreams of ease away;
Thou art in the midst of foes:
Watch and pray.

Verse 2

Principalities and powers,
Mustering their unseen array,
Wait for thy unguarded hours:
Watch and pray.

Verse 3

Gird thy heavenly armor on,
Wear it ever, night and day;
Ambushed lies the evil one:
Watch and pray.

Verse 4

Hear the victors who o’ercame;
Still they mark each warrior’s way;
All with one sweet voice exclaim,
“Watch and pray.”

Verse 5

Hear, above all, hear Thy Lord,
Him thou lovest to obey;
Hide within thy heart His word,
“Watch and pray.”

Verse 6

Watch, as if on that alone
Hung the issue of the day;
Pray, that help may be sent down:
Watch and pray.

Verse 1

How charming is the place
Where my Redeemer God
Unveils the beauties of His face,
And sheds His love abroad.

Verse 2

Not the fair palaces
To which the great resort,
Are once to be compared with this,
Where Jesus holds His court.

Verse 3

Here, on the mercy-seat,
With radiant glory crowned,
Our joyful eyes behold Him sit,
And smile on all around.

Verse 4

To Him their prayers and cries
Each humble soul presents:
He listens to their broken sighs,
And grants them all their wants.

Verse 5

To them His sovereign will
He graciously imparts;
And in return accepts, with smiles,
The tribute of their hearts.

Verse 6

Give me, O Lord, a place
Within Thy blest abode,
Among the children of Thy grace,
The servants of my God.

Verse 1

My God, is any hour so sweet,
From blush of morn to evening star,
As that which calls me to Thy feet,
The hour of prayer?

Verse 2

Blest is that tranquil hour of morn,
And blest that solemn hour of eve,
When, on the wings of prayer upborne,
The world I leave.

Verse 3

Then is my strength by Thee renewed;
Then are my sins by Thee forgiven;
Then dost Thou cheer my solitude
With hopes of heaven.

Verse 4

No words can tell what sweet relief
There for my every want I find;
What strength for warfare, balm for grief,
What peace of mind!

Verse 5

Hushed is each doubt, gone every fear;
My spirit seems in heaven to stay;
And e’en the penitential tear
Is wiped away.

Verse 6

Lord, till I reach yon blissful shore,
No privilege so dear shall be
As thus my inmost soul to pour
In prayer to Thee.

Verse 1

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Verse 2

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

Verse 3

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Verse 4

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry, “Behold, he prays.”

Verse 5

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.

Verse 6

O Thou, by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray.

Verse 1

There is an eye that never sleeps
Beneath the wing of night;
There is an ear that never shuts
When sink the beams of light.

Verse 2

There is an arm that never tires
When human strength gives way;
There is a love that never fails
When earthly loves decay.

Verse 3

That eye is fixed on seraph throngs;
That arm upholds the sky;
That ear is filled with angel songs;
That love is throned on high.

Verse 4

But there’s a power which man can wield
When mortal aid is vain,
That eye, that arm, that love to reach,
That listening ear to gain.

Verse 5

That power is prayer, which soars on high,
Through Jesus, to the throne,
And moves the hand which moves the world,
To bring salvation down.

Verse 1

When the weary, seeking rest,
To Thy goodness flee;
When the heavy-laden cast
All their load on Thee;
When the troubled, seeking peace,
On Thy Name shall call;
When the sinner, seeking life,
At Thy feet shall fall:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, Thy dwelling-place on high.

Verse 2

When the worldling, sick at heart,
Lifts his soul above;
When the prodigal looks back
To his Father’s love;
When the proud man, in his pride,
Stoops to seek Thy face;
When the burdened brings his guilt
To Thy throne of grace:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, Thy dwelling-place on high.

Verse 3

When the stranger asks a home,
All his toils to end;
When the hungry craveth food,
And the poor a friend;
When the sailor on the wave
Bows the fervent knee;
When the soldier on the field
Lifts his heart to Thee:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, Thy dwelling-place on high.

Verse 4

When the man of toil and care
In the city crowd;
When the shepherd on the moor
Names the Name of God;
When the learnèd and the high,
Tired of earthly fame,
Upon higher joys intent,
Name the blessed Name:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, Thy dwelling-place on high.

Verse 5

When the child, with grave fresh lip,
Youth or maiden fair;
When the agèd, weak and gray,
Seek Thy face in prayer;
When the widow weeps to Thee,
Sad and lone and low;
When the orphan brings to Thee
All his orphan woe:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, Thy dwelling-place on high.