Intercession

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.”

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

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Verse 2

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begin to peep,
Birds, and beasts, and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Verse 3

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tenderest blessing
May mine eyelids close.

Verse 4

Grant to little children
Visions bright of Thee;
Guard the sailors, tossing
On the deep blue sea.

Verse 5

Comfort every sufferer
Watching late in pain;
Those who plan some evil
From their sin restrain.

Verse 6

Through the long night-watches
May Thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

Verse 7

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure, and fresh, and sinless
In Thy holy eyes.

Verse 8

Glory to the Father,
Glory to the Son,
And to Thee, blest Spirit,
Whilst all ages run.

Verse 1

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Verse 2

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begin to peep,
Birds, and beasts, and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Verse 3

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tenderest blessing
May mine eyelids close.

Verse 4

Grant to little children
Visions bright of Thee;
Guard the sailors, tossing
On the deep blue sea.

Verse 5

Comfort every sufferer
Watching late in pain;
Those who plan some evil
From their sin restrain.

Verse 6

Through the long night-watches
May Thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

Verse 7

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure, and fresh, and sinless
In Thy holy eyes.

Verse 8

Glory to the Father,
Glory to the Son,
And to Thee, blest Spirit,
Whilst all ages run.

Verse 1

O Holy Lord, content to fill
In lowly home the lowliest place,
Thy childhood’s law a mother’s will,
Obedience meek Thy brightest grace;

Verse 2

Lead every child that bears Thy Name
To walk in Thine own guileless way,
To dread the touch of sin and shame,
And humbly, like Thyself, obey.

Verse 3

O let not this world’s scorching glow
Thy Spirit’s quickening dew efface,
Nor blast of sin too rudely blow,
And quench the trembling flame of grace.

Verse 4

Gather Thy lambs within Thine arm,
And gently in Thy bosom bear;
Keep them, O Lord, from hurt and harm,
And bid them rest for ever there.

Verse 5

So shall they, waiting here below,
Like Thee their Lord, a little span,
In wisdom and in stature grow,
And favor with both God and man.

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.

We beseech Thee to bless us in our worship of this morning, and with like blessings draw near to all our brethren of every communion and tongue who on this day may be bowing their hearts before Thee. We beseech Thee that large blessings may come down upon praying souls. We beseech Thee that they may treasure the blessings which Thou dost bestow, and since Heaven’s gates are open may our gates not be shut.

Hear us now, when we cry to Thee, for all that are in any kind of sorrow or trouble, and humbly ask Thee that where Thou art chastening there may be the sense of the Father’s love, even in the chastisement, and that Thy rod as well as Thy staff may comfort many a troubled heart.

And now, Lord, we would pray for others than ourselves. We would remember the many thousands who, at this time, are gathered together in different churches, in different lands, and with different tongues, to praise Thee and seek Thy face. And we beseech Thee that upon all Thy children Thy love may come down like the dove, and abide with them for ever.