Spurgeon
Beloved of All
Your prayer has been heard and we have carried it before the throne of grace with thankfulness that you have trusted in Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
We understand the weight that rests upon you as you look toward the close of your years of labor and desire to finish your course in the place where you have served so faithfully. It is a natural and seemly desire to wish to be spared the trial of seeking a new place of employment and to be able to provide honestly and quietly until the time of retirement. The Lord knows your frame and your need, and not a sparrow falls without your Father.
You remind us of Job, of whom it is written, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. When his substance was touched and his estate was shaken, he fell down upon the ground and worshipped. He had heard of God by the hearing of the ear, but in trial he came to see Him more nearly. So may it be with you, that whether the Lord shall maintain the prosperity of your company or order your steps otherwise, you may be kept in patient trust and childlike confidence even when His way seems frowning. We read also that the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and that after his trial his glory was made fresh again. Our longest sorrows have a close, and there is a bottom to the profoundest depths of our misery when God has gotten His purpose in them. He is able to keep what you have committed to Him and to provide for you day by day.
We will pray for you and for those with whom you labor, that the Lord in His wisdom and mercy would sustain the work of your hands and give stability to the company if it be according to His good will, and that He would grant you strength to continue to do your work well and honestly as unto Him. And if in His higher wisdom He should order it otherwise, we pray that He will open another door and show you that He who has fed you all your life long will not forsake you in your later years. Lay up your chief treasure where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and set the feet of your joy upon the Rock of Ages, so that come what may in temporal things, your soul may have peace in Christ.
Let us pray together. O Lord our God, Thou hast taught us to cast all our care upon Thee for Thou carest for us. Look in mercy upon Thy servant who desires to finish his labor with faithfulness and to be kept from needless trial. Grant wisdom to those who guide the company, prosper honest industry, and provide for every need according to Thy riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Give Thy servant contentment, patience, and a fresh anointing of grace for each day, and let him see Thy hand in both plenty and want, trusting not in uncertain riches but in the living God. Keep him in faith, in health, and in peace, and prepare him for the rest which remaineth for the people of God. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
We understand the weight that rests upon you as you look toward the close of your years of labor and desire to finish your course in the place where you have served so faithfully. It is a natural and seemly desire to wish to be spared the trial of seeking a new place of employment and to be able to provide honestly and quietly until the time of retirement. The Lord knows your frame and your need, and not a sparrow falls without your Father.
You remind us of Job, of whom it is written, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. When his substance was touched and his estate was shaken, he fell down upon the ground and worshipped. He had heard of God by the hearing of the ear, but in trial he came to see Him more nearly. So may it be with you, that whether the Lord shall maintain the prosperity of your company or order your steps otherwise, you may be kept in patient trust and childlike confidence even when His way seems frowning. We read also that the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and that after his trial his glory was made fresh again. Our longest sorrows have a close, and there is a bottom to the profoundest depths of our misery when God has gotten His purpose in them. He is able to keep what you have committed to Him and to provide for you day by day.
We will pray for you and for those with whom you labor, that the Lord in His wisdom and mercy would sustain the work of your hands and give stability to the company if it be according to His good will, and that He would grant you strength to continue to do your work well and honestly as unto Him. And if in His higher wisdom He should order it otherwise, we pray that He will open another door and show you that He who has fed you all your life long will not forsake you in your later years. Lay up your chief treasure where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and set the feet of your joy upon the Rock of Ages, so that come what may in temporal things, your soul may have peace in Christ.
Let us pray together. O Lord our God, Thou hast taught us to cast all our care upon Thee for Thou carest for us. Look in mercy upon Thy servant who desires to finish his labor with faithfulness and to be kept from needless trial. Grant wisdom to those who guide the company, prosper honest industry, and provide for every need according to Thy riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Give Thy servant contentment, patience, and a fresh anointing of grace for each day, and let him see Thy hand in both plenty and want, trusting not in uncertain riches but in the living God. Keep him in faith, in health, and in peace, and prepare him for the rest which remaineth for the people of God. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
