Love Shed Abroad

GRACIOUS GOD,

My heart praises thee for the wonder
        of thy love in Jesus;
He is heaven’s darling, but is for me
  the incarnate, despised, rejected,
  crucified sin-bearer;
In him thy grace has almost out-graced itself,
In him thy love to rebels has reached its height;
O to love thee with a love like this!
My heart is stone, melt it with thy love,
My heart is locked, let thy love be the master key
    to open it;
O Father, I adore thee for thy great love
    in the gift of Jesus,
O Jesus, I bless thee for resigning thy life for me,
O Holy Spirit, I thank thee for revealing to me
    this mystery;
Great God, let thy Son see in me the travail
    of his soul!
Bring me away from my false trusts to rest in him,
    and him only.
Let me not be so callous to his merit
    as not to love him,
  so indifferent to his blood
    as not to desire cleansing.
Lord Jesus, Master, Redeemer, Saviour,
  come and take entire possession of me;
  this is thy right by purchase.
In the arms of love enfold and subdue
    my wilful spirit.
Take, sanctify, use my every faculty.
I am not ashamed of my hope,
  nor has my confidence led me into confusion.
I trusted in thee regarding my innumerable sins,
  and thou hast cast them behind thy back.
I trusted in thee when evils encompassed me,
  and thou broughtest me out into a wealthy place.
I trusted in thee in an hour of distress,
  and thou didst not fail me, though faith trembled.
O God of the eternal choice,
O God of the restored possession purchased
    on the tree,
O God of the effectual call,
Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
  I adore thy glory, honour, majesty, power,
    dominion for ever.


Excerpt from Valley of Vision, by Arthur Bennett, p 252-253

Lord's Day Eve

GOD OF THE PASSING HOUR,

Another week has gone and I have been
preserved
in my going out,
in my coming in.
Thine has been the vigilance that has turned
threatened evils aside;
Thine the supplies that have nourished me;
Thine the comforts that have indulged me;
Thine the relations and friends that have
delighted me;
Thine the means of grace which have edified me;
Thine the Book, which, amidst all my enjoyments,
has told me that this is not my rest,
that in all successes one thing alone is needful,
to love my Saviour.
Nothing can equal the number of thy mercies
but my imperfections and sins.
These, O God, I will neither conceal nor palliate,
but confess with a broken heart.
In what condition would secret reviews
of my life leave me
were it not for the assurance that with thee
there is plenteous redemption,
that thou art a forgiving God,
that thou mayest be feared!
While I hope for pardon through the blood
of the cross,
I pray to be clothed with humility,
to be quickened in thy way,
to be more devoted to thee,
to keep the end of my life in view,
to be cured of the folly of delay and indecision,
to know how frail I am,
to number my days and apply my heart
unto wisdom.



Excerpt from Valley of Vision, by Arthur Bennett, p 352-353

Weekly Collect Prayer: Feb 12

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



from the Book of Common Prayer

The Praises of God and the Blessing

You are the holy Lord God
Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the almighty king. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.

You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.

You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience. You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.

You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment, You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Saviour.



A prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, archived on http://www.ofm.org/francesco/pray/pray04.php

Opening Clenched Fists

Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands
and to discover that I am not what I own,
but what you want to give me.
And what you want to give me is love—
unconditional, everlasting love.
Amen.


by Henri Nouwen

The Son as Savior

Holy God, you gather the whole universe
into your radiant presence
and continually reveal your Son as our Savior.
Bring healing to all wounds,
make whole all that is broken,
speak truth to all illusion,
and shed light in every darkness,
that all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. Amen.



From the Revised Common Lectionary, Second Sunday after Epiphany, intercessor prayers of the people

Prayer of Pause

My Father, train my soul, today, to pause. When the enemy attacks, hurling words that causes me to take my eyes off of you. . . When I feel weak, and helpless to do anything but fail again.
I will stop.
I will look up.
No matter what comes, I will say, "but you, O Lord, are my helper."




From Amy Carmichael, You are my Hiding Place