WORSHIP

Glorious God,
It is the flame of my life to worship you,
   the crown and glory of my soul to adore you,
   and heavenly pleasure to approach you.
Please give me power by your Spirit to help me
      worship now,
   that I may forget the world,
      be brought into fullness of life,
      be refreshed, comforted, blessed.
Give me knowledge of your goodness
   that I might not be overwhelmed by your greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
   that I might not be terrified,
      but be drawn near with devoted love,
         with holy boldness;
Jesus is my Mediator, Brother, Interpreter,
   Source, Mediator, Lamb;

      him I glorify,
      in him I am set on high.
Crowns to give I have none,
   but what you have given I give back,
   content to feel that everything is mine
      when it is yours,
   and the more fully mine when I have yielded
      to you.
Let me live wholly to my Savior,
   free from distractions,
      from worrying care,
      from hindrances to the pursuit
         of the narrow way.
I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus -
   O give me a new sense of it,
   continue to pardon me by it,
   may I come every day to the fountain,
   and every day be washed anew,
   that I may worship you always
      in spirit and truth.

Scriptural Convictions

O God of love,

I approach you with encouragements
      that come from your character,
   for I am not left to grope after you
      in the darkness of my nature,
   nor to worship you as the unknown God.
I cannot find out your perfections,
   but I know you are good,
       ready to forgive, full of mercy.
You have displayed your wisdom, power,
      and goodness in all your works,
   and have revealed your will in the Scripture
      of truth.
You have caused it to be preserved, translated,
      published, multiplied,
   so that all men may possess it and find
      you in it.
Here in Scripture I see your greatness and your grace,
   your pity and your rectitude,
   your mercy and your truth,
   your being and men's hearts;
Through it you have magnified your name,
   and gifted mankind with the gospel.
Please have mercy on me,
   for I have ungratefully received your gifts,
   done little to improved my privileges,
   made light of spiritual things,
   disregarded your messages,
   resisted examples of the good,
      rebukes of conscience,
      admonitions of friends,
      leadings of providence.
I deserve to have your kingdom taken away from me.
Lord, I confess my sin with feeling, lamentation,
   a broken heart,
   a contrite spirit, self-abhorrence,
      self-condemnation, self-despair.
O give me relief by Jesus my hope,
   faith in his name of Saviour,
   forgiveness by his blood,
   strength by his presence,
   holiness by his Spirit:
And let me love you with all my heart.

A Disciple's Renewal

0 God who saves me,

Help me.

I am so slow to learn,

   so prone to forget,

   so weak to climb;

I am in the foothills of faith when I should be

   on its heights;

It hurts me when I notice my graceless heart,

   my prayerless days,

   my lack of love,

   my laziness in the heavenly race,

   my dirty conscience,

   my wasted hours,

   my unspent opportunities.

I am blind while light shines around me:

   please open my eyes,

   and grind to dust my evil heart of unbelief.

Will you make it my chiefest joy to study you,

   think deeply about you,

   gaze on you,

   sit like Mary at your feet,

   lean like John on your hreast,

   appeal like Peter to your love,

   count like Paul all things excrement, compared to you.

O grant that I may grow and progress in grace

      so that I may have

   more decisiveness in my character,

   more vigor in my purposes,

   more elevation in my life,

   more fervor in my devotion,

   more constancy in my zeal.

As I have a position in the world,

   please keep me from making the world my position;

May I never seek in the created

   what can be found only in the Creator;

Let my faith never cease from seeking you

   until it becomes sight.

Ride forth in me, O King of kings

      and Lord of lords,

   that I may live victoriously,

      and in victory accomplish my goal.