The Divine Will

O Lord,

I hang on you; I see, believe, live,
   when your will, not mine, is done;
I can plead nothing in myself
   in regard of any worthiness and grace,
   in regard of your providence and promises,
   but only your good pleasure.
If your mercy makes me poor and vile, blessed be you!
Prayers arising from my needs are preparations for future mercies;
Help me to honor you by believing before I feel,
   for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith.

Show me what sins hide you from me
   and eclipse your love;
Help me to humble myself for past evils,
   to be resolved to walk with more care,
For if do not walk in holiness before you,
   how can I be assured of my salvation?

It is the meek and humble who are shown your covenant,
   know your will, are pardoned and healed,
   who by faith depend and rest upon grace,
   who are sanctified and enlivened,
   who evidence your love.
Help me to pray in faith and so find you will,
   by leaning hard on your rich free mercy,
   by believing you will give what you have promised;
Strengthen me to pray with the conviction
   that whatever I receive is your gift,
   so that I may pray until prayer be granted;
Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise
   from several degrees of prayer,
   that when begins it is imperfect and must grow,
   as dry ground opens wider and wider
      until rain comes.

So shall I wait for your will, pray for it to be done,
   and by your grace become fully obedient.

The Mover

O Supreme Moving Cause,

May I always be submitted to you
   be dependent upon you
   be found in the path where you walk
      and where your Spirit moves,
   be aware of wandering from you,
      of becoming numb to your love.
You do not move men like stones,
   but you give them life,
   not to enable them to move without you,
   but in submission to you, the first mover.
O Lord, I am astonished at the difference
   between my receivings and my deservings,
   between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness,
   between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I have earned.
Who made me to differ, but you?
   for I was no more ready to receive Christ
      than were others;
I could not have begun to love you had you not first loved me,
   or been willing unless you had first made me so.
O that such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner!
   such high advancement be for such an unfruitful person!
   such joys for so vile a rebel!
Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation
   into the mold of purchase and freedom;
Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,
But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.
I know that my sufferings are often the result of my sinning,
   but in heaven both shall cease;
Grant me to attain this haven and be done with sailing,
   and may the gales of your mercy blow me safely into harbor.
Let your love draw me nearer to yourself,
   wean me from sin, make me dead to this world,
   and make me ready for my departure hence.
Secure me by your grace as I sail across this stormy sea.

The All-Good

My God,

You have helped me to see,
   that whatever good is in the blessings of being honored and of happiness,
      how good is he who gives them,
      and can withdraw them;
   that blessedness is not so much found
      in receiving good from you and in you,
      but in showing your glory and virtue;
   that it is an amazing thing for you to be seen
      in a creature as you speak, act
      fill, and shine through it;
   that nothing is good but you,
   that I am near good when I am near you,
   that to be like you is a glorious thing:
This is my magnet, my attraction.

You are all my good in times of peace,
   my only support in days of trouble,
   my one sufficiency when life shall end.
Help me to see how good your will is in all,
   and even when it crosses mine
   teach me to be pleased with it.
Grant me to feel you in shelter and food and every providence,
   and to see that your many gifts and creatures
   are but your hands and fingers taking hold of me.
O bottomless fountain of all good,
   I give myself to you out of love,
      for all I have or own is yours,
         my possessions, family, church, self,
      to do with as you will,
      to honor yourself by me, and by all that is mine.
If it is in harmony with your eternal counsels,
   the purpose of your grace,
   and the great ends of your glory,
   then bestow upon me the blessings of your comforts;
If not, let me accept
   your wiser determinations.

The Great God

O Fountain of All Good,

Destroy in me every lofty thought
   Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of
   self-righteousness,
Plant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Humble me to a state of loathing and abhorring my sinful self,
Open in me a fountain of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a ready dwelling
   for my God;
   Then can the Father take up residence in me,
   Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch
   Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,
   inhabit me, a temple consecrated to your glory.
When you are present, evil cannot abide;
In your fellowship is fullness of joy,
Beneath your smile is peace of conscience,
By your side no fears disturb,
   no anxieties banish rest of mind,
With you my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me fit, through repentance,
   for your indwelling.
Nothing exceeds your power,
Nothing is too great for you to do,
Nothing too good for you to give.
   Infinite is your might, boundless your love,
   limitless your grace, glorious your saving name.
Let angels sing for
      sinners repenting,
      prodigals restored,
      backsliders reclaimed,
      Satan's captives released,
      blind eyes opened,
      broken hearts bound up,
      the despondent cheered,
      the self-righteous stripped,
      the legalist driven from a refuge of lies,
      the ignorant enlightened,
      and saints built up in their holy faith.
I ask great things of a great God.

God The Source of All Good

O Lord God, Who inhabits eternity,

The heavens declare your glory,
   The earth your riches,
The universe is your temple;
Your presence fills the vastness
Yet it pleased you to create life,
   and communicate happiness;
You have made me what I am,
   and have given me what I have;
I you I live and move and have my being;
Your loving care has determined the structure of my life
   and wisely governs my affairs.
I thank you for your riches to me in Jesus,
   for the unclouded revelation of him in your Word,
   where I behold his person, character, grace, glory
   humiliation, sufferings, death and resurrection;
Please help me to feel my need of his continual saving
   and cry with Job, 'I am vile',
   with Peter, 'I perish',
   with the tax collector, 'Be merciful to me, a sinner'.
O Subdue in me the love of sin,
Let me know the need of renovation
   as well as forgiveness,
   in order that I may serve and enjoy you forever.
I come to you, Father, in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,
   with nothing of my own to offer,
   no works, no worthiness, no promises.
I am often straying,
   often knowingly opposing your authority,
   often abusing your goodness;
Much of my guilt arises from the spiritual advantages that I have,
   how little I value them,
   and my failure to use them to my advantage,
But I am not careless of your favor or regardless of your glory;
Will you impress me deeply with a sense of your
   omnipresence, that you are near to me in my path,
   my ways, my lying down, and my end.

God The All

There  is no comfort in anything apart from enjoying you
   and working in service to you.
You are All in all, and all enjoyments
   are pleasant to the degree that you are in them, and no more.
I am well pleased with your will, whatever it is,
   or at least I should be in everything
And if you ask me to decide for myself in anything,
   I would choose to submit those things to you,
   for you are infinitely wise and cannot choose wrong,
   as I am in danger of doing.
I rejoice to think that all things are at your disposal,
   and it delights me to leave them there.
Then my prayer turns wholly into praise,
   and all I can do is to adore and bless you.
What shall I give you for all your benefits?
   I am caught between two things,
   knowing not what to do;
I long to give you something in return,
   but have nothing to offer,
   and can only rejoice that you do all things,
   that none in heaven or on earth shares your honor;
I can do nothing of myself to glorify your blessed name,
   but I can, through grace, cheerfully surrender soul and body to you,
I know that you are the author and finisher of faith,
   that the whole work of redemptions is yours alone,
   that every good work or thought found in me
      is the result of your power and grace,
   that your sole motive in working in me to will and to work is for your good pleasure.
O God, it is amazing that people can talk so much
   about man's creaturely power and goodness,
   when, if you did not hold us back every moment,
   we should be demons incarnate.
This, by bitter experience, you have taught me
   concerning myself.

The Trinity

Three in One, One in Three, God of my Salvation,

Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,
   I adore you as one Being, one Essence,
   one God in three distinct Persons,
   for bringing sinners to know you intimately and to be members of your kingdom
O Father, you have loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, you have loved me and took on my human nature,
   shed your own blood to wash away my sins,
   and brought forth your righteousness to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, you have loved me and entered my heart,
   implanted there eternal life,
   revealed to me the glories of Jesus.
Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise you,
   for love so unmerited, so unspeakable,
   so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost
   and raise them to glory.
O Father, I thank you that in fullness of grace
   you have given me to Jesus, to be his sheep, his jewel, his portion;
O Jesus, I thank you that in fullness of grace
   you have accepted me, joined me to your Bride, and bound me to yourself;
O Holy Spirit, I thank you that in fullness of grace
   you have
      revealed Jesus as my salvation,
      planted faith within me,
      subdued my stubborn heart,
      and made me one with him for ever.
O Father, you are enthroned to hear my prayers,
O Jesus, your hand is outstretched to take my petitions,
O Holy Spirit, you are willing to help my weaknesses,
   to show me my need,
   to supply words,
   to pray within me,
   and to strengthen me so that I do not give up in bringing you my needs.
O Triune God, who commands the universe,
   you have commanded me to ask for those things that concern your kingdom and my soul.
Please let me live and pray as one baptized into the threefold Name.