The Awakened Sinner

 O my forgetful soul,

Wake up from your wandering dream;

   turn from chasing empty things

   look inward, forward, upward

   view yourself,

   reflect upon yourself,

      who and what you are, why you are here

      what you must soon be.

You are a creature of God

   formed and furnished by him,

   housed in a body like a shepherd in his tent;

Do you not desire to know God's ways?

 

O God,

You injured, neglected, provoked benefactor

   when I think upon your greatness and your goodness

   I am ashamed at my dullness,

   I blush to lift up my face,

   for I have foolishly erred.

Should I go on neglecting you,

   when every one of your rational creatures should love you

   and take every care to please you?

I confess that you have not been in all my thoughts,

   that the knowledge of you as the end of my being has been strangely overlooked,

   that I have never seriously considered my heart-need

But although my mind is perplexed and divided,

   and my nature is perverse,

   yet my secret dispositions still desire you.

Let me not delay to come to you;

Break the fatal enchantment that binds my evil affections

   and bring me to a happy mind that rests in you,

   for you have made me and cannot forget me.

Let your Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,

   for I am slow to learn;

And hear my broken cries.

The Gospel Way

Blessed Lord Jesus,  

No human mind could conceive or invent the gospel.  

Acting in eternal grace, you yourself are both 

   the gospel messenger and the gospel message, 

   lived out on earth through infinite compassion, 

   applying your life to insult, injury, death, 

   that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed. 

Blessing be to you, O Father, for devising this way, 

Eternal thanks to you, O Lamb of God, for opening this way, 

Praise everlasting to you, O Holy Spirit, for applying this way to my heart. 

Glorious Trinity, impress the gospel on my soul, 

   until its virtue pervades every aspect of my life;  

Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt.

Teach me to do everything needful to secure this might blessing; 

Help me to give up every darling lust,

   to submit heart and life to its command,

   to have it always in my will,

      controlling my affections, 

      molding my understanding;

   to keep strictly to your ways,

       not departing from them in any instance,

       even if doing so would enable me to escape the evil of others, inconvenience or danger. 

Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy; 

Strip me of every pleasing pretense that I am making my own righteousness. 

O gracious Redeemer,

   I have neglected you too long,

   often crucified you,

   crucified you afresh by my unrepentant ways, 

   put you to open shame.

I thank you for the patience that has borne with me so long,  

   and for the grace that now makes me want to be yours.  

O unite me to yourself with inseparable bonds,

   that nothing may ever draw me back from you, my Lord, my Savior.  

The Spirit's Work

O God the Holy Spirit,  

You who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 

   have mercy on me. 

When thou first hovered over chaos, order came to life,  

   beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth.  

Move, I pray, upon my messed up heart; 

Take away the sickness of out-of-control desires and hateful lusts;  

Lift the mists and darkness of unbelief; 

Brighten my soul with the pure light of truth; 

Make it fragrant as the garden of paradise,  

   rich with every good fruit, 

   beautiful with heavenly grace,  

   radiant with rays of divine light. 

Fulfill in me the glory of your divine ministries; 

Be my comforter, light, guide, sanctifier;  

Take of the things of Christ and show them to my soul;

Through you may l daily learn more of his love, 

   grace, compassion, faithfulness, beauty;

Lead me to the cross and show me his wounds, 

   the hateful nature of evil, the power of Satan;  

May l there see my sins as 

   the nails that pinned him there, 

   the cords that bound him, 

   the thorns that tore him, 

   the sword that pierced him.  

Help me to find in his death the reality and immensity of his love.  

Open for me the wondrous volumes of truth in his, ‘It is finished’.  

Increase my faith in the clear knowledge of 

   atonement achieved, payment completed, 

   satisfaction made, guilt erased, 

   my debt paid, my sins forgiven, 

   my life redeemed, my soul saved, 

   hell vanquished, heaven opened,  eternity made mine.  

O Holy Spirit, deepen in me these saving lessons. 

Write them upon my heart, that my walk would be sin-hating, sin-fleeing, and Christ-loving;  And allow no snare of Satan to beguile or deceive me.

The Spirit of Jesus

Lord Jesus Christ,

Fill me with your Spirit

    that I may be occupied with his presence.

I am blind - send him to make me see;

   dark - let him say, ‘Let there be light’!

May he give me faith to behold 

   my name engraved on your hand,

   my soul and body redeemed by your blood,

   my sinfulness covered by your life of pure obedience. 

Replenish me by his revealing grace, 

   that l may realise my unbreakable union with you;

   that I may know you have married me to yourself for ever,  

      in righteousness, love, mercy, faithfulness; 

   that l am one with you, 

      as a branch with its trunk, 

      as a building with its foundation. 

May his comforts cheer me in my sorrows,

   his strength sustain me in my trials,

   his blessings revive me in my weariness,

   his presence render me a fruitful tree of holiness,

   his might establish me in peace and joy,

   his promptings make me ceaseless in prayer,

   his enlivening kindle in me undying devotion.

Send him as the searcher of my heart,

   to show me more of my corruptions and helplessness

   that I may flee to thee,

      cling to thee

      rest on thee

   as the beginning and end of my salvation. 

May I never grieve him by my indifference and waywardness,

   grieve him by my cold welcome, 

   resist him by my hard rebellion.  

Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your great name's sake.

Spiritus Sanctus

O HOLY SPIRIT,

As the sun is full of light,
   the ocean full of water,
   Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of you.
Vain are all divine purposes of love
   and the redemption wrought by Jesus
   unless you work within me,
      regenerating me by your power,
      giving me eyes to see Jesus,
      showing me the realities of the unseen world.
O give me yourself without measure,
   as an unimpaired fountain,
   as inexhaustible riches.
I lament my coldness, poverty, emptiness,
   imperfect vision, apathetic service,
   prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Allow me not to grieve or resist you.
Come as power,
   to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me yours;
Come as teacher,
   leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love,
   that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy,
   to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as light,
   illuminating the Scripture, molding me in its precepts;
Come as sanctifier,
   body, soul and spirit wholly yours;
Come as helper,
   with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as beautifier,
   bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me your glory by being magnified in me,
   and make me to radiate thy fragrance.

A Present Salvation

Creator and Redeemer God,

Author of all existence, source of all blessedness,
I adore you for making me capable of knowing you,
   for giving me reason and conscience,
   for leading me to desire you;
I praise you for the revelation of yourself in the gospel,
   for your heart as a dwelling place of pity,
   for your thoughts of peace towards me,
   for your patience and your graciousness,
   for the vastness of your mercy.
You have moved my conscience to know how
   the guilty can be pardoned,
   the unholy sanctified,
   the poor enriched.
May I be always amongst those who not only hear but know you,
   who walk with and rejoice in you,
   who take you at your word and find life there.

O keep me always longing
   for a present salvation in Holy Spirit comforts and rejoicings
   for spiritual graces and blessings,
   for help to value my duties as well as my privileges.
May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character.
Help me to be in reality before you
      as in appearance I am before men,
   to be religious before I profess religion,
   to leave the world before I enter the church,
   to set my affections on things above,
   to shun forbidden follies and vanities,
   to be a dispenser of as well as a partaker of grace,
   to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good.
O God, make me worthy of this calling,
   that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me
      and I in him.

God Enjoyed

O incomprehensible but prayer-hearing God,

Known, but beyond knowledge,
   revealed, but unrevealed,
   my wants and welfare draw me to you
   for you have never said, "Seek me in vain".
To you I come in my difficulties, necessities, distresses;
   possess me with yourself,
      with a spirit of grace and supplication,
      with a prayerful attitude of mind,
      with access into warmth of fellowship,
   so that in the ordinary things of life
      my thoughts and desires may rise to you,
   and in constantly looking to you I may find a resource
      that will soothe my sorrows,
      sanctify my successes,
      and equip me in all ways for dealings
      with my fellow men.
I bless you that you have made me capable
   of knowing you, the author of all being,
   of resembling you, the perfection of all excellency,
   of enjoying you, the source of all happiness.
O God, be with me in every part of my taxing and trying life journey;
   I need the same counsel, defense and comfort
      I found at my beginning with you.
Let my walk with you be more at the forefront of my mind,
   more observable to those around me.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven,
   may I reflect him on earth,
While he pleads my cause, may I show forth his praise.

Please continue the gentleness of your goodness towards me,
And whether I wake or sleep, let your presence go with me,
   and your blessing attend me.
You have led me on and I have found your promises true,
I have been sorrowful, but you have been my help,
   fearful, but you have delivered me,
   despairing, but you have lifted me up.
Your guarantees are ever upon me,
   And I praise you, O God.