Lamentation of a sinner

The Lamentation of a sinner M.

O Lord turn not away thy face,
from him that lieth prostrate,
Lamenting fore his sinful life,
before thy mercy gate,
which gate thou openest wide to those,
that do lament their sin,
Shut not that gate against me Lord,
but let me enter in.
And call me not to mine accounts,
How I have lived here:
For then I know right well, O Lord,
How wise I shall appear:
I need not to confess my life,
I am sure thou canst tell:
What I have been, and what I am,
I know thou knowest it well,
O Lord thou knowest what things be past,
And eke the things that be.
Thou knowest also what is to come,
Nothing is hid form thee:
Before the heavens and the earth were made
Thou knewest what things were then:
As all things else that hath been since,
Among the Sons of men.

And can the things that I have done,
Be hidden form thee then?
Nay nay thou knowest them all, O Lord,
Where they were done and when.
Wherefore with tears I come to thee,
To beg and to entreat:
Even as the Child that hath done evil,
And feareth to be beat.
So come I to thy mercy gate
Where mercy doth abound,
Requiring mercy for my sin,
To heal my deadly wound.
O Lord, I need not to repeat,
What I do beg or crave:
Thou know’st , O Lord, before I ask,
The thing that I would have.
Mercy good Lord, mercy I ask,
This is the total sum:
For mercy Lord is all my suite,
Lord let thy mercy come. [From the Genevan Psalter]

For the mercies we have recieved the last year

We thank our God both kind and liberal,

His grace and mercy does ever endure

He gives sustenation to us all,

To man and beast and every creature,

And He alone, does feed, bath rich and pure,

Therefore to God be glory evermore,

through Jesus Christ we thank him heartily. [From The good and Godly ballads-1578-Wedderburne]

Fuller’s Prayer

O Lord God, I find myself in a world where thousands profess Thy Name. All profess to be searching after the Truth; to have Christ and the inspired writers on their side. I am afraid, lest I should be turned aside from the simplicity of the Gospel. I feel my understanding full of darkness, my reason exceedingly imperfect, my will ready to start aside, and my passions strangely volatile. O illumine my understanding, teach my reason reason, my will rectitude, and let every of which I am posessed be kept within the bounds of thy service.

O let not the sleight of wicked men, who lie in wait to decieve, nor ever the pious character of great men (who yet maybe under great mistakes) draw me aside. Nor do Thou suffer my own fancy to misguide me. Lord, thou hast given me a determination to take no principle at second hand, but, to search for everything at the pure fountain of the Word. Yet Lord, I am afraid, seeing as I am as liable to err as other men, lest I should be led aside from the truth by my own imagination.

I pray that I may not only be kept from erroneous principles, but may so love the truth as to never to keep it back. O Lord, if thou wilt open mine eyes to behold the wonders of thy Word, and give me to feel their transforming tendency, then shall the Lord be my God; then let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I shun to declare to the best of my knowledge the whole counsel of God. [Andrew Fuller]

Glori Patri

All laud and praise be to the Lord O that of might art most: To God the Father, and the Son, And to the Holy Ghost. As it in the beginning was, Forever heretofore: And is now at this present time, And shall be evermore.  

We praise thee God, we knowledge thee, the only Lord to be, and as eternal Father all, the earth doth worship thee: To thee all Angels cry, the heavens and all the powers therein, To thee Cherub and Seraphim, to cry they do not lin.

O holy, holy, holy Lord, of Sabbath Lord the God, Through heaven and earth thy praise is spread, and glory all abroad. The Apostles’ glorious company yield praises unto thee: The Prophets’ goodly fellowship praise thee continually.

The noble and victorious host of Martyrs found thy praise: The holy Church throughout the world, doth knowledge thee always. Father of endless Majesty they do acknowledge thee: Thy Christ, thine honorable, true, and only son to be. The holy Ghost the Comforter, of glory thou art King. O Christ and of the Father art the son everlasting.

When sinful man’s decay in hand thou tookest to restore, To be enclosed in virgin’s womb thou diddest not abhor. When thou hadst overcome of death the sharp and cruel might, Thou heaven’s kingdom didst set up to each believing wight. In glory of the Father thou doest sit on God’s right hand: We trust that thou shalt come our Judge, our cause to understand.

Lord help thy servants whom thou hast bought with thy precious blood: And in eternal glory set them with thy Saints so good. O Lord, do thou thy people save, bless thine inheritance: Lord govern them and Lord do thou For ever them advance.

We magnify thee day by day, and world without an end Adore thy holy name, O Lord, vouchsafe us to defend. From sin this day. Have mercy Lord, have mercy on us all: And on us as we trust in thee, Lord let thy mercy fall.

God The All

O GOD WHOSE WILL CONQUERS ALL

There is no comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee,
and being engaged in Thy Service.
Thou art All in all, and all enjoyments are what to me thou makest them, and no more.
I am well pleased with Thy Will whatever it is,
or should be in all respects,
And if Thou bidst me to decide for myself in any affair,
I would choose to refer All to Thee,
For Thou art infinitely wise and cannot do amiss,
as I am in danger of doing.
I rejoice to think that all things are at Thy disposal,
and it delights me to  leave them there.
Then prayer turns wholly unto praise,
and all I can do is to adore and bless Thee.
What shall I give Thee for all Thy benefits?
I am in a strait betwixt two, knowing not what to do;
I long to make some return, but have nothing to offer,
and can only rejoice that thou doest all,
that none in heaven or earth shares thy honour;
I can of myself do nothing to glorify Thy blessed Name,
but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body to thee,
I know that thou art the author and finisher of faith,
that the whole work of redemption is thine alone,
that every good work or thought found in me
if the effect of Thy power and grace,
that thy sole motive in working in me to will and to do is for thy good pleasure.
O God, it is amazing that men can talk so much
about man’s creaturely power and goodness,
when, if thou didst not hold us back every
moment, we should be devils incarnate.
This, by bitter experience, thou hast tuaght me concerning myself.  [Valley of Vision]

Life, liberty and Truth

I’m quoting a lot of Chalmers, because I am reading alot of and about him currently.

O may Thy Word abide in us that we may be Thy disciples indeed; and let us experience as the effect of knowing Thy truth, not only that it gives us life, but gives us liberty–for by nature we are in bondage to the power of sin, and to those hateful lusts which war against the soul. Let me no longer be the slave of these tyrants, but may the power of Christ rest on me; and then greater will be He that is in me, than he that is in the world–greater will be the deliverer than the adversary and oppressor of my soul. O sinless Son of God, let me be like unto Thyself; and more expecially in seeking not mine own glory. O let Thy Glory and the good of Thy Church be the very great and constant aims of my existence; and enable me to forget myself in the magnificence of those objects which are above and around me. [Thomas Chalmers]

Praying with George Herbert

Immortal Heat, O let Thy greater flame
Attract the lesser to it; let those fires
Which shall consume the world first make it tame,
And kindle in our hearts such true desires.
As may consume our lusts, and make Thee way:
Then shall our hearts pant Thee, then shall our brain
All her invention on Thine altar lay,
And there in hymns send back Thy fire again.
Our eyes shall see Thee, which before saw dust,
Dust blown by wit, till that they both were blind:
Thou shalt recover all Thy goods in kind,
Who wert disseized by usurping lust:
All knees shall bow to Thee; all wits shall rise,
And praise Him Who did make and mend our eyes.  [George Herbert]

Corruptions of the heart

O God, may Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to thee. I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand for me. I am undeserving, but I look to Thy tender mercy. I am full of infirmities, wants, sin; Thou art full of grace. I confess my sin, my frequent sin, my wilful sin; all my powers of body and soul are defiled: a fountain of pollution is deep within my nature. There are chambers of foul images within my being; I have gone from one odious room to another, walked in a no-man’s-land of dangerous imaginations, pried into the secrets of my fallen nature. I am utterly ashamed that I am what I am in myself; I have no green shoot in me nor fruit, but thorns and thistles; I am a fading leaf that the wind drives away; I live bare and barren as a winter tree, unprofitable, fit to be hewn down and burnt. Lord, dost Thou have mercy on me? Thou hast struck a heavy blow at my pride, at the false god of self, and I lie in pieces before Thee. But Thou hast given me another master and lord, Thy Son, Jesus, and now my heart is turned towards holiness, my life speeds as an arrow from a bow towards complete obedience to Thee. Help me in all my doings to put down sin and to humble pride. Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life, from everything that is natural to fallen man, and let Christ’s nature be seen in me day by day. Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining, and delight to be not only chiselled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper air, where I may be built in Christ for ever.

Thirsting for rest

O love that casts out fear
O love that casts out sin.
Tarry no more without,
But come and dwell within.

True sunlight of the soul,
Surround me as I go;
So shall my way be safe,
My feet no sliding know.

Great love of God, come in,
Well-spring of heavenly peace,
Thou-Living Water come,
Spring-up, and never cease.

HOARATIUS BONAR

When I am poor and afraid

Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day. [From Valley of Vision]