Lord of Heaven,
Thy goodness is inexpressible and
inconceivable.
In
the works of creation thou art almighty,
In the dispensations of
providence all-wise,
In the gospel of grace all love,
And in thy Son thou
hast provided for
our deliverance from the effects
of sin,
the justification of our persons,
the sanctification of our
natures,
the perseverance of our souls in
the path of life.
Though exposed to
the terrors of thy law,
we have a refuge from the storm;
Though compelled to
cry, ‘Unclean’,
we have a fountain for sin;
Though
creature-cells of emptiness
we have a fullness accessible to
all,
and incapable of reduction.
Grant us always to
know that to walk with Jesus
makes other interests a shadow
and a dream.
Keep us from
intermittent attention
to eternal things;
Save us from the
delusion of those
who fail to go far in religion,
who are concerned but not
converted,
who have another heart but not a
new one,
who have light, zeal, confidence,
but not Christ.
Let us judge our
Christianity,
not only by our dependence upon
Jesus,
but by our love to
him,
our
conformity to him,
our
knowledge of him.
Give us a religion
that is both real
and progressive,
that holds on its way and grows
stronger,
that lives and works in the
Spirit,
that profits by every correction,
and is injured by no carnal
indulgence.