This past Sunday, we considered Psalm 130 as a declaration of hope in God in the midst of affiliations and struggles. In vv. 3-4, the psalmist states his confidence, not in himself, but in the character and work of God. In thinking through such confidence, I was drawn to the following prayer from The Valley of Vision, which I wanted to share.
O God, thou art very great,
My lot is to approach thee with godly fear and humble confidence,
for thy condescension equals thy grandeur,
and thy goodness is thy glory.
I am unworthy, but thou dost welcome;
guilty, but thou art merciful;
indigent, but thy riches are unsearchable.
Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me
by not sparing thy Son,
and by giving me freely all things in him;
This is the foundation of my hope,
the refuge of my safety,
the new and living way to thee,
the means that conviction of sin,
brokenness of heart, and self-despair,
which will endear to me the gospel.
Happy are they who are Christ’s,
in him at peace with thee,
justified from all things,
delivered from coming wrath,
made heirs of future glory;
Give me such deadness to the world,
such love to the Savior,
such attachment to his house,
such devotedness to his service,
as proves me a subject of his salvation.
May every part of my character and conduct
make a serious and amiable impression on others,
and impel them to ask the way to the master.
Let no incident of life, pleasing or painful,
injure the prosperity of my soul, but rather increase it.
Send my thy help,
for thine appointments are not meant to make me independent of thee,
and the best means will be vain without super-added blessings.
