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,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up his abode 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 thy 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 apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With you my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, 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 formalist 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.
Once again, I almost rendered speechless by one of these old Puritan prayers. I'm very grateful that I stumbled upon this book. I like how this particular prayer goes from self-abasement to the fullness of joy and worth that we get from God. My favorite line: "With you my heart shall bloom with fragrance..." Yes.
"Let�s try something today. Even though our lives can seem to be scheduled so tightly that we barely have time to breathe, let�s be very conscious of God�s presence in our lives throughout the course of our busy day. Here�s the idea: even in your hurriedness, do not hurry! When you are driving the kids to school and are late for that appointment, go to a place of communion with the Lord in your thoughts where time does not matter. As you drive, enjoy the children as the Lord enjoys His time with you. As you rush to that appointment, slow down your thoughts and focus on the fact that God is still with you, enjoying your presence. As you haggle with a vendor, remember God�s presence and slow down your emotional and mental chaos to the point where you can see what God sees. In other words, slow down and remember that there is no need to hurry in your communion with God. He is as constant and abiding as your moments of chaos are fleeting. Enjoy His presence�and do not hurry. He�s still there!"
Good stuff.
1 In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. 2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah 4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains of prey.
Asaph focuses on God's majesty and glory in this psalm. Many hymn-writers over the years have been inspired by God's glory and majesty. "We can never exhaust the majesty and glory of His Name." He displays his majestic power in verse three, breaking the weapons of war in Zion.
"I am moved by reverent awe for this God of ours to vow my allegiance to Him. He is capable of using His terrible might and majesty to chasten His children as well as to rout the Enemy. But there is another reason. He is also a God of infinite and unconditional love, dazzling radiance and light, and my only place of shelter is in the shadow of His mountain."
Amen.
"There can be no true peace, where there is not true grace; and where grace goes before, peace will follow."
I pray that you give me the sense to go about my day and recognize your presence and to try to approach my day in a less hurried frame of mind. Help me realize that you're in no hurry...why should I be? Let me enjoy your presence in my life today!
Father, let my heart "bloom with fragrance" today! Let me be a sweet fragrance for you in this world.
As Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan nears the end of the hearings with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the
chairman of that committee has predicted that she will be confirmed.
In a 5-4 ruling the Supreme Court upheld a California law school�s denial of official recognition of a Christian student
group � a group that refused to allow non-Christians to become voting members or leaders.
Pray for Justice John Paul Stevens as he steps down from the Supreme court this month.
I think all of the Christians in that student group should go join an atheist group and demand to be "voting members or leaders." Sometimes this stuff just gets ridiculous.
Grace and peace, friends.