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A Puritan’s Prayer: The Divine Will

Posted by on April 10, 2011 in Puritan Prayers | 1 Comment

O Lord,

I hang on thee, I see, believe, live,
When thy will, not mine, is done;
I can plead of nothing in myself
   in regard of any worthiness and grace,
   in regard of thy providence and promises,
   but only thy good pleasure.

If thy mercy makes me poor and vile, blessed be thou!
Prayers arising from my needs are preparations for future mercies;
Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel,
   for great is the sin if I make feeling a
     cause of faith.

Show me what sins hide thee from me
   and eclipse thy love;
Help me to humble myself for past evils,
   to be resolved to walk with more care,
For if I do not walk holily before thee,
   how can I be assured of my salvation?

It is the meek and humble who are shown thy covenant,
   know thy will, are pardoned and healed
   who by faith depend and rest upon grace,
   who are sanctified and quickened,
   who evidence thy love.

Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will,
   by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy,
   by believing thou wilt give what thou has promised;
Strengthen me to pray with the conviction
    that whatever I receive is thy gift,
   so that I may pray until prayer be granted;
Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise
   from several degrees of prayer,
   that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must grow,
   as chapped ground opens wider and wider
     until rain comes.

So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done,
and by thy grace become fully obedient.


(Taken from ‘The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers,’ edited by Arthur Bennett)

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