NEED OF GRACE
O LORD,
Thou knowest my great
unfitness for service,
my present deadness,
my inability to do anything for thy glory,
my distressing coldness of heart.
I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,
and loathe and abhor myself.
I am at a loss to know
what thou wouldest have me do,
for I feel amazingly deserted by thee,
and sense thy presence so little;
Thou makest me possess
the sins of my youth.
And the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act
but every motion is sin.
Return again with showers of
converting grace to a
poor gospel-abusing sinner.
Help my soul to breathe after holiness,
after a constant devotedness to thee,
after growth in grace more abundantly every day.
O Lord, I am lost
in the pursuit of this blessedness,
and I am ready to sink
because I fall short of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of deliverance comes,
for I cannot lift my soul to thee
if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh.
Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed Friend
in thought and behaviour;
I confide in thee and lean upon thee,
and need thee at all times
to assist and lead me.
O that all my distresses and apprehensions,
might prove but Christ’s school
to make me fit for a greater cause
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.
This is an excerpt from a book NEED OF GRACE by Arthur Bennett. If you would like to buy this book please click here.