The Infinite & The Finite
THOU GREAT I AM,
Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being
with whom one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day,
A mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds,
and the revolutions of empires, feels no variableness,
but is glorious in immortality.
May I rejoice that, while men die, the Lord lives;
that, while all creatures are broken reeds,
empty cisterns, fading flowers, withering grass,
He is the Rock of Ages, the Fountain of living waters.
Turn my heart from vanity, from dissatisfactions,
from uncertainties of the present state,
to an eternal interest in Christ.
Let me remember that life is short and
unforeseen, and is only an opportunity for usefulness;
Give me a holy avarice to redeem the time,
to awake at every call to charity and piety,
so that I may feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, instruct the ignorant,
reclaim the vicious, forgive the offender,
diffuse the gospel,
show neighborly love to all.
Let me live a life of self-distrust,
dependence on thyself, mortification,
crucifixion,
prayer.
—Valley of Vision
Prayer is, at its root, our plea to join God in the infinite. We live and move in the finite; this is where our senses ground us. Prayer is a plea for spiritual sense; an awakening to the larger picture of our God and His kingdom and appealing to its Authority. It is in this spiritual state that we experience many of the promises of our Savior—the water that forever satisfies our thirst, for instance—and in which our faith grows as we experience our God’s provision. Take this Puritan prayer to heart; make it your own heart’s cry. Long for the infinite above the finite. Long to see ‘Thy kingdom come! Thy will be done’ in your life today. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics