The Cross Still Stands
O Lord,
Bend my hands and cut them off, for I have often struck thee with a wayward will, when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.
I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honour, wisdom, and esteem of others, for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.
Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself.
Give me to view a discovered sinfulness, to know that though my sins are crucified they are never wholly mortified.
Hatred, malice, ill-will, vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after man’s approval and applause, all are crucified, forgiven, but they rise again in my sinful heart.
O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!
Destroy, O God, the dark guest within whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.
Yet thou hast not left me here without grace; The cross still stands and meets my needs in the deepest straits of the soul.
I thank thee that my remembrance of it is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword which preached forth thy deliverance.
The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls, bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of thy great help, of thy support from heaven, of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.
There is no treasure so wonderful as that continuous experience of thy grace toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within: Give me more of it.
—Valley of Vision
This Puritan prayer speaks with raw honesty—naming the torment of sin that clings even after forgiveness. It confesses what so many of us know too well: that while our sins may be crucified, they are not yet fully mortified. We wrestle with pride, people-pleasing, anger, and shame. We feel the presence of the “dark guest within” and long for freedom. But even in that struggle, we are not abandoned. The cross still stands. Grace still meets us in the depths. And in our moments of failure, the memory of God’s past deliverance becomes our hope for the present.
If you feel weary from falling again, ashamed of what still lurks in your heart, hear this: God has not turned away. He remains near, ready to supply grace—not just once, but again and again. Like David beholding Goliath’s sword, we remember not just our battles, but the God who carried us through them. So don’t hide your sin—bring it to the foot of the cross. Grace is not a one-time event; it is a continuous treasure that subdues what we cannot conquer alone. And God will give you more of it. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics