Meeting God

GREAT GOD,

In public and private, in sanctuary and home,
    may my life be steeped in prayer,
  filled with the spirit of grace and supplication,
  each prayer perfumed with the incense
    of atoning blood.
Help me, defend me, until from praying ground
I pass to the realm of unceasing praise.
Urged by my need,
  invited by thy promises,
  called by thy Spirit,
  I enter thy presence,
    worshipping thee with godly fear,
    awed by thy majesty, greatness, glory,
    but encouraged by thy love.
I am all poverty as well as all guilt,
  having nothing of my own with which
    to repay thee,
But I bring Jesus to thee in the arms of faith,
  pleading his righteousness to offset my iniquities,
  rejoicing that he will weigh down the scales
    for me,
  and satisfy thy justice.
I bless thee that great sin draws out great grace,
  that, although the least sin
    deserves infinite punishment
    because done against an infinite God,
  yet there is mercy for me,
  for where guilt is most terrible,
  there thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep.
Bless me by revealing to me more of his saving
    merits,
  by causing thy goodness to pass before me,
  by speaking peace to my contrite heart;
Strengthen me to give thee no rest until Christ
    shall reign supreme within me,
  in every thought, word, and deed,
  in a faith that purifies the heart,
      overcomes the world,
      works by love,
      fastens me to thee,
      and ever clings to the cross.

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