A Christmas Prayer: Thank You for The Gift of All Gifts

Merry Christmas everyone!

The following Christmas prayer is  from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They testify to the richness and color of evangelical thought and language, as well as their devotion to the Savior. They can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennet. I have included them in this blog so that others can use them in their own prayer life as a springboard to a more faithful walk with Jesus. These prayers are 200-400 years old! They were written in old English, but that should not get in the way if you don’t let it.

Following Him together…

The Gift of Gifts

O Source of all Good,

What shall I render to You for the gift of gifts,
            Your own dear Son, begotten, not created,
            My Redeemer, Proxy, Surety, Substitute,
            His self-emptying incomprehensible,
            His infinity of love beyond the heart’s grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:
            He came below to raise me above,
            He was born like me that I might become like Him.

Herein is love;
           when I cannot rise to Him He draws near on wings of grace,
                      to raise me to Himself.

Herein is power;
           when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
           He united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
           when I was undone, with no will to return to Him,
                        and no intellect to devise recovery,
He came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
         as man to die my death,
         to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
         to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
         and enlarge my mind;
let me hear good tidings of great joy,
         and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
         my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
         my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father,

Place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,
        to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
        and in Him account myself delivered from sin;

Let me with Simeon clasp the new-born Child to my heart,
        embrace Him with undying faith,
        exulting that He is mine and I am His.

In Him You have given me so much that heaven can give no more.

Enjoy this Christmas Song by Sovereign Grace    

“The Son Of God Came Down”        

 



About Jim

Not For Itching Ears is a blog dedicated to discussing the American Evangelical church. It is a place for people to share their thoughts on a host of issues relating to this subject. Jim is available to speak at weekend services, and retreats at no cost to churches in Florida. Contact us for more information.

Posted on December 24, 2010, in Christianity, Prayer and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.

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