Sunday Morning Prayer – August 14, 2016

Saviour of the world, open thou our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law. The law of the Lord is perfect: do thou perfect us in pureness that we may read thy book with wise and understanding minds. Help us also to begin at Moses and all the prophets, and to read in all the Scriptures the things concerning Christ. We bless thee for thy book; it is a fountain full of water, it is a sun pouring down the morning and the noontide upon our way of life; it is a shield and buckler, a great sword and a mighty defense, it is bread and water; it is like its Lord, it is all things, bright, beautiful, good, and tender. Enable us to walk right through this whole paradise of revelation; may we notice everything, may nothing escape the attention of our love.  Thus shall we know thy book to be like thyself, O Christ, and we shall say concerning thy book, Its name is Wonderful. We thank thee for what it has done for us; thy book has directed our way, comforted us in our sorrow, upheld us when our poor strength was giving way; it has been full of promises and songs to us in the time of dejection and in the night of great fear. May we see in this land and in all the lands a revived interest in God’s own book; may we all gather around it as around the only book worth reading, because it contains the revelation of God, the music which souls need, and because in it and round about it and above it there shines a wondrous mystery of mercy and love, of sacrifice and redemption. We bless thee for all thou hast given unto us; now wilt thou crown all thy gifts by opening our understanding that we may understand the Scripture. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly; may we so know thy word that none can impose upon us by offering us another; may we know thy music, thou Son of God, so well that we shall rise in instant indignation against any one who shall offer to defraud us or impose upon us. Grant unto us the great mind, the penetrating judgment, the responsive heart, which thou hast promised to those who are like little children. Make us little children in simplicity and in love, in self-distrust and in all pureness of mind; then shall thy book be above us as the sun is above the earth, yet not too far away from the little earth to be able to warm it and gladden it, and make it bright with summer. The Lord hear us in every prayer that is breathed at the Saviour’s Cross, and cleansed by the Saviour’s blood.  Amen.