The Precious Blood
Sometimes it is the prayer of an old saint that we need… especially at Easter. Soak in this prayer from 'The Valley of Vision. A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions’. Note the infinite worth of Christ’s blood which overcomes the monster of my sin. Note that Christ’s 'compassions yearn over me’:
Blessed Lord Jesus,
Before thy cross I kneel and see
the heinousness of my sin,
my iniquity that caused thee to be ‘made a curse’,
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.
Show me the enormity of my guilt by
the crown of thorns,
the pierced hands and feet,
the bruised body,
the dying cries.
Thy blood is the blood of incarnate God,
its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.
Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a price.
Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating my faculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
my chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.
Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruits nourish me,
its creatures subserve my ends?
Yet thy compassions yearn over me,
thy heart hastens to my rescue,
they love endured my curse,
thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.
Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation,
bathed in they blood,
tender of conscience,
trumping gloriously as an heir of salvation.
Grace and peace,
Mark
PS: here is a link to a song based on this prayer.