A Prayer at Mid-Day for Revival
“Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute, and his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my congessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.
I need to repent of my repentance;
I need my tears to be washed;
I have no robe to bring to cover my sins,
. no loom to weave my own righteousness;
I am always standing clothed in filthy garments,
. and by [Your] grace am always receiving change of raiment,
. for thou dost always justify the ungodly;
I am always going into the far country,
. and always returning home as a prodigal,
. always saying , Father, forgive me,
. and thou art always bringing forth the best robe.Every moring let me wear it,
. every evening return in it,
. go out to the day’s work in it,
. be married in it,
. be wound in death in it,
. stand before the great white throne in it,
. enter heaven in it shining as the sun.Grant me never to lose sight of
. the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
. the exceeding righteousness of salvation,
. the exceeding glory of Christ,
. the exceeding beauty of holiness,
. the exceeding wonder of grace.“Continual Repentance”
p. 136-137
in the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.
