A Final Prayer from the Valley

--from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Lord God Almighty,

Holy is thy wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works.
How can I stand before thee
with my numberless and aggravated offences?

I have often loved darkness,
observed lying vanities,
forsaken thy given mercies,
trampled underfoot thy beloved Son,
mocked thy providences,
flattered thee with my lips,
broken thy covenant.

It is of thy compassion that I am not consumed.
Lead me to repentance, and save me from despair;
Let me come to thee renouncing, condemning,
loathing myself,
but hoping in the grace that flows
even to the chief of sinners.

At the cross may I contemplate the evil of sin,
and abhor it,
look on him whom I pierced,
as one slain for me, and by me. . . .

Thus may my soul rest in thee, O immortal
and transcendent one,
revealed as thou art in the Person and work
of thy Son,
the Friend of sinners.