George Herbert: Piercing Heaven – Puritan’s Prayers

Almighty and ever-living Lord God: majesty, power, brightness, and glory!

How will we dare to appear before your face, we who are contrary to you? For we are darkness, weakness, filthiness, and shame. Yet you are our Creator, and we your work. Your hands made us. You placed us in paradise—until we sold our glorious, gracious God for an apple.

Brand it on our foreheads forever: For an apple we once lost our God, and still we lose him for nothing more. For money. For food.

But you, Lord, are patience and pity. Sweetness and love. Therefore we are not consumed. You have exalted your mercy above all things. You have made our salvation our glory, not our punishment.

Where sin abounded, grace super-abounded—not death. When we had sinned beyond any help in heaven or earth, you said, “See, I come!”

The Lord of life took flesh. He wept; he died. For his enemies he died, even for those that derided him then, and still despise him.

Blessed Savior! Many waters could not quench your love! No pit could overwhelm it. Though the streams of your blood carried through darkness, grave, and hell, yet you rose triumphant, and so made us victorious.

But your love does not stay here. For you have committed the word of your rich peace and reconciliation not to thunder or angels, but to weak and sinful people.

Amen.