July 8, 2010

  • O That the Lord Would Guide My/Our Ways (Isaac Watts)

    In last Sunday's worship, we sang Isaac Watts' "O That the Lord Would Guide My Ways." I thought the hymn was a wonderful prayer that fit beautifully with my current posts on Nehemiah, where the people are in distress over their sin, they have confessed and repented of it, but then rather than relying on Christ wholly, they forget the covenant He has made with them and they make promises they can never fulfill apart from His power.

    I've adapted Watts' hymn into first person plural from first person singular (yes, with that some of the rhyming was lost ), as I have also adapted the Bible verses below into first person plural, so we might pray those verses and the hymn together corporately today.

    May our Lord keep us ever mindful of our dependence on Him from first to last, for He is the author and finisher of our faith, and without Him we can do nothing...

    * * *

    Lord God, we could do nothing to come to You in the first place, and we can do nothing to remain in You. Our salvation is all of You, to the praise of Your glorious grace alone. The works we do are all of You, all from You, all through You, all to Your praise, honor and glory alone.

    I Corinthians 1:30  He is the source of our life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31  Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

    Lord God, our boast is in You alone. You are the source of our life. We are dead apart from You.
    Any good we have done and can ever do is all of You.
    For of You, and through You, and to You, are all things: to You be glory for ever. Amen.
    Praise be to You, O loving Father, for Your glorious grace freely poured out on us through Your Son & Spirit!
    We confess we are prone to wander. Hedge us in, guide our ways to keep Your statutes.
    Continue to be gracious to us, for Jesus' sake, pour out upon us grace upon grace.
    Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

    Philippians 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as we have always obeyed, so now, may we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, 13   for it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

    Lord God, our boast is in You alone. You work in us to will and to work of Your good pleasure.
    Any good we have done and can ever do is all of You.
    For of You, and through You, and to You, are all things: to You be glory for ever. Amen.
    Praise be to You, O loving Father, for Your glorious grace freely poured out on us through Your Son & Spirit!
    We confess we are prone to wander. Hedge us in, guide our ways to keep Your statutes.
    Continue to be gracious to us, for Jesus' sake, pour out upon us grace upon grace.
    Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

    II Thessalonians 2:11  To this end we always pray for one another and ourselves, that our God may make us worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, 12  so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in each of us, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Lord God, our boast is in You alone. You fulfill in us every resolve for good by Your power.
    Any good we have done and can ever do is all of You.
    For of You, and through You, and to You, are all things: to You be glory for ever. Amen.
    Praise be to You, O loving Father, for Your glorious grace freely poured out on us through Your Son & Spirit!
    We confess we are prone to wander. Hedge us in, guide our ways to keep Your statutes.
    Continue to be gracious to us, for Jesus' sake, pour out upon us grace upon grace.
    Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

    Hebrews 13:20  Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21  equip each of us with everything good that we may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

    Lord God, our boast is in You alone. You equip us with everything good to do Your will.
    Any good we have done and can ever do is all of You.
    For of You, and through You, and to You, are all things: to You be glory for ever. Amen.
    Praise be to You, O loving Father, for Your glorious grace freely poured out on us through Your Son & Spirit!
    We confess we are prone to wander. Hedge us in, guide our ways to keep Your statutes.
    Continue to be gracious to us, for Jesus' sake, pour out upon us grace upon grace.
    Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

    I Corinthians 15:10  But by the grace of God we are what we are, and His grace toward us was not in vain. On the contrary, we worked harder than any of them (and let us continue to work harder), though it was not we, but the grace of God that is with us.

    Lord God, our boast is in You alone. We work but it is Your grace that works in us.
    Any good we have done and can ever do is all of You.
    For of You, and through You, and to You, are all things: to You be glory for ever. Amen.
    Praise be to You, O loving Father, for Your glorious grace freely poured out on us through Your Son & Spirit!
    We confess we are prone to wander. Hedge us in, guide our ways to keep Your statutes.
    Continue to be gracious to us, for Jesus' sake, pour out upon us grace upon grace.
    Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
    "O That the Lord Would Guide My Ways"

    (by Isaac Watts, 1719, adapted)
    Psalm 119:5

    O that the Lord would guide our ways
    To keep His statutes still!
    O that our God would grant us grace
    To know and do His will!

    O send Thy Spirit down to write
    Thy law upon our hearts!
    Nor let our tongue indulge deceit,
    Nor act the liar’s part.

    From vanity turn off our eyes;
    Let no corrupt design,
    Nor covetous desires, arise
    Within these soul of ours.

    Order our footsteps by Thy Word,
    And make our hearts sincere;
    Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
    But keep our consciences clear.

    Our souls hath gone too far astray,
    Our feet too often slip;
    Yet since we've not forgot Thy way,
    Restore Thy wand’ring sheep.

    Make us to walk in Thy commands,
    ’Tis a delightful road;
    Nor let our heads, or hearts, or hands,
    Offend against our God.


    Please add your PRAYERS below as the Holy Spirit leads...


Comments (1)

  • My Father,  Thank You first of all that You have made a way for me to be able to approach Your Holiness.  Unless Your Son had fulfilled all that was decreed before the foundation of the earth on our behalf, I would not even dare to look up.

    Thank you for this song and the gift you gave Isaac Watts to write such beautiful praises and prayers in song.

    "Our feet too often slip"  Yes too often, and too quickly.  In a trice we slip.  How pathetic, how pitiful!  Yet You come just as quickly to restore us.  Though it is painful to acknowledge my sin, I love You.  I love You for coming to my aid even though the fault is all my own.  You restore me and set me back in the fold...How I want never to fall again!  By Your grace in giving me Your Holy Spirit the day will come when I shall be like Your Son for I will see Him as He is.  I am Yours forever.

    Amen.

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