RECONCILIATION

Lord God Almighty

hou art beforehand with men
for thou hast reconciled thyself to the world
through the cross,
and dost beseech men to accept reconciliation.
It is my responsibility to grasp thy overtures of grace,
for if thou, the offended part, act first
with the word of appeasement,
I need not call in question thy willingness to save,
but must deplore my own foolish maliciousness;
If I do not come to thee as one who seeks thy favour,
I live in contempt, anger malice, self-sufficiency,
and thou dost call it enmity.
Thou hast taught me the necessity of a Mediator,
a Messiah,
to be embraced in love with all my heart,
as king to rule me,span>
as prophet to guide me,
as priest to take away my sin and death,
and this by faith in thy beloved Son
who teaches me,
not to guide myself,
not to obey myself,
not to try to rule and conquer sin,
but to cleave to the one who will do it all for me.
Thou hast made known to me
that to save me is Christ’s work,
but to cleave to him by faith is my work,
and with this faith is the necessity of my
daily repentance
as a mourning for the sin which Christ
by grace has removed.
Continue, O God, to teach me
that faith apprehends Christ’s righteousness
not only for the satisfaction of justice,
but as unspotted evidence of thy love to me.
Help me to make use of his work of salvation as
the ground of peace,
and of thy favour to, and acceptance of me
the sinner,
so that I may live always near the cross.

—from The Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett, editor (Banner of Truth Trust, 2002).

salme 124 (Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees, or Psalme of David.

1 If the Lord had not bene on our side, (may Israel now say)
2 If the Lord had not bene on our side, when men rose vp against vs,
3 They had then swallowed vs vp quicke, when their wrath was kindled against vs.
4 Then the waters had drowned vs, and the streame had gone ouer our soule:
5 Then had the swelling waters gone ouer our soule.
6 Praysed be the Lord, which hath not giuen vs as a praye vnto their teeth.
7 Our soule is escaped, euen as a bird out of the snare of the foulers: the snare is broken, and we are deliuered.
8 Our helpe is in the Name of the Lord, which hath made heauen and earth.

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