A Prayer from Ligon Duncan

In line with Packer's prayer on God's attributes and the gospel, Ligon Duncan offered this prayer at church on Sunday:

O Lord – Living, True and Triune God,
We love you more than the world.
We need you more than life.
We are not here today as a diversion,
or to go through the motions,
we are here in the midst of a dread battle,
because we need to be together with one another
with the Captain of our salvation, more than we need food.

We are here because of your grace,
Otherwise we would be somewhere else destroying our own lives.

We are here not because we are good, or because we are better than others;

rather we are here because
you found a way to justify the unjust justly;

we are here because
in your love you gave your Son to bear death’s agony for us;

we are here because
in your justice you made your Son, as our substitute, to suffer the sentence that our disobedience deserved;

we are here because
with your power you have bought us back from sin, selfishness and Satan,
and united us to the risen Christ,
renewed our hearts,
freed us from sin’s bondage,
and moved us to repent and believe;

we are here because
in your faithfulness you have kept us from falling, as you promised to do, until you bring us safe home, triumphantly to our final glory, and yours.

This is all of your doing, all of your grace, and so all to your glory.

Because of this, we want men and women and boys and girls
from every tribe, language, people, and nation to know, love, and worship you.
Do this thing, O Lord.

Lord God, draw near to us then, now.
Hear our prayers. Receive our praise. Open and draw our hearts.
Speak Lord, your servants listen – and we hang on your every word.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Attributes of God and the Glory of the Gospel

(from Justin Taylor's blog at:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/02/attributes-of-god-and-glory-of-gospel.html)

I (JT) can't resist reproducing one more quote from Packer's Praying the Lord's Prayer. It's vintage Packer -- Pauline in both its length and theology:

By wisdom God found a way to justify the unjust justly;
in love he gave his Son to bear death's agony for us;
in justice he made the Son, as our substitute, suffer the sentence that our disobedience deserved;
with power he unites us to the risen Christ, renews our hearts, frees us from sin's bondage, and moves us to repent and believe;
and in faithfulness he keeps us from falling, as he promised to do, till he brings us triumphantly to our final glory. (page 43)

From A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God:

O God, I have tasted Your goodness,

and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more.

I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace.

I am ashamed of my lack of desire.

O God, the Triune God,I want to want You;

I long to be filled with longing;

I thirst to be made more thirsty still.

Show me Your glory, I pray,

so I may know You indeed.

Begin in mercy a new work of love within me…

Give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland

where I have wandered so long.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

None But Jesus

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored --

When You call, I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose --

There is no one else for me!
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free --
Now I live to bring Him praise.

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You, Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You, Lord --
Forevermore.

(Hillsong)