2015 Lenten Prayers (collected)

O God resplendent, my poor prayer attend,

I ask this gift from Thee for kith and kin,

Do grant, Thou Blessed One, Holy and True,
More knowledge of Thee forever and amen.

Good Lord I ask that You bright zeal renew,

Within the men of pulpit and of pew,

In doctrine sound and piety make known,

Thy Light: the Good, the Beautiful, and True.

O Lord my God by pow'r your hand has shown,

How to kill, how to raise, how to make grown,

I ask that on Your children such pow'r last,

Till all the wicked from this orb be thrown. 

Cause us O Lord to remember the past,

Counting Thy mercies and holding them fast,

Spare us the vengeance we justly deserve,

Lest from Your presence this people be cast.

Lord fill Thy people with a will to serve,

Seal up all their heart wounds and steel their nerve,

Against fear or foe, against wrack and woe,

Thy name to proclaim; Thy name to preserve.

Train us, Lord of Hosts, to fend off the foe,

Vain weltering hordes in fiery glow,

If to be wracked, to be hacked, is our lot,

May our martyr-blood Thy long-suff'ring show.

Wheat and tares, O Lord, are tied as a knot,

Twined together till the end is their lot,

Grow us all, Lord God, to fullness of fruit,

That all Thy grace and judgment shall be brought.

'Gainst the Accuser, vainglorious brute,

Us strengthen, confirm, us fashion and suit,

Great Father bring forth Thy armies of light,

Our vanguard to ward off arrows he shoots.

Thy flesh and Thy blood be our full delight,

Against all evils of encroaching night,

Thy Body in rev'rent postures repose,

To quench all its thirsts and quell all its fright.

Let me dwell in the day that Christ arose,

As Thy Spirit's bond within my soul grows,

Knitted tighter through tribulation's work,

That all Thy strength to me, outwardly shows.

Let our praise of Thee, Lord, be a bulwark,

Thy great commission, O let not us shirk,

As ebbing time waxes to its fullness,

Let the flow of nations fill up Thy Kirk.

Almighty God pierce through present darkness,

All wayward sons bring under Thy harness,

Heal the wounds caused by our cursèd mouthings,

Speak Words of Life to vivify deadness.

Forget O Lord our incessant cursing,

For the sake of Your Son, His life coursing;

Covering, removing, destroying sin,

Draw us o'er the impassible crossing.

In this broken realm of sin-woe and din,

Where self-righteous cov'rings are ripped open,

None can say, "All may look to me for peace,"

Thy broken body and blood cry out then!

O Lamb who covers in Thy spotless fleece,

Cause all the world's self-righteousness to cease,

'Neath the wave of immaculate glory,

Poured forth from Thy everlasting increase.

Although 'tis known, the end of this story,

Labors and losses cause us to worry,

Cause us grief, pain, and a creeping despair,

O Lord gird us against dismal flurry!

Radiant light streaming from Thy face so fair,

Beckons praise from my poor lips without spare,

Tune my lips, O Lord, yea, moreso my heart,

That this praising of you be done with care.

Let both soul and body be set apart,

Until that day when the soul does depart,

Pure and holy, chastened until chaste be,

That Thee in me inhabit ev'ry part.

O God-Incarnate bind Thyself to me,

Grafted in Thy Body by Thy decree,

You have chosen and in my choosing I,

Reveal to the world Thy grace and mercy.

From Thy light the darkest evil does fly,

By Thy power the staunchest foes comply,

By Thy love an enemy is turned friend,

The once dead, now living, learn how to die.

Into the broken world Thy people send,

Into winds of a storm to brace and bend,

Rooted in Thy Love we cannot be torn,

From Thee, no enemy power can rend.

When all sin Thou hast from us stripped and shorn,

And Light of Thy countenance shines as morn,

Then shall speaking and doing blossom full,

And praises sing out as blast of bright horn.

From among all the nations Your people cull,

The hearts of kings and kingdoms push and pull,

Until the fullness of time and age swell,

And all Your enemies' schemes are made null.

Let us in Thy dear presence always dwell,

That our hearts and our minds be always well,

Our desires be overflowing in Thee,

Our confidence growing, all fears to quell.

When eyes have not the strength by which to see,

Let our blindness become humility,

Guard, guide, wake, walk, overshadow with Thy wing,

To lead us, take us, into Thy glory.

May lisping tongues ever, professions, sing,

May meek off'rings ever, confessors, bring,

Unto this God-Man, Christ Jesus, the Lord,

Our savior, our brother, our conq'ring king.

Smitten by pestilence, famine, and sword,

Sundered as by fire, consumed by discord,

Wrenching and blenching, upturning our face,

To One in whom all are made one accord.

Slanderers and thieves do mock our disgrace,

Condemning our worship, sacking our space,

Loose our chains and bind our enemy's hand,

That Thy name may resound from place to place.

Number Thy people as You number sand,

Raise up Thy armies as a glorious band,

Stave off Thy wrath till the timing is sure,

Then set loose vengeance; by trumpet command.

Under curse, the world desires a cure,

From the filth of death to be remade pure,

When the Light, breaking through darkness, gleaming,

Transforming men's souls by Beauty's allure.

The Stars of heaven shall fall down streaming,

As their wails of anguish cry out, screaming,

Fell demons fallen into molten flame,

Christ's Holy Light in all-brightness beaming.

All men of the world took share in the blame,

But only One Man could bear all the shame,

Dying and living once more by His pow'r,

That all might worship on hearing His Name.

Our Fallen Lord at the desperate hour,

Left once fair faces of his people dour,

Then despair did grip fallen hearts of men,

And Satan cast a victory glower.

Crushed within by the weight of human sin,

Spat upon, ridiculed by raucous din,

Christ received our shame, becoming a curse,

That in His death, life should arise again.

Sold off by the one who carried the purse,

His life for the world, did life reimburse,

The cost was His glory; glory His gain;

Paradox refrain, every note and verse.

The creation groans with great cries of pain,

The howling din sounds dissonant refrain,

The music of life languishes deformed,

'Til resounding of harmony again.

Through a flood of blood creation reformed,

Blossomed in new life willingly conformed,

Into express image of Heaven's Son,

When graves cracked open and the heavens stormed.

I struggle, O God, though Your Deed is done,

Your conquest oft seems unmade and undone,

And in me a filth lingers like the dark,

Of a world groaning in birth pangs begun.

Nearest to the heart Thou settest Thy mark,

Oe'r seas of death in Your bosom, our bark,

No sting, no pow'r oe'r, hath evil a claim,

Thy dawning light hath swallowéd the dark.

Let all the world call upon Thy strong name,

Let sinners come and be cleansed of their shame,

Tears of joy replace the tears of mourning,

Songs of praise ring to pronounce Thy great fame!

The night of death You broke into morning,

Satan's mockery became his scorning,

The angels rejoicing, held high their hands,

Shouting praises to Thy name, adorning.

As storms roll in heaps of threatening bands,

Gloomy darkness spreads out over the lands,

An aching wonder and the awe of dread,

No one beside Him as yet understands.

O lift up, Thou sacred, Thou wounded head!

Thou are drooping low, hung down as though dead,

Alas! Thy spirit departs with Thy breath,

All of Thy sheep have scatteréd and fled.

The heavens darken before the Christ's death,

The earth breaks open revealing its breadth,

The veil that separates dead and living,

Tears apart as Christ's pow'r extends its depth.

The death that holds Thee gives us misgiving,

We cannot see all that You are giving,

Our faces fall with the light of the sun,

Hoping that God will still be forgiving.

Heads bowed now rise to kiss the Risen Son,

His resurrection work accomplished, won,

Do grant, Thou Blessed One, Holy and True,

Resurrection pow'r 'til our work is done.