Lord, help me to do great things
as though they were little,
since I do them with your power;
and little things
as though they were great,
since I do them in your name.
Source: Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
Source of this version: Our Daily Bread
Tag: 17th Century
I Have Sinned…
I, a poor sinful person,
confess to you, O almighty God,
my maker and redeemer,
that I have sinned,
not only with thoughts, words and actions,
but that I am by nature unclean,
conceived and born in sin,
and inclined to all evil.
I have not earned anything but your wrath,
and for this I am sorry with all my heart,
that I have provoked you,
O God, my Lord.
But I have access to your steadfast love,
O God, my heavenly Father.
I seek and desire your grace
for the sake of your dear Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, be merciful to me, a poor sinner.
Forgive my sins and give me your Holy Spirit,
that I may obey your divine will,
and in my station in life
produce much fruit to your glory.
Amen.
Source: Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda, p. 75
Original in German:
Ich armer sündiger Mensch bekenne vor Dir, o allmächtiger Gott meinem Schöpfer und Erlöser, daß ich gesündiget habe, nicht allein mit Gedanken, Worten und Werken, sondern daß ich auch von Natur unrein bin, in Sünden empfangen und geboren, zu allem Bösen geneigt, und nichts verdiene, denn eitel Zorn,– und ist mir von Herzen leid, daß ich Dich, o Gott, mein Herr, erzürnet habe. Ich habe aber Zuflucht zu Deiner grundlosen Barmherzigkeit, o Gott, mein himmlischer Vater; ich suche und begehre Gnade, um Deines lieben Sohnes, unsers Herrn Jesu Christi willen. Herr, sei mir armen Sünder gnädig; vergib mir meine Sünde, und gib mir Deinen heil Geist, daß ich Deinem göttlichen Willen gehorsam sei und in meinem Amte viel Frucht schaffe zu Deinen Ehren. Amen.
Evangelisches Brevier, herausg. von G. C. Dieffenbach und C. Müller, prayer 117.
“by nature unclean, conceived and born in sin, and inclined to all evil” is a reference to Psalm 51:5, Genesis 6:5 and Genesis 8:21
“Steadfast love” in the original is “grundlosen Barmherzigkeit,” (boundless mercy) but the wording was chosen to give a reference to Psalm 51:1
“Lord, be merciful to me, a poor sinner” is a reference to Luke 18:13
“produce much fruit” is a reference to John 15:8
O Lord, Hedge Up My Way
O Lord,
hedge up my way with thorns,
that I may find no path
for following vanity.
Hold me in
with bit and bridle,
lest I fall away from you.
O Lord, compel me
to come to you:
to bruise the serpent’s head,
to remember my life’s end,
to cut off opportunities for evil,
to be alert,
not to sit idle,
to shun what is evil,
to cling to what is good,
to look at no worthless things,
to bring my body into subjection,
to devote myself to prayer,
to search my heart with penitence.
Source: Adapted from Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626) for A Collection of Prayers from The devotions of Lancelot Andrewes (The Hedge of the Law).
Rule and Govern Our Hearts
O Lord God,
rule and govern our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit
that we may always be mindful of the end of all things
and the day of your last judgment,
and be stirred up to holiness of living here
and dwell with you forever hereafter;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Swedish Psalm Book, 1677, Historic Collect for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Source of this version: Translation © 2016 Paul C. Stratman
This translation is licensed by Paul C. Stratman under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for permission for any commercial use.
To You, O Jesus
To you, O Jesus, I direct my eyes;
to you my hands, to you my humble knees;
to you my heart shall offer sacrifice;
to you my thoughts, who my thoughts only sees;
to you myself–myself and all I give;
to you I die; to you I only live.
Source: Sir Walter Raleigh
Source of this version: Modified from Christus redemptor: the life, character, and teachings of … Jesus Christ … from various authors, p. 263
When Someone Dies in the Lord
Almighty God,
the spirits of those who die in the Lord live with you,
and the souls of the faithful,
after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh,
are in joy and bliss in your presence.
We give you humble thanks
that it has pleased you to deliver this our brother
out of the miseries of this sinful world.
We pray, in your goodness
fill up the number of your chosen ones and hasten your kingdom,
that with all those who have departed in the true faith of your holy name
we also may have our perfect fulfillment and bliss,
both in body and soul,
in your eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Freely modified from The Book of Common Prayer (1662), Burial of the Dead
prayer for the dead in middle ages
prayers for the dead
Table Graces by Matthew Henry
An address to God before a meal.
O Lord our God, in you we live and move and have our being and from you we receive all the supports and comforts of our being. You spread our table and fill our cup and comfort us with the gifts of your goodness from day to day. We depend on you and owe everything to you. Pardon our sins, sanctify the good things you have created for our use, and give us grace to receive them soberly and thankfully, and to eat and drink not to ourselves, but to your glory; through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Savior. Amen.
Another.
Gracious God, you are the protector and preserver of the whole creation. You have fed us all our lives to this day with food convenient for us, even though we are evil and unthankful. Forgive all our sins by which we have forfeited all your mercies, and let us see our forfeited right restored in Christ Jesus. Give us a taste of your unfailing love in everyday mercies and to use these and all our creature comforts to the glory of our great Benefactor; through the grace of our great Redeemer. Amen.
An address to God after a meal.
Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with his benefits and gives us all things richly to enjoy, though we serve him but poorly. O Lord, we thank you for present refreshments in the use of the good things you have created, and for your love to our souls in Jesus Christ, which sweetens all things. Pardon our sins, continue to do us good, provide for the poor that are destitute of daily food, fit us for your whole will, and be our God and guide and portion forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Another.
We thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for all the gifts both of your providence and of your grace; for those blessings which relate to the life we now have, and of the life to come, and for the use of the good things you have created at this time. Make complete, O God, all that we need. Nourish our souls with the bread of life to life eternal, and let us be those who will eat bread in the kingdom of our Father; for Christ Jesus’ sake, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Source: Modified from Miscellaneous Writings of Matthew Henry, (Wikipedia: Matthew Henry, d. 1714)
Awaken Our Hearts and Souls
Lord Jesus Christ,
our Strength, our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer,
our God and Lord in whom we trust,
we thank and praise you from our hearts
that you have awakened us from sleep in health and comfort.
Awaken also our inmost hearts and souls,
that today and throughout the coming week
we may serve you obediently,
and faithfully perform the duties of our callings,
and awaken at last one day with joy to the life eternal.
Amen.
Source: Bonifacius Stöltzlin, 1603-1677
Source of this version: Modified from Prayers from the collection of the late baron Bunsen, selected [from Versuch eines allgemeinen evangelischen Gesang – und Gebetbuchs] and tr. by C. Winkworth, 1871, p. 72
A Communion Prayer
Lord, am not worthy
that you should come under the roof of my soul,
nor do you have in me fitting place to lay your head.
But, as you humbled yourself to lie in a manger,
as you did not reject the thief on the cross confessing you,
so let me, too, a wretched, and excessive sinner,
partake of the immaculate, supernatural,
lifegiving, and saving mysteries
of your all-holy body
and your precious blood.
Source: Lancelot Andrewes
Source of this version: Modified from A Book of Prayers: Together with Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Ancient and Modern, Ed. Charles Leffingwell, Morehouse Publishing Company, 1921, p. 130 #1
Jesus, Sweet Jesus
Who is like you, Jesus, sweet Jesus?
You are the light of those who are spiritually lost.
You are the life of those who are spiritually dead.
You are the liberation of those who are imprisoned by guilt.
You are the glory of those who hate themselves.
You are the guardian of those who are paralyzed by fear.
You are the guide of those who are bewildered by falsehood.
You are the peace of those who are in turmoil.
You are the prince of those who yearn to be led.
You are the priest of those who seek the truth.
Source: Johann Freylinghausen
Source of this version: http://bentonfbc.org/?p=10240
Variant:
Who is like you, Jesus, beautiful Jesus?
You are the light of those who are lost.
You are the life of those who are dead.
You are freedom for those imprisoned by guilt.
You are the glory of those who hate themselves.
You are the guardian of those paralysed by fear.
You are the guide of those bewildered by falsehood.
You are the peace of those in turmoil.
You are the prince of those who yearn to be led.
You are the priest of those who seek the truth.
http://justprayer.org/who-is-like-you-jesus-johann-freylinghausen/
A Collection of Prayers 