Sometimes, I'm at a loss for words and even thoughts, especially about such profound mysteries as the Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It's at these moments that I have found great friends and mentors in the Puritan writers of old. So many times I have turned to my copy of the The Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions) and found refreshment for my soul. Here is just such a prayer for today (Good Friday) entitled, "Calvary's Anthem."
Heavenly Father,
You have led me singing to the cross
where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish,
where my mountains of guilt are levelled to a plain,
where my sins disappear, though they are the greatest that exist,
and are more in number than the grains of fine sand;
For there is power in the blood of Calvary
to destroy sins more than can be counted
even by one from the choir of heaven.
You have given me a hill-side spring
that washes clear and white,
and I go as a sinner to its waters,
bathing without hindrance in its crystal streams.
At the cross there is free forgiveness for poor and meek ones,
and ample blessings that last forever;
The blood of the Lamb is like a great river of infinite grace
with never any diminishing of its fullness
as thirsty ones without number drink of it.
O Lord, forever will Your free forgiveness live
that was gained on the mount of blood;
in the midst of a world of pain
it is a subject for praise in every place,
a song on earth, an anthem in heaven,
its love and virtue knowing no end.
I have a longing for the world above
where multitudes sing the great song,
for my soul was never created to love the dust of earth.
Though here my spiritual state is frail and poor,
I shall go on singing Calvary's anthem.
May I always know that a clean heart full of goodness
is more beautiful than the lily,
that only a clean heart can sing by night and by day,
that such a heart is mine when I abide at Calvary.