"The Awakened Sinner"

O My Forgetful Soul,
Awake from thy wandering dream;
    turn from chasing vanities,
    look inward, forward, upward,
    view thyself,
    reflect upon thyself,
        who and what thou art, why here,
        what thou must soon be.
Thou art a creature of God,
    formed and furnished by him,
    lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent;
    Dost thou not desire to know God’s ways?

O God,
Thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor
    when I think upon thy greatness and thy goodness
        I am ashamed at my insensibility,
        I blush to lift up my face,
        for I have foolishly erred.
Shall I go on neglecting thee,
    when every one of thy rational creatures should love thee,
    and take every care to please thee?
I confess that thou hast not been in all my thoughts,
            that the knowledge of thyself as the end of my being has been strangely overlooked,
            that I have never seriously considered my heart-need.
But although my mind is perplexed and divided, my nature perverse,
    yet my secret dispositions still desire thee.
Let me not delay to come to thee;
Break the fatal enchantments that binds my evil affections,
    and bring me to a happy mind that rests in thee,
    for thou has made me and canst not forget me.
Let thy Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,
    for I am slow to learn;
And hear thou my broken cries.


-Puritan prayer, The Valley of Vision

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