The Precious Blood

A prayer for Holy Week

If you have never read through the Puritan prayer book The Valley of Vision, I would encourage you to do so—even if you’re not so keen on Puritan theology or other such things. If you can step over the thees and thous you can find rich prayers in this book.

As we march through Holy Week toward the remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross, the despair of his body in the grave, and eternal significance of the resurrection, I wanted to share one of the prayers from The Valley of Vision with you.

This prayer is called “The Precious Blood.”

Blessed Lord Jesus,

Before thy cross I kneel and see
the heinousness of my sin,
my iniquity that caused thee to be
’made a curse’,
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.

Show me the enormity of my guilt by
the crown of thorns
the pierced hands and feet,
the bruised body,
the dying cries.

The blood is the blood of the incarnate God,
its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.

Infinite must be the evil and guilt
that demands such a price.

Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating my faculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
my chain that holds me captive in the
empire of my soul.

Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruits nourish me,
its creatures subserve my ends?

Yet thy compassions yearn over me,
thy heart hastens to my rescue,
thy love endured my curse,
thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.

Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths
of humiliation,
bathed in thy blood,
tender of conscience,
triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

I love that last portion there, especially, in which the writer recognizes that despite our sin we are given breath by the air, a place to walk by the earth, and nourishment from the fruit and creatures that live among us.

God provides for us even though we have rejected him. By his grace, by the precious blood of his Son, his compassions yearn over us, he hastens to rescue us, and he has enduring love for us—even as we run from him or outright reject him. God provides for and pursues us. What grace! A prodigal God, indeed.

This week, let’s remember all that the precious blood of Christ buys us, not only in eternity, but also in the present. The fresh spring air itself is a merciful reminder.