Matthew Henry (1662-1714), was a well known English minister, but he is most famous for his Commentary on the Whole Bible. However, he was also a man of prayer. And in the book, Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans (Robert Elmer, Editor) I came across one of his prayers which seems like an appropriate prayer for the uncertain world of today. For in this everchanging world of chaos and despair, there is only one who is everlasting and unchanging, and who brings hope and joy to the weary, and that is the one and only God, the Holy God of the Bible. Please take time to read and ponder this powerful prayer by Matthew Henry.
The Heavens Declare your Glory
“The Heavens declare your glory, O God, and the firmament shows your handiwork. And by the kings that are made, we clearly see and understand your eternal power and divine nature.
So anyone who says there is not God is a fool without excuse. Truly there is a reward for the righteous, and truly there is a God that judges on the earth, and in heaven too. We therefore come to you, believing that you are, and that you are the powerful and bountiful one.
Who is a God like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Who in the heavens can be compared to you?
O Lord of Hosts, who is a strong Lord like you? Among the gods there is none like you. O Lord. And there are no works like your works. For you are great, and do wonderous things. You are God alone. No creature has an arm like God, or can thunder with a voice like you.
You are God, not human. You do not have eyes of flesh and you do not see things as we do. Your days are not as our days.
As heaven is high above the earth, so are your thoughts above our thoughts, and your ways above our ways. All nations before you are like a drop in the bucket, or a speck of dust on the balance.
You are the King eternal, immortal, invisible. Before the mountains were brought forth, or you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God-the same yesterday, today, and forever.
From of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. The created things will perish, but you will endure. All of them will wear out like a garment, but you are the same, and your years will have no end.
You are God, and you do not change. Therefore we are not consumed. Are you not from everlasting, O Lord our God, our Holy One? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who does not faint of grow weary- there is no searching your understanding”. Amen
Resources
Robert Elmer, editor (2019) Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans.