It is the vile monster!

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(Henry Law, "Family Prayers")

God Almighty, holy Father,

We beseech You to deepen in our hearts--the abhorrence of all evil.

May we hate sin with perfect hatred. It is the vile monster which . . .

  defies Your power,

  casts off Your yoke,

  treads down Your lovely law,

  defiles our nature,

  spreads misery throughout this earth,

  brought death into the world, and

  nailed the spotless Lamb of God to the accursed tree!

Teach us to look to Jesus on the cross--and so to estimate our sin's loathsome guilt in Your sight.

There could be no pardon of our sin--but through Your dear Son's death!

No cleansing could wash out our sin's filth--but Jesus' precious blood!

No atonement could expiate the evil of our sin--but the shame, the agony, the bruises of the incarnate God!

We see the boundless price--may we read therein our boundless guilt!

In the infinite payment--show us our infinite debt!

Thus may we . . .

  discern the deadly viper in its real malignity,

  and tear it with holy indignation from our hearts,

  and resolutely turn from its every snare,

  and refuse to hold polluting dalliance with it!

"Oh! What a wretched man I am!" Romans 7:24

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