The Chiefest Joy - Prayers of Our Predecessors (May 24)
The Prayer:
God's love has been poured into our hearts. - Romans 5:5 (ESV)
Living and loving God, our Father and our Friend, You have in Your wisdom created all things; for Your pleasure they are and were created. To know You is life; to serve you is freedom; to praise You is our chiefest joy. As You have created us in Your own image, so in the light of this new day of opportunity and duty, re-created us in the likeness of Him Who is the unchanging Light of life, and the unfailing source of strength and comfort. Help us in childlike faith anew to accept Him, and to faithfully follow in His steps. In Him may our sins be forgiven, our affections purified, our wills controlled, and our labors blessed.
Sanctify by the indwelling of Your Spirit our worship in the home and in teh church, hallow our holy relationships, make useful and joyful our lives, for the sake of Him Who has taught us to pray saying:
"Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. They Kingdom come. They will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever."* Amen.
W.H Wray Boyle, D.D. - Detroit, Michigan (Modernized)
* KJV of the Lord's Prayer kept from the original and non-modernized.
* KJV of the Lord's Prayer kept from the original and non-modernized.
The Author:
W.H. Wray Boyle was a Presbyterian Minister. Boyle pastored at some historic churches. One of those churches is Central Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado. But he was also the pastor for a season at Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit, Michigan. Woodward Avenue (abandoned for some time) is referred to by locals as St. Curvy. This is due to the unique architecture within the castle-like building. The balcony is curved in a very artistic way. More on the church, it's current state, unique architecture and a mention of Rev. Boyle's time there here. Boyle also wrote a book that examined the Lord's Prayer entitled The Lord's Prayer: An Interpretation. The Lord's Prayer seemed to be central to his ministry as he quotes it in his own prayer above. For my thoughts on The Lord's Prayer I would direct you to this article.  |
| Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church |
Thoughts:
The words "To know You is life; to serve you is freedom; to praise You is our chiefest joy". I could, perhaps, write a whole sermon on that one line. "To know You is life" makes me think of the quote of Augustine from his Confessions, "You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." It also evokes Paul's words from Colossians 3:4 which references that Christ is "our life". Christ isn't just tangential, He is the very essence of our lives. That is why to serve Him is freedom because when we serve Him, we are most aligned with what He made us to be. That last line is clearly a wry wink at the first answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." Piper points out that we often focus on the "glory" part and rarely on the "enjoy" part. He's right. But Boyle didn't miss it. In a culture that is hungering and thirsting for true joy, Boyle prays that we will find it where we are meant to. That we would find the uttermost of joys. In Christ alone.
Interestingly, it was during Boyles tenure at Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church that he penned this prayer. In light of God's glory, the architecture of the building is so magnificent that at one point, a neighboring IT company bought the church in foreclosure and set about to renovate it. A new roof was added, but construction was stalled as the IT company ran afoul of the local authorities. Still, in an age that is so anti-church, there is a transcendent beauty that draws a sense of value from even non-religious and points back to our chiefest joy.
The words "To know You is life; to serve you is freedom; to praise You is our chiefest joy". I could, perhaps, write a whole sermon on that one line. "To know You is life" makes me think of the quote of Augustine from his Confessions, "You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." It also evokes Paul's words from Colossians 3:4 which references that Christ is "our life". Christ isn't just tangential, He is the very essence of our lives. That is why to serve Him is freedom because when we serve Him, we are most aligned with what He made us to be. That last line is clearly a wry wink at the first answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." Piper points out that we often focus on the "glory" part and rarely on the "enjoy" part. He's right. But Boyle didn't miss it. In a culture that is hungering and thirsting for true joy, Boyle prays that we will find it where we are meant to. That we would find the uttermost of joys. In Christ alone.
Interestingly, it was during Boyles tenure at Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church that he penned this prayer. In light of God's glory, the architecture of the building is so magnificent that at one point, a neighboring IT company bought the church in foreclosure and set about to renovate it. A new roof was added, but construction was stalled as the IT company ran afoul of the local authorities. Still, in an age that is so anti-church, there is a transcendent beauty that draws a sense of value from even non-religious and points back to our chiefest joy.
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