This is part of the series,
“Prayers from John Bradford”.
Who was John Bradford?
"How Fair You Are!"—Adoration
“When the Roots of Our Lusts”—Confession
“What Shall I Say?”—Confession
“Open Our Eyes to See Our Great Need”—Illumination
“You Are Our Most True Pilot”—Illumination
“Who Has Revealed Yourself to Humanity”—Intercession
“You Use All Means Possible”—Intercession
“We Most Heartily Ask”—Intercession
“My Watcher and Keeper”—Intercession
"Whom our Savior Christ Approached”—Intercession
When the congregation of St. John’s Church in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, celebrated two hundred years of Presbyterian presence in their area, they returned to their roots and used prayers of the 16th C. English Reformer, John Bradford, in their worship. This is the prayer of adoration.
How fair you are!
The beauty of the sun, moon, stars, light, flowers, rivers, hills,
birds, animals, human beings, and all creatures—
indeed, the whole shape and form of the whole world
declares it.
How mighty you are!
We are taught this
by your creation of this world out of nothing
and by your governing of it.
We are shown this
by your punishing the mighty giants of wickedness
and by the overthrowing of their devices.
We are made aware of this
by your repressing the rages of the sea within her bounds,
by storms,
by tempests,
by fires:
these and such-like declare to us
your invisible, almighty, and terrifying power,
whereby you subdue all things.
Indeed, how might you are—
'how great thou art!’
How good you are!
All creatures generally and particularly teach us this.
What creature is there in the world that you’ve made for our benefit?
I will not say how you could have made us creatures
without sense or reason,
if you had wanted.
But among all things,
none teaches your great love towards us so well
as the death of your most dearly beloved Son,
who suffered the pains and terrors of death,
indeed, and of hell itself, for our sakes.
If your love had been a small love,
it would never have lasted so long,
nor would Christ have died.
Indeed, how good you are!
How rich you are!
This world, your great and infinite treasure-house,
declares it well.
What plenty is there, not only of things,
but also of every kind of thing.
How do you yearly and daily multiply these kinds!
How many seeds do you make of one seed;
what great increase do you bring out of it!
These cannot but cause us to remember the exceeding riches you have.
For if to your enemies which love you not,
you give so plentifully your riches here,
what shall we think but that
you have laid up riches for your friends!
Indeed, how rich you are!
—“A Meditation of God’s Power, Beauty, Goodness, etc.” in The Writings of John Bradford, Cambridge University Press, 1843, pp. 194–195. Public Domain. Language updated and adapted.
