The throne of grace

"He's seated now at God's right hand; Waiting 'til He shall come again.
"He's interceding for us there, And helps us with our feeble prayer." -- R. L. Vaughn, 1993 (stanza 5 of "Jesus is Alive")

The throne of grace – Heb 4:16

"Lest the glow and brilliance of the word 'throne' should not be too much for mortal vision, our text now presents us with the soft, gentle radiance of that delightful word – 'GRACE'...If in prayer I come before a throne of grace, then the faults of my prayer will be overlooked. In beginning to pray, dear friends, you feel as if you did not pray. The groanings of your spirit when you rise from your knees are such that you think there is nothing in them. What a blotted, blurred, smeared prayer it is. Never mind; you have not come to the throne of justice, else, when God perceived the fault in the prayer He would spurn it, --your broken words, your gaspings, and your stammerings are before a throne of grace. When any one of us has presented his best prayer before God, if he saw it as God sees it, there is no doubt he would make great lamentation over it; for there is enough sin in the best prayer that has ever been prayed to secure its being cast away from God. But it is not a throne of justice I say again, and here is the hope of our lame limping supplications. Our condescending King does not maintain a stately etiquette in His court like that which has been observed by princes among men, where a little mistake or a flaw would secure the petitioner's being dismissed with disgrace. Oh, no, the faulty cries of His children are not severely criticized by Him. The Lord High Chamberlain of the palace above, our Lord Jesus Christ, takes care to alter and amend every prayer before He presents it, and He makes the prayer perfect with His perfection, and prevalent with His own merits. God looks upon the prayer as presented through Christ and forgives all its own inherent faultiness. How this ought to encourage any of us who feel ourselves to be feeble, wandering, and unskillful in prayer. If you cannot plead with God as sometimes you did in years gone by, if you feel as if somehow or other you had grown rusty in the work of supplication, never give up, but come still, yes and come oftener, for it is not a throne of severe criticism, but to a throne of grace you come." -- Excerpt from the sermon "The Throne of Grace", by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (reprinted Sept. 2006 by Bath Road Baptist Church, Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

1. Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.

2. Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much.

3. With my burden I begin:
Lord, remove this load of sin;
Let Thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt.

4. Lord, I come to Thee for rest,
Take possession of my breast;
There Thy blood-bought right maintain
And without a rival reign.

5. As the image in the glass
Answers the beholder's face,
Thus unto my heart appear;
Print Thine own resemblance there.

6. While I am a pilgrim here,
Let Thy love my spirit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my journey's end.

7. Show me what I have to do;
Every hour my strength renew.
Let me live a life of faith;
Let me die Thy people's death.

Hymn by John Newton, 1779