Three Simple Rules: A Covenant Prayer

John Wesley was an avid reader of the religious and philosophical books of his day.  One of his regular works was to edit and prepare for publication other people’s work in A Christian Library.  In 1753 Mr. Wesley published Richard Alleine’s Vindiciae Pietatis:  or, A Vindication of Godliness in the Greater Strictness and Spirituality of It (1663).  On August 11, 1755 Wesley first used a chapter of the book as the basis of the first Covenant Service among the Methodists.  Within a few years, praying through this Covenant Service became an annual event for the Methodists in London to perform on New Year’s day and most Methodists would have said a variant of it whenever Mr. Wesley came through their community.  Below is a shortened version of the main prayer that we use regularly in our worship celebrations followed by the longer, more formal version of the Covenant Renewal Prayer from our United Methodist Book of Worship.

A COVENANT PRAYER IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low by thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

WESLEY’S COVENANT SERVICE

INVITATION

Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.  Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.  Christ has many services to be done.  Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful.  Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both.  In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.  But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.  It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.  Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:

Let me be your servant, under your command.  I will no longer be my own.  I will give up myself to your will in all things.  Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.  Lord, make me what you will.  I put myself fully into your hands: put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing.  I freely and with a willing heart give it all to your pleasure and disposal.

Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.  He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.  Christ will have no servants except by consent; Christ will not accept anything except full consent to all that he requires.  Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.  Confirm this by a holy covenant.  To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:

First, set apart some time, more than once, to be spent alone before the Lord; in seeking earnestly God’s special assistance and gracious acceptance of you; in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant; in searching your hearts whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.  Consider what your sins are.  Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are, and whether you, after having carefully considered them, are willing to choose them all.  Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.

Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.

Third, claim God’s covenant, rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength, so you can keep your promise.  Trust not your own strength and power.

Fourth, resolve to be faithful.  You have given to the Lord your hearts, you have opened your mouths to the Lord, and you have dedicated yourself to God.  With God’s power, never go back.  And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.  Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven, open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:

COVENANT PRAYER

O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, see me as I fall down before you.  Forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done your will, for you have promised mercy to me if I turn to you with my whole heart.

God requires that you shall put away all your idols.

I here from the bottom of my heart renounce them all, covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in my life. Against your will, I have turned my love toward the world. In your power I will watch all temptations that will lead me away from you.  For my own righteousness is riddled with sin, unable to stand before you.

Through Christ, God has offered to be your God again if you would let him.

Before all heaven and earth, I here acknowledge you as my Lord and God.  I take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion, and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant, to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

God has given the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way and means of coming to God.

Jesus, I do here on bended knees accept Christ as the only new and living Way, and sincerely join myself in a covenant with him.  O blessed Jesus, I come to you, hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked, unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.  I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord and Head.  I renounce my own worthiness, and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness.  I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide.  I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law.

Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.

I do here covenant to take my lot with you as it may fall.  Through your grace I promise that neither life nor death shall part me from you.

God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.

I do here willingly put my neck under your yoke, to carry your burden.  All your laws are holy, just, and good. I therefore take them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions, promising that I will strive to order my whole life according to your direction, and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.

The almighty God searches and knows your heart.

O God, you know that I make this with you today without guile or reservation.  If any falsehood should be in it, guide me and help me to set it aright.

And now, glory be to you, O God the Father, whom I from this day forward shall look upon as my God and Father.

Glory be to you, O God the Son, who have loved me and washed me from my sins in your own blood, and now is my Savior and Redeemer.

Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit, who by your almighty power have turned my heart from sin to God.

O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you have now become my Covenant And I, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servant.  So be it.

And let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

You are advised to make this covenant not only in your heart, but in word; not only in word, but in writing. Therefore, with all reverence, lay the service before the Lord as your act and deed. And when you have done this, sign it. Then keep it as a reminder of the holy agreement between God and you that you may remember it during doubts and temptations.

Three Simple Rules: Marks of Methodism

During October I will be paying attention to John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, and three rules that guided the work of the small groups that emerged to support each other in the journey of faith.  The rules from Mr. Wesley are summarized in his words this way:

By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced, such as …

By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men …

By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are …

These rules were prepared for the United Societies and organized the regular interaction of the class leader and the class.  Let’s take a moment to note several things:

1. The class interaction focused more on demonstrating a change in behavior than in the acquisition of knowledge, e.g. that class leader was to see each person weekly to inquire about the state of their souls.

2. The requirement for joining the societies was not a profession of faith, but it was a “desire to flee from the wrath to come!”  The requirement was an acknowledgment that my life is messed up and I need help to get it together.  By no means did this mean that the confession that “Jesus Christ is Lord” was unimportant to Mr. Wesley, but in order to see this one must begin by saying something like “my lordship of my life is failing.  I am ready to try something (or someone else).

3.  Mr. Wesley highlighted the doctrine of grace in his essay “The Principles of a Methodist Farther Explained” (1746).  Here he stated plainly: “Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three: that of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; the third is religion itself.” Wesley’s simple summation of the order of salvation is that God’s prevenient grace calls us up on the porch of repentance, God’s justifying grace leads us to enter through the door of faith, and God’s sanctifying grace helps us inhabit a house of holiness.  Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before us where God has been beckoning us to come and join him on the front porch.  God’s justifying grace sets us free from our past and points us to new life with Jesus.  God’s sanctifying grace takes us from where we are to where God wants us to be.

4.  The three simple rules may sound like works, but they were meant to be suggestions for our response to the grace that God offered us through Jesus Christ.  We do well to read them then at several different levels.

As a pastor I taught our youth these rules with this simple slogan:  Avoid Evil, Do Good, and Pay Attention to God!  In 2007 Bishop Reuben Job prepared an excellent teaching resource called Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living.  His summary of Wesley’s three rules is “Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God” seems to have now become the shorthand statement of Wesley’s rules (my daughter reminds me that occasionally I say avoid evil instead of do no harm).

We would do well to remember that these simple rules are echoes of scriptural teaching:

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31).

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:12-17).

In the coming weeks we will pay attention to Doing No Harm, Doing Good, and Staying in Love with God.

You too can forecast the future

Jamais Cascio, teacher and lecturer, blogs at www.openthefuture.com and helps people think about how to anticipate the future. His post on Futures Thinking: The Basics over at Fast Company suggests that anyone can learn the basics of a structured future thinking process. Consider the following broad outline:

Futures Thinking – A Process Overview

Asking the Question:

Scanning the World:

Mapping the Possibilities:
Consider the following scenarios:
1. The future is what I expect.
2. The future is better than I expect.
3. The future is worse than I expect.
4. The future is weirder than I expect.

Asking the Next Question:

Thinking it Through:

Philip Clayton on the intersection of faith and science

Philip Clayton, philosopher and theologian at Claremont School of Theology, joins ThinkFwd host, Spencer Burke, at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens north of Los Angeles where they talk about faith, science, and the parallels between ecosystems and the Church. Clayton describes how the scientific community had the idea that when they figured out the human genome, everything else would be deduced outward from that starting point. What scientists found instead is that life is unpredictable, and dependent on the individual’s environment. A variety of top-down influences determine what we become, and so life unfolds in an unpredictable, unimaginable way.

View Philip Clayton on emergence taking on a life of it’s own

Consider reflecting on the following questions:

Personal Reflections:
1. How has nature, life, death and rhythms enhanced your understanding of God?
2. How do you see God with, in and through us as co-creators of life?

Small Group or Staff Questions:
1. The top-down approach to management has served us in the past. But now we have networks of networks growing in unpredictable ways. How can we use this new metaphor for growing our faith?
2. If Kingdom-building is going to be more unpredictable, vulnerable, and collaborative, how can we embrace that interconnectedness—the flowing together and even the breaking apart into more parts than before?