Covenant

Last weekend I visited some friends down in Devon and attended the Methodist church that I used to worship at.
Afterwards I was reminded of one of the traditions of Methodism known as the covenant service. The idea being that the church would covenant themselves to God.

The Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition is a prayer adapted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, for use in services for the Renewal of the believer's Covenant with God. Wesley writes that the first service was held on Monday 11th August, 1755, at a French church at Spitalfields in London, with 1800 people present. The words of that original covenant prayer are lost, but are thought to be reflected in the Directions for Renewing our Covenant with God which Wesley issued as a pamphlet in 1780.

The prayer that is often used in Methodist churches to this day is outlined below. For me, It has been a constant prayer to God especially that first line: I AM NOT MY OWN, BUT YOURS! It gives me a sense of my purpose and that I have to be completely submitted to God.


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 for 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.