Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
Alright . This week we are looking at an assortment of prayers from the Valley of Vision , which is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions . Today we're tackling a prayer called Man's Great End .
I'll read it here Lord of all being , there is one thing that deserves my greatest care , that calls forth my ardent desires , that is , that I may answer the great end for which I am made , to glorify thee who has given me being , and to do all the good I can for my fellow men .
Verily , life is not worth having if it be not improved for this noble purpose . Yet , lord , how little is this the thought of mankind ? Most men seem to live for themselves , without much or any regard for Thy glory or for the good of others .
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue the riches , honors , pleasures of this life , as if they supposed that wealth , greatness , merriment could make their immortal souls happy . But alas , what false , delusive dreams are these , and how miserable . Ere long will those be that sleep in them .
For all our happiness consists in loving thee and being holy as thou art , holy O . May I never fall into the tempters and vanities , the sensuality and folly of this present world . It is a place of inexpressible sorrow , a vast , empty nothingness .
Time is a moment , a vapor , and all its enjoyments are empty bubbles , fleeting blasts of wind from which nothing satisfactory can be derived . Give me grace always to keep in covenant with thee and to reject as delusion a great name , here or hereafter , together with all sinful pleasures or profits .
Help me to know continually that there can be no true happiness , no fulfilling of thy purpose for me , apart from a life lived in and for the son of thy love . I mean , guys , I'm like giddy . I'm like giddy with these prayers . I'm absolutely loving , enjoying , just reading through these and recording these this week .
So let's go ahead and dig in a little bit more into this one . So for me , the key line of this prayer is this , that is , that I may answer the great end for which I am made to glorify thee , who has given me being , and to do all the good I can for my fellow men . So , guys , we were made to one glorify god and to care for our fellow man .
Sound familiar ? It really should , and if you need a refresher , let's go to matthew 22 . So to set the scene here , the Sadducees were trying to trap Jesus and Jesus verbally smacked them around . So now the Pharisees want a shot at the title , so they get a lawyer involved and they try to jam Jesus up . So let's go to verse 35 of Matthew 22 .
And one of them , a lawyer , asked him a question to test him Teacher , which is the great commandment in the law ? And he said to him you shall love the Lord , your God , with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . This is the great and first commandment , and a second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself .
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets . So , guys , this is just an absolute masterclass from Jesus . So the question is supposed to result in a singular answer , one answer , but he gives the lawyer two answers .
He proclaims that we don't just properly love God in just one way , but in three ways with our heart , with our soul and our mind . And he equates the commandment of loving to the commandment of loving our neighbor , which also addresses the vertical and the horizontal elements of the law which the Pharisees surely thought he would ignore .
I mean , this is just absolute perfection from Jesus . But , guys , my main point for today is that all of us yes , joby and I included have wrestled with , or are currently in the process of wrestling with , our place in the world . You know what is life for . Why am I here ? What's my purpose ? Well , you know what purpose do I serve ?
Well , jesus tells us in this Puritan prayer , reminds us we are here to again , one glorify God and two , care for our fellow man . We are here to love God and our neighbor . So if you're lacking in either of those areas , might I suggest that you get yourself in check . See you back here tomorrow .
Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .