Man's Great End

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 hast 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 tempers and vanities,
   the sensuality and folly of the 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.

               (From The Valley of Vision)