Jesus My Glory

I LORD GOD,
Thou hast commanded me to believe in Jesus;
      and I would flee to no other refuge,
   wash in no other fountain,
   build on no other foundation,
   receive from no other fullness,
   rest in  no other relief.
His water and blood were not severed
   in their flow at the cross,
   may they never be separated in my creed
      and experiences;
May I be equally convinced of the guilt
      and pollution of sin,
   feel my need of a prince and savior,
   implore of him repentance as well as forgiveness,
love holiness, and be pure in heart,
   have the mind of Jesus, and tread in his steps.
Let me not be at my own disposal,
   but rejoice that I am under the care of one
   who is too wise to err,
      too kind to injure,
      too tender to crush.
May I scandalize none by my temper and conduct,
   but recommend and endear Christ to all around,
   bestow good on every one as circumstances
      permit,
   and decline no opportunity of usefulness.
Grant that I may value my substance,
   not as the medium of pride and luxury,
   but as the means of my support and stewardship.
Help me to guide my affections with discretion,
   to owe no man anything,
   to be able to give to him that needeth,
   to feel it my duty and pleasure to be merciful
      and forgiving,
   to show to the world the likeness of Jesus.

            (from The Valley of Vision)

Union With Christ

O Father,
Thou hast made man for the glory of thyself,
   and when not an instrument of that glory,
   he is a thing of nought;
No sin is greater than the sin of unbelief,
   for if union with Christ is the greatest good,
   unbelief is the greatest sin,
   as being cross to thy command;
I see that whatever my sin is,
   yet no sin is like disunion from Christ by unbelief.
Lord, keep me from committing the greatest sin
      in departing from him,
   for I can never in this life perfectly obey
      and cleave to Christ.
When thou takest away my outward blessings,
      it is for sin,
   in not acknowledging that all that I have is of thee,
   in not serving thee through what I have,
   in making myself secure and hardened.

Lawful blessings are the secret idols, and
      do most hurt;
   the greatest injury is in the having,
   the greatest good in the taking away.
In love divest me of blessings that I may glorify
      thee the more;
   remove the fuel of my sin,
   and may I prize the gain of a little holiness
   as overbalancing all my losses.
The more I love thee with a truly gracious love
   the more I desire to love thee,
   and the more miserable I am at my want of love;
The more I hunger and thirst after thee,
   the more I faint and fail in finding thee,
The more my heart is broken for sin,
   the more I pray it may be far more broken.

My great evil is that I do not remember
      the sins of my youth,
   nay, the sins of one day I forget the next.
Keep me from all things that turn to unbelief
   or lack of felt union with Christ.

                           from The Valley of Vision
                   

Christ Is All

O LOVER TO THE UTTERMOST,
May I read the meltings of thy heart to me
    in the manger of thy birth,
    in the garden of thy agony,
    in the cross of thy suffering,
    in the tomb of thy resurrection,
    in the heaven of thy intercession.
Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,
   tread down his temptations,
   resist his schemings,
   renounce the world,
   am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee,
   as spiritual Bridegroom,
   as Jehovah's Fellow,
   as sinners' Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
   thy majesty and my meanness,
   they beauty and my deformity,
   thy purity and my filth,
   thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
   may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
   may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
   may I live to thee,
      in every moment of my time,
      in every movement of my mind,
      in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world
      and its allurements,
   but walk by thy side,
   listen to thy voice,
   be clothed with thy graces,
      and adorned with thy righteousness.

                            (from The Valley of Vision)

The Gift of Gifts

O SOURCE OF ALL GOOD,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,
   thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,
   my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,
   his self-emptying incomprehensible,
   his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.
Herein is wonder of wonders;
   he came below to raise me above,
   was born like me that I might become like him.
Herein is love;
   when I cannot rise to him he draws near on
      wings of grace,
   to raise me to himself.
Herein is power;
   when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
   he united them in indissoluble unity,
      the uncreated and the created.
Herein is wisdom;
   when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
   and no intellect to devise recovery,
   he came, God-incarnate, to save me
      to the uttermost,
   as man to die my death,
   to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
   to work out a perfect righteousness for me.
O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
      and enlarge my mind;
   let me hear good tidings of great joy,
      and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
      my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
      my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
   place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,
      to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,
      and in him account myself delivered form sin;
   let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child
      to my heart,
   embrace him with undying faith,
   exulting that the is mine and I am his.
In him thou hast given me so much
      that heaven can give no more.
                                  (from The Valley of Vision)

Praise and Thanksgiving

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
   my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
   for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
   and I would pour out all that fullness before thee
      in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee
   ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
   ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
   ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
   crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,
   for adorning it, sanctifying it,
      though it is fixed in barren soil;
   for the body thou hast given  me,
   for preserving its strength and vigour,
   for providing senses to enjoy delights,
   for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
   for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
   for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
   for a full table and overflowing cup,
   for appetite, taste, sweetness,
   for social joys of relatives and friends,
   for ability to serve others,
   for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
   for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
   for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
   for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
   for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the power of language
      to express,
   for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time
   and eternity.

                           (from The Valley of Vision)

God Honored

O GOD,

Praise waiteth for thee,
   and to render it is my noblest exercise;
This is thy due from all thy creatures,
   for all thy works display thy attributes
      and fulfill thy designs;
The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat,
   morning light, evening shade are full of thee,
   and thou givest me them richly to enjoy.
Thou art King of kings and Lord of lords;
At thy pleasure empires rise and fall;
All thy works praise thee and thy saints bless thee;
   Let me be numbered with thy holy ones,
   resemble them in character and condition,
   sit with them at Jesus' feet.
May my religion be always firmly rooted in thy Word,
   my understanding divinely informed,
   my affections holy and heavenly,
   my motives simple and pure,
   and my heart never wrong with thee.
Deliver me from the natural darkness of
      my own mind,
   from the corruptions of my heart,
   from the temptations to which I am exposed,
   from the daily snares that attend me.
I am in constant danger while I am in this life;
Let thy watchful eye ever be upon me for my defense,
Save me from the power of my worldly and
      spiritual enemies
   and from all painful evils to which I have
      exposed myself.
Until the day of life dawns above
   let there be unrestrained fellowship with Jesus;
Until fruition comes, may I enjoy the earnest
      of my inheritance
   and the firstfruits of the Spirit;
Until I finish my course with joy may I pursue
      it with diligence,
   in every part display the resources of the Christian,
   and adorn the doctrine of thee my God
      in all things.

                                From The Valley of Vision

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)

Puritan Prayers: Divine Mercies

My Eternal God,
Yours is surpassing greatness, unspeakable
   goodness, super-abundant grace;
I can as soon count the sands of ocean's 'lip'
   as number your favors towards me;
I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise.
I thank you for personal mercies,
   a measure of health, preservation of body,
   comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food
      and clothing,
   continuance of mental powers,
   my family, their mutual help and support,
      the delights of domestic harmony and peace,
      the seats now filled that might have been vacant,
   my country, church, Bible, faith.
But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness,
   that days that add to my guilt,
   the scenes that witness my offending tongue;
All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without,
      condemn me -
   the sun which sees my misdeeds,
   the darkness which is light to you,
   the cruel accuser who justly charges me,
   the good angels who have been provoked to leave me,
   your countenance which scans my secret sins,
   your righteous law, your holy Word,
   my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life,
   my neighbors, myself -
      all write dark things against me.
I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess,
      'Father, I have sinned';
Yet still I live, and fly repenting to your outstretched arms;
   you will not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,
   you will not condemn me, for he died in my stead,
   you will not mark my mountains of sin,
      for he levelled all,
   and his beauty covers my deformities.
O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross,
   hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

                  (The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions)

God The All

O God whose will conquers all,
There is no comfort in anything apart from enjoying you
     and being engaged in your service;
Thou are All in all, and all enjoyments are what
     to me you made them, and no more.
I am well pleased with your will, whatever it is,
     or should be in all respects,
And if you bid me decide for myself in any affair,
     I would choose to refer all to you,
     for you are infinitely wise and cannot do amiss,
     as I am in danger of doing.
I rejoice to think that all things are at your disposal,
     and it delights me to leave them there.
Then prayer turns wholly into praise,
     and all I can do is to adore and bless you.
What shall I give you for all you benefits?
     I am in a strait between two, knowing not what to do;
I long to make some return, but have nothing to offer,
     and can only rejoice that you do all,
     that none in heaven or on earth shares your honor;
I can of myself do nothing  to glorify your blessed name,
     but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body to you,
I know that you are the author and finisher of faith,
     that the whole work of redemption is yours alone,
     that every good work or thought found in me
        is the effect of your power and grace,
     that you sole motive in working in me to will
        and to do is for your good pleasure.
O God, it is amazing that men can talk so much
     about man's creaturely power and goodness,
     when, if you did not hold us back every
     moment, we should be devils incarnate.
This, by bitter experience, you have taught me
     concerning myself.

          (The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions)