Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O GOD, Thy main plan, and the end of thy will       is to make Christ glorious and beloved         in heaven   where he is now ascended,   where one day all the elect will behold his glory   and love and glorify him for ever. Though here I love him but little,   may this be my portion at […]

O MY LORD, May I arrive where means of grace cease         and I need no more to fast, pray,     weep, watch,     be tempted, attend preaching and sacrament;   where nothing defiles,   where is no grief, sorrow, sin, death,       separation, tears, pale face, languid body,       aching joints, feeble infancy, decrepit age,       peccant humours, pining sickness,       griping fears, […]

GOD OF ALL SOVEREIGNTY, Thy greatness is unsearchable, Thy name most excellent, Thy glory above the heavens; Ten thousand minister to thee, Ten thousand times ten thousand stand before thee; In thy awful presence we are less than nothing. We do not approach thee because we deserve thy notice, for we are sinners; Our necessities […]

O MY SAVIOUR, Help me.     I am so slow to learn,       so prone to forget,       so weak to climb; I am in the foothills when I should be     on the heights; I am pained by my graceless heart,   my prayerless days,   my poverty of love,   my sloth in the heavenly race,   my sullied conscience,   my […]

GOD OF THE PASSING HOUR, Another week has gone and I have been           preserved         in my going out,         in my coming in. Thine has been the vigilance that has turned     threatened evils aside; Thine the supplies that have nourished me; Thine the comforts that have indulged me; Thine the relations and friends that have     delighted […]

MOST HIGH GOD, The universe with all its myriad creatures       is thine,     made by thy word,     upheld by thy power,     governed by thy will. But thou art also the Father of mercies,     the God of all grace,     the bestower of all comfort,     the protector of the saved. Thou hast been mindful of us,     hast visited […]

O GOD OF TRUTH, I thank thee for the holy Scriptures,     their precepts, promises, directions, light. In them may I learn more of Christ,   be enabled to retain his truth   and have grace to follow it. Help me to lift up the gates of my soul     that he may come in   and show me himself […]

MOST HOLY GOD, May the close of an earthly sabbath         remind me that the last of them     will one day end. Animate me with joy that in heaven praise     will never cease,   that adoration will continue for ever,   that no flesh will grow weary,       no congregations disperse,       no affections flag,       no thoughts wander,       no will […]

GLORIOUS GOD, It is the flame of my life to worship thee,     the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee,     heavenly pleasure to approach thee. Give me power by thy Spirit to help me     worship now,   that I may forget the world,     be brought into fullness of life,     be refreshed, comforted, blessed. Give […]

O GOD, I know that I often do thy work         without thy power,   and sin by my dead, heartless, blind service,     my lack of inward light, love, delight,     my mind, heart, tongue moving       without thy help. I see sin in my heart in seeking the approbation     of others; This is my vileness, to make men’s […]

O MAKER AND UPHOLDER OF ALL THINGS, Day and night are thine; they are also         mine from thee —   the night to rid me of the cares of the day,       to refresh my weary body,       to renew my natural strength;   the day to summon me to new activities,       to give me opportunity to glorify thee, […]

BLESSED SPIRIT OF GOD, Four evils attend my ministry —       The devil treads me down by   discouragement and shame     arising from coldness in private meditation. Carelessness possesses me   from natural dullness and dimness of spirit;     because in the past I have met with success       and been highly regarded,     so that it does not matter if […]

SUPREME RULER OF THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS, My heart is drawn out to thee         for thy amazing grace and condescension. Thou hast kept my conversion fresh before me,   that season of my first spiritual comfort     when I passed through the Red Sea     by a way I did not expect. I rejoiced then for that […]

O GOD, MY EXCEEDING JOY, Singing thy praises uplifts my heart,     for thou art a fountain of delight,       and dost bless the soul that joys in thee. But because of my heart’s rebellion I cannot always praise thee as I ought; Yet I will at all times rest myself in   thy excellences, goodness, and loving-kindness. […]

O GOD OF LOVE, I approach thee with encouragements     derived from thy character,   for I am not left to feel after thee     in the darkness of my nature,   nor to worship thee as the unknown God. I cannot find out thy perfections,   but I know thou art good,     ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy. Thou […]