Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O MY FORGETFUL SOUL, Awake from thy wandering dream;         turn from chasing vanities,   look inward, forward, upward,   view thyself,   reflect upon thyself,       who and what thou art, why here,       what thou must soon be. Thou art a creature of God,     formed and furnished by him,     lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent; […]

THOU BLESSED SPIRIT, AUTHOR OF ALL GRACE AND COMFORT, Come, work repentance in my soul;       Represent sin to me in its odious colours that       I may hate it; Melt my heart by the majesty and mercy of God; Show me my ruined self and the help there is   in him; Teach me to behold my […]

O LORD, I hang on thee; I see, believe, live,     when thy will, not mine, is done; I can plead nothing in myself   in regard of any worthiness and grace,   in regard of thy providence and promises,   but only thy good pleasure. If thy mercy make me poor and vile, blessed be thou! Prayers arising […]

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 […]

BLESSED LORD JESUS, No human mind could conceive or invent         the gospel.       Acting in eternal grace, thou art both   its messenger and its message,   lived out on earth through infinite compassion,   applying thy life to insult, injury, death,   that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed. Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way, Eternal […]

O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD, Destroy in me every lofty thought,       Break pride to pieces and scatter it     to the winds, Annihilate each clinging shred of     self-righteousness, Implant in me true lowliness of spirit, Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence, Open in me a fount of penitential tears, Break me, then bind me up; Thus […]

O FATHER OF JESUS, Help me to approach thee with deepest       reverence,   not with presumption,   not with servile fear, but with holy boldness. Thou art beyond the grasp of my understanding,   but not beyond that of my love. Thou knowest that I love thee supremely,   for thou art supremely adorable, good, perfect. My heart melts […]

O SUPREME MOVING CAUSE, May I always be subordinate to thee,         be dependent upon thee,   be found in the path where thou dost walk,     and where thy Spirit moves,   take heed of estrangement from thee,     of becoming insensible to thy love. Thou dost not move men like stones,   but dost endue them with life,   not […]

ALL-SEARCHING GOD, Thou readest the heart,       viewest principles and motives of actions,       seest more defilement in my duties     than I ever saw in any of my sins. The heavens are not clean in thy sight,   and thou chargest the angels with folly; I am ready to flee from myself because of     my abominations; Yet thou […]

O SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN, Thou wast incarnate, didst suffer, rise, ascend       for my sake; Thy departure was not a token of separation     but a pledge of return; Thy Word, promises, sacraments, show thy death     until thou come again. That day is no horror to me,   for thy death has redeemed me, […]

O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, That which I know not, teach thou me, Keep me a humble disciple in the school of Christ, learning daily there what I am in myself, a fallen sinful creature, justly deserving everlasting destruction; O let me never lose sight of my need of a Saviour, or forget that apart […]

LORD JESUS CHRIST, Fill me with thy Spirit       that I may be occupied with his presence.   I am blind — send him to make me see;   dark — let him say, ‘Let there be light’! May he give me faith to behold   my name engraven in thy hand,   my soul and body redeemed by thy […]

O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, Thou who dost proceed from the Father       and the Son,       have mercy on me. When thou didst first hover over chaos,     order came to birth,   beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray thee, upon my disordered heart; Take away the infirmities of unruly desires     and hateful lusts; […]

THREE IN ONE, ONE IN THREE, GOD OF MY SALVATION, Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,       I adore thee as one Being, one Essence,   one God in three distinct Persons,   for bringing sinners to thy knowledge and to     thy kingdom. O Father, thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to     redeem me; O Jesus, thou […]

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 […]