Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O LORD, When the world’s unbelievers reject thee,       and are so forsaken by thee   that thou callest them no more,   it is to thine own thou dost turn,   for in such seasons of general apostasy   they in some measure backslide with the world. O how free is thy grace   that reminds them of the danger […]

O GOD, Though I am allowed to approach thee       I am not unmindful of my sins,       I do not deny my guilt,       I confess my wickedness, and earnestly     plead forgiveness. May I with Moses choose affliction rather than     enjoy the pleasures of sin. Help me to place myself always under thy guiding     and guardian care, […]

FATHER OF JESUS, Dawn returns, but without thy light within       no outward light can profit; Give me the saving lamp of thy Spirit that I may     see thee,   the God of my salvation, the delight of my soul,   rejoicing over me in love. I commend my heart to thy watchful care,   for I know its […]

O LORD GOD, Thou art my protecting arm,       fortress, refuge, shield, buckler. Fight for me and my foes must flee; Uphold me and I cannot fall; Strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmoveable; Equip me and I shall receive no wound; Stand by me and Satan will depart; Anoint my lips with a song of […]

MY GOD, I feel it is heaven to please thee, and to be what thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in thy Book, and shall I break them? must […]

O LORD, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,     be crucified, dead, and buried. The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,   for it is empty and thou art risen;   the four-fold gospel attests it,   the living witnesses prove it,   my heart’s experience knows it. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to […]

O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER, Teach me to pray.         I confess that in religious exercises   the language of my lips and the feelings     of my heart have not always agreed,   that I have frequently taken carelessly upon     my tongue a name never pronounced above       without reverence and humility,   that I have often desired things which […]

GOD OF MY END, It is my greatest, noblest pleasure     to be acquainted with thee     and with my rational, immortal soul; It is sweet and entertaining   to look into my being   when all my powers and passions   are united and engaged in pursuit of thee,   when my soul longs and passionately breathes   after conformity to […]

GLORIOUS JEHOVAH, MY COVENANT GOD, All thy promises in Christ Jesus are       yea and amen, and all shall be fulfilled. Thou hast spoken them, and they shall be done,   commanded, and they shall come to pass. Yet I have often doubted thee,   have lived at times as if there were no God. Lord, forgive me […]

O LORD, The world is artful to entrap,       approaches in fascinating guise,       extends many a gilded bait,       presents many a charming face. Let my faith scan every painted bauble,   and escape every bewitching snare   in a victory that overcomes all things. In my duties give me firmness, energy, zeal,     devotion to thy cause,     courage in […]

SOVEREIGN LORD, When clouds of darkness, atheism, and unbelief come to me, I see thy purpose of love in withdrawing the Spirit that I might prize him more, in chastening me for my confidence in past successes, that my wound of secret godlessness might be cured. Help me to humble myself before thee by seeing […]

MY DEAR LORD, I can but tell thee that thou knowest     I long for nothing but thyself,     nothing but holiness,     nothing but union with thy will. Thou hast given me these desires,   and thou alone canst give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with thee,   for mortification of indwelling corruption,     especially spiritual […]

O LORD, I am a shell full of dust,     but animated with an invisible rational soul     and made anew by an unseen power of grace; Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,   but one that has nothing and is nothing,   although chosen of thee from eternity,   given to Christ, and born again; I […]

GOD OF THE PUBLICAN, Be merciful to me a sinner;       this I am by nature and practice,     this thy Word proclaims me to be,     this I hope I feel myself to be; Yet thou hast not left me to despair,   for there is no ‘peradventure’ in thy grace; I have all the assurance I need […]

O DIVINE LAWGIVER, I take shame to myself     for open violations to thy law,   for my secret faults,   my omissions of duty,   my unprofitable attendance     upon means of grace,   my carnality in worshipping thee,   and all the sins of my holy things. My iniquities are increased over my head: My trespasses are known in the […]

O LORD, Thou knowest my great unfitness for service,       my present deadness,       my inability to do anything for thy glory,       my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,   and loathe and abhor myself. I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest     have me do,   for I feel amazingly deserted by thee, […]

LORD JESUS, I am blind, be thou my light,     ignorant, be thou my wisdom,     self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,   and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,   make it alive to evil’s slightest touch; When Satan approaches may I flee […]

INCOMPREHENSIBLE, GREAT, AND GLORIOUS GOD, I adore thee and abase myself.     I approach thee mindful that I am     less than nothing,       a creature worse than nothing. My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze. My secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance. Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth     all sin,   to […]

LORD OF IMMORTALITY, Before whom angels bow and archangels veil       their faces,   enable me to serve thee with reverence     and godly fear. Thou who art Spirit and requirest truth     in the inward parts,   help me to worship thee in spirit and in truth. Thou who art righteous,   let me not harbour sin in my heart, […]

HOLY LORD, How little repentance there is in the world,         and how many sins I have to repent of! I am troubled for my sin of passion,   for the shame and horror of it as an evil; I purpose to give way to it no more,   and come to thee for strength to that end. […]

O LORD OF GRACE, I have been hasty and short in private prayer,     O quicken my conscience to feel this folly,     to bewail this ingratitude; My first sin of the day leads into others,   and it is just that thou shouldst withdraw     thy presence   from one who waited carelessly on thee. Keep me at all […]

SOVEREIGN COMMANDER OF THE UNIVERSE, I am sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief,     in a felt spiritual darkness. My heart is full of evil surmisings and disquietude,   and I cannot act faith at all. My heavenly Pilot has disappeared,   and I have lost my hold on the Rock of Ages; I sink in deep mire […]

O THOU TERRIBLE MEEK, Let not pride swell my heart.       My nature is the mire beneath my feet,       the dust to which I shall return. In body I surpass not the meanest reptile; Whatever difference of form and intellect is mine   is a free grant of thy goodness; Every faculty of mind and body is […]

LORD JESUS, I sin — Grant that I may     never cease grieving because of it,     never be content with myself,     never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue,   trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure,   peaceable,     to live for thee and not for […]

O LORD, Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible,       Order things that they may neither hinder,     nor discourage me,     nor prove obstacles to the progress of thy cause; Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall,     no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments; May I follow duty and not any foolish device     of […]