Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

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 fulfil thy designs; The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat,   morning light, evening shade are full of thee,   and thou givest me them richly […]

O GOD WHOSE WILL CONQUERS ALL, There is no comfort in anything apart from       enjoying thee   and being engaged in thy service; Thou art All in all, and all enjoyments are what   to me thou makest them, and no more. I am well pleased with thy will, whatever it is,   or should be in all […]

O LORD GOD, WHO INHABITEST ETERNITY, The heavens declare thy glory,       The earth thy riches, The universe is thy temple; Thy presence fills immensity, Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,   and communicated happiness; Thou hast made me what I am, and given me   what I have; In thee I live and move and […]

O LORD GOD, I pray not so much for graces as for       the Spirit himself,   because I feel his absence,   and act by my own spirit in everything. Give me not weak desires but the power of     his presence,   for this is the surest way to have all his graces,   and when I have the […]

SOVEREIGN GOD, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,       and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom   to set up thy kingdom in every place     where Satan reigns; Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,   for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire. I adore thee that thou art God,   and long […]

FATHER OF MERCIES, Hear me for Jesus’ sake.       I am sinful even in my closest walk         with thee;   it is of thy mercy I died not long ago; Thy grace has given me faith in the cross   by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me     and me to thee,   drawing me by thy great love, […]

O LORD, Help me never to expect any happiness       from the world, but only in thee. Let me not think that I shall be more happy     by living to myself,   for I can only be happy if employed for thee,   and if I desire to live in this world   only to do and suffer what […]

O GOD, May thy Spirit speak in me that I may       speak to thee. I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand for me. I am undeserving, but I look to thy tender mercy. I am full of infirmities, wants, sin;   thou art full of grace. I confess my sin, my frequent sin, […]

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, […]

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 […]

MIGHTY GOD, I humble myself for faculties misused,     opportunities neglected,     words ill-advised, I repent of my folly and inconsiderate ways,   my broken resolutions, untrue service,   my backsliding steps,   my vain thoughts. O bury my sins in the ocean of Jesus’ blood   and let no evil result from my fretful temper,     unseemly behaviour, provoking pettiness. If […]

O LORD, In prayer I launch far out into the eternal world,     and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs     over all evils on the shores of mortality. Time, with its gay amusements and cruel   disappointments, never appears so inconsiderate     as then. In prayer I see myself as nothing;   I find my heart going after […]

O 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 […]

O CHRIST, All thy ways of mercy tend to and end in       my delight. Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice. For my joy thou hast sent the Comforter,   multiplied thy promises,   shown me my future happiness,   given me a living fountain. Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy; I […]

JEHOVAH GOD, Thou Creator, Upholder, Proprietor of all       things, I cannot escape from thy presence or control,   nor do I desire to do so. My privilege is to be under the agency of   omnipotence, righteousness, wisdom,   patience, mercy, grace. Thou art love with more than parental affection; I admire thy heart, adore thy wisdom,   stand […]

O GOD OF THE OPEN EAR, Teach me to live by prayer       as well as by providence,   for myself, soul, body, children, family, church; Give me a heart frameable to thy will;   so might I live in prayer,   and honour thee,   being kept from evil, known and unknown. Help me to see the sin that […]

O SAVIOUR OF SINNERS, Thy name is excellent,       thy glory high,       thy compassions unfailing,       thy condescension wonderful,       thy mercy tender. I bless thee for the discoveries, invitations,     promises of the gospel   for in them is pardon for rebels,     liberty for captives,     health for the sick,     salvation for the lost. I come to thee in thy […]

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 […]

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 […]

O GOD OF UNSEARCHABLE GREATNESS, Before thee I am nothing but vanity, iniquity,       perishing; Sin has forfeited thy favour,   stripped me of thy image,   banished me from thy presence,   exposed me to the curse of thy law; I cannot deliver myself, and am in despair. But a resource is found in thee,   for without my […]

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 […]

THOU ETERNAL GOD, Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable       goodness, super-abundant grace; I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s ‘lip’   as number thy favours towards me; I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise. I thank thee for personal mercies,   a measure of health, preservation of body,   comforts of house and […]

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, I live here as a fish in a vessel of water,       only enough to keep me alive,   but in heaven I shall swim in the ocean. Here I have a little air in me to keep me breathing,   but there I shall have sweet and fresh gales; Here I have a beam of […]