Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

HOLY TRINITY, All praise to thee for electing me           to salvation,       by foreknowledge of God the Father,       through sanctification of the Spirit,       unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood         of Jesus; I adore the wonders of thy condescending love,   marvel at the true believer’s high privilege   within whom all heaven comes to dwell,   abiding in […]

My God, I bless thee that thou hast given me the eye       of faith,   to see thee as Father,   to know thee as a covenant God,   to experience thy love planted in me; For faith is the grace of union   by which I spell out my entitlement to thee: Faith casts my anchor upwards   where […]

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 […]

O LORD GOD, Thou art our Preserver, Governor, Saviour,         and coming Judge. Quieten our souls to call upon thy name; Detach us from the influence of the flesh     and the senses; Impress us with the power of faith; Promote in us spirituality of mind   that will render our services acceptable to thee,   and delightful and […]

CREATOR, UPHOLDER AND PROPRIETOR OF ALL THINGS, We cannot escape from thy presence         and control,     nor do we desire to do so. Our privilege is to be under the agency     of thy omnipotence,   righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy and grace; For thou art Love with more than parental affection. We admire thy goodness,   stand in awe […]

O GOD, We bless thee,         our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, Teacher,   for opening to us the volume of nature     where we may read and consider thy works. Thou hast this day spread before us the fuller pages     of revelation,   and in them we see what thou wouldest     have us do,   what thou requirest of us,   what […]

O LORD, We commune with thee every day,         but week days are worldly days,   and secular concerns reduce heavenly impressions. We bless thee therefore for the day sacred     to our souls   when we can wait upon thee and be refreshed; We thank thee for the institutions of religion   by use of which we draw near […]

KING OF GLORY, DIVINE MAJESTY, Every perfection adorns thy nature       and sustains thy throne; The heavens and earth are thine, The world is thine and its fullness. Thy power created the universe from nothing; Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns,   presiding over nations, families, individuals. Thy goodness is boundless;   all creatures wait on […]

LORD OF HEAVEN, Thy goodness is inexpressible and inconceivable.       In the works of creation thou art almighty,   In the dispensations of providence all-wise,   In the gospel of grace all love, And in thy Son thou hast provided for   our deliverance from the effects of sin,   the justification of our persons,   the sanctification of our natures, […]

O HOLY FATHER, thou hast freely given thy Son, O DIVINE SON, thou hast freely paid my debt, O ETERNAL SPIRIT, thou hast freely bid me come, O TRIUNE GOD, thou dost freely grace me with salvation. Prayers and tears could not suffice to pardon       my sins,   nor anything less than atoning blood,   but my […]

HEAVENLY FATHER Thou hast revealed to me myself       as a mass of sin,   and thyself as the fullness of goodness,     with strength enough to succour me,     wisdom enough to guide me,     mercy enough to quicken me,     love enough to satisfy me. Thou hast shown me that because thou art mine     I can live by thy […]

O GOD, Thou hast taught me         that Christ has all fullness and     so all plenitude of the Spirit,   that all fullness I lack in myself is in him,     for his people, not for himself alone,   he having perfect knowledge, grace,       righteousness,     to make me see,     to make me righteous,     to give me fullness;   that it […]

O LORD OF GRACE, The world is before me this day,         and I am weak and fearful,   but I look to thee for strength; If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,   but on the Beloved’s arms I am firm     as the eternal hills; If left to the treachery of my heart     I shall […]

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, Thy understanding is unsearchable and infinite,         Thy arm cannot be stayed, Thy agency extends through limitless space, All works hang on thy care, With thee time is a present now. Holy is thy wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works. How can I stand before thee   with my numberless and aggravated offences? I have […]

O HEAVENLY FATHER, Teach me to see       that if Christ has pacified thee and         satisfied divine justice     he can also deliver me from my sins;   that Christ does not desire me, now justified,     to live in self-confidence in my own strength,     but gives me the law of the Spirit of life     to enable me to […]

THOU GREAT THREE-ONE, Author of all blessings I enjoy,       of all I hope for, Thou hast taught me   that neither the experience of present evils,   nor the remembrances of former sins,   nor the remonstrances of friends,   will or can affect a sinner’s heart,   except thou vouchsafe to reveal thy grace   and quicken the dead in […]

HEAVENLY FATHER, Thou hast led me singing to the cross       where I fling down all my burdens         and see them vanish,   where my mountains of guilt are levelled     to a plain,   where my sins disappear, though they are     the greatest that exist,   and are more in number than the grains     of fine sand; For there […]

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, […]

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 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 […]

MY FATHER, In a world of created changeable things,     Christ and his Word alone remain unshaken. O to forsake all creatures,   to rest as a stone on him the foundation, to abide in   him, be borne up by him! For all my mercies come through Christ,   who has designed, purchased, promised,     effected them. How sweet […]

O LORD GOD, The first act of calling is by thy command         in thy Word,   ‘Come unto me, return unto me’; The second is to let in light,   so that I see that I am called particularly,   and perceive the sweetness of the command     as well as its truth,   in regard to thy great love […]

O LOVER OF THE LOVELESS, It is thy will that I should love thee     with heart, soul, mind, strength,     and my neighbour as myself. But I am not sufficient for these things. There is by nature no pure love in my soul; Every affection in me is turned from thee; I am bound, as slave […]

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 […]

GIVER OF ALL GOOD, Streams upon streams of love overflow my path.       Thou hast made me out of nothing,       hast recalled me from a far country,   hast translated me from ignorance to knowledge,       from darkness to light,       from death to life,       from misery to peace,       from folly to wisdom,       from error to truth,       from sin […]