Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 GOD, THOU ART VERY GREAT, My lot is to approach thee with godly fear         and humble confidence,   for thy condescension equals thy grandeur,   and thy goodness is thy glory. I am unworthy, but thou dost welcome;   guilty, but thou art merciful;   indigent, but thy riches are unsearchable. Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me […]

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 […]

HEAVENLY FATHER, If I should suffer need, and go unclothed,     and be in poverty,   make my heart prize thy love,   know it, be constrained by it,   though I be denied all blessings. It is thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants,   for by these trials I see my sins,   and desire severance from […]

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 […]

O GOD OF GRACE, Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute,       and hast imputed his righteousness     to my soul,   clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe,   decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags;   my best prayers are stained with sin;   my penitential tears are so much […]

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 […]

O THOU MOST HIGH, It becomes me to be low in thy presence.     I am nothing compared with thee; I possess not the rank and power of angels,   but thou hast made me what I am,   and placed me where I am;   help me to acquiesce in thy sovereign pleasure. I thank thee that 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 […]

LORD JESUS, Grant me the favour of being led by thee,       under the directions of thy providence       and thy Word. Grant me thy blessings with bitter things,   to brighten and quicken me,   not to depress and make me lifeless; Grant me, like Gideon of old, way-tokens,   by removing things that discourage me; Grant me succour […]

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, […]