Praise And Thanksgiving

 O my God,

O fairest, greatest, first of all things,

   my heart admires, adores, and loves you,

   for my little vessel is as full as it can be,

   and I would pour out all that fullness before you in ceaseless flow.

When I think about and converse with you

   ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,

   ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,

   ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

   crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless you for the soul you have created,

   for adorning it, sanctifying it,

      though it is fixed in barren soil;

   for the body you have given me,

   for preserving its strength and vigor,

   for providing senses to enjoy delights,

   for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

   for hands, eyes, ears that do your bidding;

   for your royal bounty providing my daily support,

   for a full table and overflowing cup,

   for appetite, taste, sweetness,

   for social joys of relatives and friends,

   for ability to serve others, 

   for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

   for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

   for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

   for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

   for my own expectation of seeing you clearly.

I love you above the powers of language to express,

   for what you are to your creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

God Honored

O God,

Praise waits for you,

   and to offer it is my noblest activity;

This is your due from all your creatures,

   for all your works display your attributes and fulfill your designs;

The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat,

   morning light, and evening shade are full of you,

   and you give me them richly to enjoy.

You are King of kings and Lord of lords;

At your pleasure empires rise and fall;

All your works praise you and your saints bless you;

   Let me be numbered with your holy ones,

   resemble them in character and condition,

   and sit with them at Jesus' feet.

May my walk with you be always firmly rooted in your Word,

   my understanding divinely informed,

   my affections holy and heavenly,

   my motives simple and pure,

   and my heart never wrong with you.

Deliver me from the natural darkness of my own mind,

   from the corruptions of my heart,

   from the temptations to which I am exposed,

   from the daily snares that attend me.

I am in constant danger while I am in this life;

Let your watchful eye ever be upon me for my defense,

Save me from the power of my worldly and spiritual enemies

   and from all painful evils to which I have exposed myself.

Until the day of life dawns above

   let there be unrestrained fellowship with Jesus;

Until fullness comes, may I enjoy the deposit of my inheritance

   and the firstfruits of the Spirit;

Until I finish my course with joy may I pursue it with diligence,

   in every part display the resources of the Christian,

   and adorn the doctrine of you my God

      in all things.

Man's Great End

 Lord of all being,

There is one thing that deserves my greatest care, 

   that calls forth my fervent desires,

That is, that I may live for the great end for which I am made - 

   to glorify you who have given me being,

   and to do all the good I can for my fellow men;

Truly, life is not worth having

   if it is not lived for this noble purpose.

Yet, Lord, how little is this the thought of mankind!

Most men seem to live for themselves,

   without much or any regard for your glory,

   or for the good of others;

They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue

   the riches, honors, and pleasures of this life,

   as if they supposed that wealth, greatness and merriment,

   could make their immortal souls happy;

But, alas, what false deceptive dreams are these!

And how miserable before long will those be that sleep in them,

   for all our happiness consists in loving thee,

   and being holy as thou art holy.

O may I never fall into the passions and emptiness,

   the sensuality and folly of the present world!

It is a place of inexpressible sorrow, a vast empty nothingness;

Time is a moment, a vapor,

   and all its enjoyments are empty bubbles,

   fleeting gusts of wind,

   from which nothing satisfactory can be gotten;

Give me grace always to keep in covenant with you,

   and to reject as delusion personal fame here or hereafter,

   together with all sinful pleasures or profits.

Help me to know continually

   that there can be no true happiness,

   no fulfilling of your purpose for me,

   apart from a life lived in and for the Son of your love.

God and Myself

Lord God Almighty,

Your understanding is unsearchable and infinite,

Your arm cannot be restrained,

Your activity extends through limitless space,

All works hang on your care,

With you all time is a present now.

Holy is your wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works.

How can I stand before you

   with my numberless and flagrant offences?

I have often loved darkness,

   embraced empty lies,

   shunned your given mercies,

   trampled underfoot your beloved Son's name,

   mocked your blessings,

   flattered you with my lips,

   and broken your covenant.

It is only because of your compassion that I am not consumed.

Lead me to repentance, and save me from despair;

Let me come to you renouncing, condemning, loathing myself,

   but hoping in the grace that flows even to the chief of sinners.

At the cross may I contemplate the evil of sin, and abhor it,

   look on him whom I pierced,

      as one slain for me, and by me.

May I never despise his death by fearing its ability to save me.

And whatever cross I am required to bear,

   let me see him carrying a heavier one.

Teach me in health to think of sickness,

   in the brightest hours to be ready for darkness;

   in life prepare me for death.

Thus may my soul rest in you, O immortal and transcendent one,

   revealed as you are in the Person and work of your Son,

      the Friend of sinners.

The Cry of a Convicted Sinner

O Righteous and Holy King,

In whose hand is my life and whose are all my ways,

Keep me from fluttering around the life of faith;

   fix me firm in it,

   for I am non-committal;

   my decisions are smoke and vapor,

   and I do not glorify you,

   or behave according to your will;

Please do not cut down my life before my intentions grow into actions,

   and the budding of my soul into full flower,

   for  you are forbearing and good,

   patient and kind.

Save me from myself,

   from the trickery and deceits of sin,

   from the treachery of my perverse nature,

   from denying your charge against my offenses

   from a life of continual rebellion against you,

   from wrong principles, views and aims;

   for I know that all my thoughts, affections,

      desires and pursuits are alienated from you.

I have acted as if I hated you, although you are love itself;

   have striven to tempt you to the uttermost,

   to wear our your patience;

   have lived wickedly in word and action.

Had I been a ruler

   I would long ago have crushed such a rebel;

Had I been a father

   I would long since have rejected my child.

O, Father of my spirit,

   King of my life,

      cast me not into destruction,

      drive my not from your presence,

      but wound my heart that it may be healed;

      break it that your own hand 

         may make it whole.

The Convicting Spirit

Blessed Spirit, Author of all grace and comfort,

Come, work repentance in my soul;

Show sin to me in its hideous colors 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 Creator,

   his ability to save,

   his arms outstretched,

   and his heart big for me.

May I confide in his power and love,

   commit my soul to him without reserve,

   bear his image, observe his laws, pursue his service,

   and be through time and eternity

      a monument to the efficacy of his grace,

      and a trophy of his victory.

Make me willing to be saved in his way

   seeing nothing in myself, but all in Jesus:

Help me not only to receive him but

   to walk in him,

   depend upon him,

   commune with him,

   be conformed to him,

   and follow him,

      imperfect, but still pressing forward,

      not complaining about work, but valuing rest,

      not murmuring under trials, but thankful for my state.

Give me that faith which is the means of salvations,

   and the main producer of all godliness

May I be saved by grace through faith,

   live by faith,

   feel the joy of faith,

   do the work of faith.

Finding nothing in myself, may I find in Christ

   wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption

The Awakened Sinner

 O my forgetful soul,

Wake up from your wandering dream;

   turn from chasing empty things

   look inward, forward, upward

   view yourself,

   reflect upon yourself,

      who and what you are, why you are here

      what you must soon be.

You are a creature of God

   formed and furnished by him,

   housed in a body like a shepherd in his tent;

Do you not desire to know God's ways?

 

O God,

You injured, neglected, provoked benefactor

   when I think upon your greatness and your goodness

   I am ashamed at my dullness,

   I blush to lift up my face,

   for I have foolishly erred.

Should I go on neglecting you,

   when every one of your rational creatures should love you

   and take every care to please you?

I confess that you have not been in all my thoughts,

   that the knowledge of you as the end of my being has been strangely overlooked,

   that I have never seriously considered my heart-need

But although my mind is perplexed and divided,

   and my nature is perverse,

   yet my secret dispositions still desire you.

Let me not delay to come to you;

Break the fatal enchantment that binds my evil affections

   and bring me to a happy mind that rests in you,

   for you have made me and cannot forget me.

Let your Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,

   for I am slow to learn;

And hear my broken cries.