Christian Love, Valley of Vision

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 effection in me is turned from thee;
I am bound, as a slave to lust, I cannot love thee, lovely as thou art, until thou dost set me free.
By grace I am thy freeman and would serve thee, for I believe thou art my God in Jesus, and that through him I am redeemed, and my sins are forgiven.
With this freedom I would always obey thee, but I cannot walk in liberty, any more than I could first attain it, of myself.
May thy Spirit draw me nearer to thee and thy ways.
Thou art the end of all means, for if they lead not to thee, I go away empty.
Order all my ways by thy holy Word and make thy commandments the joy of my heart, that by them I may have happy converse with thee.
May I grow in thy love and manifest it to mankind.
Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus; give me his benevolent temper, his beneficent actions, that I may shine before men to thy glory.
The more thou doest in love in me and by me, humble me the more; keep me meek, lowly, and always ready to give the honour.

FROM: Christian Love, Valley of Vision

Pondering Creation, Myself, & My Savior

Have you ever stopped and pondered the great awesomeness of God’s creation?  The beauty, the splendor, how majestic it is?  I have had the privilege to live in many beautiful places.  I see the grandeur of the mountain tops everyday.  Just yesterday I went and watched the eagles being fed here in town, they are such magnificent birds.  I think of this part of God’s creation, the land, the sea, and the animals and how they are not sinful creatures but yet are effected by the fall of man.  I think on how even they groan for a Savior.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Romans 8:19-24a

Then I think on the depravity of man. What sinful creatures we are. How we have nothing redeemable in us yet God chose to redeem us. I have pondered the great cost of my redemption and am dumbfounded. I see the beauty of the creation around me and I realize how small a creature I am; how unworthy. The following passage is one that I often ponder.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.Psalm 8:3-5

I believe the truer the depth of understanding we have concerning our fallen and broken state the more we realize our unworthiness and marvel at the salvation God gives to those who believe. It becomes harder and harder for me to comprehend why God would love one such as me and he becomes so much more amazing and glorious to behold.

It is a good day to me when thou givest me a glimpse of myself; Sin is my greatest evil, but thou art my greatest good–from Valley of Vision

Christ Is All

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 his temptations,
resist his scheming,
renounce the world,
am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee,
as spiritual Bridegroom,
as Jehovah’s Fellow,
as sinners’ Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
thy majesty and my meanness,
thy beauty and my deformity,
thy purity and my filth,
thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably, may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me, may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me, may I live to thee,
in every moment of my time,
in every movement of my mind,
in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world and its allurements,
but walk by thy side,
listen to thy voice,
be clothed with thy graces,
and adorned with thy righteousness.

Prayer from The Valley of Vision

Fruit of Joy

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 pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy; give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of. Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy, at my work, business, duties. If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning. Let me rest in the thought of thy love, pardon for sin, my title to heaven, my future unspotted state. I am an unworthy recipient of thy grace. I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love, but can in repentance draw water from the wells of thy joyous forgiveness. Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath, where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification is finished and perfected for ever, where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy. There is no joy like the joy of heaven, for in that state are no divisions, unchristian quarrels, contentions, evil designs, weariness, hunger, cold, sadness, sin, suffering, persecutions, toil of duty. O healthful place where none are sick! O happy land where all are kings! O holy assembly where all are priests! How free a state where none are servants except to thee! Bring me speedily to the land of joy.

From: The Valley of Vision; a Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.

This meme was started on the Heart of Wisdom blog.