Showing posts with label The Valley of Vision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Valley of Vision. Show all posts

The Valley of Vision: The Grace of the Cross

Posted by Bluegrass Endurance | Labels: , , | Posted On Friday, December 12, 2014 at 5:30 AM

O MY SAVIOUR,

I thank thee from the depths of my being
    for thy wondrous grace and love
  in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.
May thy cross be to me
  as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,
  as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
  as the brazen serpent that calls forth
    the look of faith.
By thy cross crucify my every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it the ground of all my comfort,
  the liveliness of all my duties,
  the sum of all thy gospel promises,
  the comfort of all my afflictions,
  the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,
  the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
    the rest of ceaseless praise.

O MY LORD AND SAVIOUR,

Thou hast also appointed a cross for me
    to take up and carry,
  a cross before thou givest me a crown.
Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,
  but self-love hates it,
    carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
  without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,
    walk with it, profit by it.
O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring
    with thee!
Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel will,
  heavy because I shirk thy load.
Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,
  that with my cross thou sendest promised grace
    so that I may bear it patiently,
  that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,
    and thy burden which is light.



Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 312. © 1975, used by permission. www.banneroftruth.org
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The Valley of Vision: Love

Posted by Bluegrass Endurance | Labels: , | Posted On Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 5:30 AM

LORD JESUS,
Give me to love thee, to embrace thee,
      though I once took lust and sin in my arms.
      Thou didst love me before I loved thee,
  an enemy, a sinner, a loathsome worm.
Thou didst own me when I disclaimed myself;
Thou dost love me as a son,
  and weep over me as over Jerusalem.
Love brought thee from heaven to earth,
  from earth to the cross,
  from the cross to the grave.
Love caused thee to be
  weary, hungry, tempted,
  scorned, scourged,
  buffeted, spat upon,
  crucified, and pierced.
Love led thee to bow thy head in death.
My salvation is the point where
  perfect created love
  and the most perfect uncreated love
    meet together;
  for thou dost welcome me,
  not like Joseph and his brothers,
  loving and sorrowing, but loving and rejoicing.
This love is not intermittent, cold, changeable;
  it does not cease or abate for all my enmity.

Holiness is a spark from thy love
  kindled to a flame in my heart by thy Spirit,
  and so it ever turns to the place
    from which it comes.
Let me see thy love everywhere,
  not only in the cross,
  but in the fellowship of believers
  and in the world around me.
When I feel the warmth of the sun
  may I praise thee who art the Sun of righteousness
    with healing power.
When I feel the tender rain
  may I think of the gospel showers
    that water my soul.
When I walk by the river side
  may I praise thee for that stream that makes
    the eternal city glad, and washes white my robes
    that I may have the right to the tree of life.
Thy infinite love is a mystery of mysteries,
  and my eternal rest lies
  in the eternal enjoyment of it.

From The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions




Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 290. © 1975, used by permission. www.banneroftruth.org
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The Valley of Vision: Living By Prayer

Posted by Bluegrass Endurance | Labels: , | Posted On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 5:30 AM

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 accompanies all I do,
  and the good I can distil from everything.
Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring
    my will to thine,
  and that without this it is folly to pray;
When I try to bring thy will to mine it is
    to command Christ,
  to be above him, and wiser than he:
    this is my sin and pride.
I can only succeed when I pray
  according to thy precept and promise,
  and to be done with as it pleases thee,
  according to thy sovereign will.
When thou commandest me to pray
    for pardon, peace, brokenness,
  it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised,
    for thy glory,
    as well as for my good.
Help me not only to desire small things
  but with holy boldness to desire great things
    for thy people, for myself,
    that they and I might live to show thy glory.
Teach me
  that it is wisdom for me to pray for all I have,
    out of love, willingly, not of necessity;
  that I may come to thee at any time,
    to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
  that my great sin lies in my not keeping
    the savour of thy ways;
  that the remembrance of this truth is one way
    to the sense of thy presence;
  that there is no wrath like the wrath of being
    governed by my own lusts for my own ends.




Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 266. © 1975, used by permission. www.banneroftruth.org
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The Valley of Vision: Weakness

Posted by Bluegrass Endurance | Labels: , | Posted On Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 5:30 AM

O Spirit of God,
Help my infirmities;
When I am pressed down with a load of sorrow,
perplexed and knowing not what to do,
slandered and persecuted,
made to feel the weight of the cross,
help me, I pray thee.

If thou seest in me any wrong thing encouraged,
any evil desire cherished,
any delight that is not thy delight,
any habit that grieves thee,
any nest of sin in my heart,
then grant me the kiss of thy forgiveness,
and teach my feet to walk the way of thy commandments.

Deliver me from carking care,
and make me a happy, holy person;
help me to walk the separated life with firm and brave step,
and to wrestle successfully against weakness;
teach me to laud, adore, and magnify thee,
with the music of heaven,
and make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee.

I do not crouch at thy feet as a slave before a tyrant,
but exult before thee as a son with a father.
Give me power to live as thy child in all my actions,
and to exercise sonship by conquering self.

Preserve me from the intoxication that come of prosperity;
sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.
Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,
not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.

I request only to see the face of him I love,
to be content with bread to eat,
with raiment to put on,
if I can be brought to thy house in peace.




Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 188. © 1975, used by permission. www.banneroftruth.org
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The Valley of Vision: Freedom

Posted by Bluegrass Endurance | Labels: , | Posted On Monday, December 8, 2014 at 5:30 AM

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 believing is my receiving,
for a thankful acceptance is no paying of the debt.
What didst thou see in me?
that I a poor, diseased, despised sinner
should be clothed in thy bright glory?
that a creeping worm
should be advanced to this high state?
that one lately groaning, weeping, dying,
should be as full of joy as my heart can hold?
that a being of dust and darkness
should be taken like Mordecai from captivity,
and set next to the king?
should be lifted like Daniel from a den
and be made ruler of princes and provinces?
Who can fathom immeasurable love?
As far as the rational soul exceeds the senses,
so does the spirit exceed the rational in its
knowledge of thee.
Thou hast given me understanding to compass
the earth,
measure the sun, moon, stars, universe,
but above all to know thee, the only true God.
I marvel that the finite can know the Infinite,
here a little, afterwards in full-orbed truth;
Now I know but a small portion of what
I shall know,
here in part, there in perfection,
here a glimpse, there a glory.
To enjoy thee is life eternal,
and to enjoy is to know.
Keep me in the freedom of experiencing
thy salvation continually.





Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 100. © 1975, used by permission. www.banneroftruth.org
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