Blessings

Thou hast shown me ...
that oft-times spiritual comforts are
at their highest when physical well-being is
at its lowest

Privileges

How great are my privilages in Christ?

Without Him I stand afar off, a stranger, an outcast;
with Him I draw near and touch His kindly sceptre.
...

Without Him all is wrath and consuming fire;
with Him all is love, and the repose of soul.

Without Him is gaping hell below me;
with Him its gates are barred to me by His precious blood.
...

Without Him all things external call for my condemnation;
with Him they minister to my confort and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.

God All-Sufficient

If left to the treachery of my heart
I shall shame thy Name,
but if enlightened, guided, upheld by thy Spirit,
I shall bring thee glory.

A Colloquy on Rejoicing

Be happy in him, O my heart, and in nothing
but God.
for whatever a man trusts in,
from that he expects to find happiness.

After Prayer

O God of Grace,
I bewail my cold, listless, heartless prayers;
their poverty adds sin to sin.
If my hope were in them I should be undone,
But the worth of Jesus perfumes my feeble
breathings, and wins their acceptance.

The Throne

Impress on my mind the shortness of time,
the work to be engaged in,
the account to be rendered,
the nearness of eternity,
the fearful sin of despising thy Spirit.

Meeting God

I bless thee that great sin draws out great grace,
that, although the least sin
deserves infinite punishment
because done against an infinite God,
yet there is mercy for me,
for where guilt is most terrible,
there they mercy in Christ is most deep and free.

Living by prayer

Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring
my will to thine,
and without that it is folly to pray.

Act of Approach

Preserve my understanding from error,
my affections from love of idols,
my lips from speaking guile,
my conduct from stain of vice,
my character from appearance of evil,
that I may be harmless, blameless, rebukeless,
exemplary, useful, light-giving, prudent,
zealous for thy glory
and the good of my fellow-men.

Confidence

May every part of my character and conduct
make a serious and amiable impression on others,
and impel them to ask the way to the Master.

To be fit for God

May I duly regard the doctrine and practice
of the gospel,
prizing its commands as well as its promises.

Love Shed Abroad

Lord Jesus, Master, Redeemer, Saviour,
come and take entire possession of me;
this is thy right by purchase.

Christlikeness

Teach me the happy art of
attending to things temporal
with a mind intent on things eternal.

Openness

Thou who art righteous,
let me not harbour sin in my heart,
or indulge in a worldly temper,
or seek satisfaction in things that perish.

Refuge

All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety
that is in thee -
my name anew in Christ,
my body, soul, talents, character,
my success, wife, children, friends, work,
my present, my future, my end.
Take them, they are thine, and I am thine,
now and forever.