The Mover

O Lord I am astonished at the difference
between my deservings and my receivings,
between the state I am now in, and my past
gracelessness,
between the heaven I am bound for and
the hell I merit.
Who made me to differ,
but Thee?

Morning needs

O God, the Author of All Good,

I come to thee for the grace another day
will require for its duties and events.
I step out into a wicked world,
I carry with me an evil heart,
I know that without thee I can do nothing,
that everything with which I shall
be concerned,
however harmless in itself,
may prove an occasion of sin or folly,
unless I am kept by thy power.

The Cry of a Convicted Sinner

Had I been a prince
I would long ago have crushed such a rebel;
Had I been a father
I would long ago have crushed such a rebel.

The Divine Will

Strengthen me to pray with the conviction
that whatever I receive is thy gift,
so that I may pray until prayer be granted.

Protection

May we
be rich in faith,
be strong in faith,
live by faith,
walk by faith,
experience the joy of faith,
do the work of faith,
hope through faith.

First Day Morning - Worship

We are going to the house of instruction,
give testimony to the Word preached,
and glorify it the heart of all who hear,
may it enlighten the ignorant,
awaken the the careless, reclaim the wandering,
establish the weak, comfort the feeble-minded,
make ready a people for their Lord.

A Minister's Bible

O God of Truth,

I thank thee for the Holy Scriptures,
their precepts, promises, directions, light.
In them may I learn more of Christ,
be enabled to retain His truth
and have grace to follow it.

Help me to lift up the gates of my soul
that He may come in
and show me Himself when I search
the Scriptures,
for I have no lines to fathom its depths,
no wings to soar to its heights.

A Minister's Prayer

There is much unconquered territory
in my nature,
scourge out the buyers and seller
of my soul's temple,
and give me in return pure desires,
and longings after perfect holiness.

A Minister's Strength

Root and tear out the poisonous weed
of self-righteousness,
and show me my utter nothingness;
Keep me sensible of my sinnership;
Sink me into penitence and self-abhorance;
Break the Dagon of pride in pieces
before the ark of thy presence;
Demolish the Babel of self-opinion,
and scatter it to the wind;
Level to the ground my Jericho walls
of a rebel heart;
Then grace, grace, will be my experience and cry.

A Minister's Prayer

Water the hearts of those who hear thy Word,
that seeds sown in weakness may be raised
in power.

Love Rest in God

I depend wholly on thee,
wean me from all other dependencies,
Thou art my all
and delight in me.

Service and Equipment

O that I could be a flame of fire in thy service,
always burning out in one continual blaze.

Fullness

With thee I can live without other things,
for thou are God all-sufficient,
and the glory, peace, rest joy of the world
is a creaturely, perishing thing
in comparison with thee.

Contentment

Heavenly Father...

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul
instead of sin, he became more dear to me
than sin had formerly been;
but kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny.

Love

Thy infinite love is a mystery of mysteries,
and my eternal rest lies
in the eternal enjoyment of it.

A Colloquy on Rejoicing

Art thou grieving under a sense of indwelling sin?
Let godly sorrow work repentance,
as the true spirit which the Lord blesses
and creates fullest joy;
Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,
Self-loathing draws down divine thoughts.

Hast thou sought joys in some creature comfort?
Look not below God for happiness,
fall not asleep in Delilah's lap.

Let God be all in all to thee,
and joy in the fountain that is always full.

Openness

Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame,
so that with firmness and courage I may
confess the Redeemer before me,
go forth with Him bearing His reproach,
be zealous with his knowledge,
be filled with his wisdom
walk with his circumspection,
ask counsel of him in all things,
repair to the Scriptures for his orders,
stay my mind on his peace,
knowing that nothing can befall me
without his permission, appointment
and administration.

Divine Promises

Thou hast given me to read my pardon
in the wounds of Jesus,
and my soul doth trust in him, my God incarnate,
the ground of my life, the spring of my hope.

Devotion

O how desirable, how profitable to the Christian life
is a spirit of holy watchfulness
and a godly jealousy over myself,
when my soul is afraid of nothing
except grieving and offending thee,
the blessed God, my Father and friend,
whom I love and long to please,
rather than be happy in myself.

Evening Renewal

Every morning I vow to love thee more fervently,
to serve thee more sincerely,
to be more devoted in my life,
to be wholly thine;

Yet I soon stumble, backslide,
and have to confess my weakness, misery and sin.

But I bless thee that the finished work of Jesus
needs no addition from my doings,
that his oblation is satisfaction
for my sins.

If future days be mine, help me to amend this life,
to hate and abhor evil,
to flee the sins I confess.

Morning Needs

O God, the Author of All Good,
I come to thee for the grace another day
will require for its duties and events.
I step out into a wicked world,
I carry with me an evil heart,
I know that without thee I can do nothing,
that everything with which I shall
be concerned,
however harmless in itself,
may prove an occasion of sin or folly,
unless I am kept by thy power.

Voyage

Help me live circumspectly,
with skill to convert every care to prayer

Spiritual Growth

May I never be satisfied with my present
spiritual progress,
but to faith add virtue, knowledge, temperance,
godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.

Faith and the world

In my duties give me firmness, energy, zeal,
devotion to thy cause,
courage in thy name,
love as a working grace,
and all commensurate with my trust.

Desires

May I never be importunate for temporal blessings,
but always refer them to the fatherly goodness,
for thou knowest what I need before I ask...

Choices

All my desires have not been gratified,
but thy love denied them to me
when fulfilment of my wished would have
proved my ruin or injury.

Weaknesses

Deliver me from carking [distressful] care,
and make me a happy, holy person;
Help me to walk the separated life with
firm and brace step,
and the wrestle successfully against weakness...

Conflict

May I discern the deadly viper [sin] in its malignity,
tear it with holy indignation from my breast,
resolutely turn its every snare,
refuse to hold polluting dalliance with it.

Need of Grace

O Lord,

Thou knowest my great unfitness for service,
my present deadness,
my inability to do anything for thy glory,
my distressing coldness of heart.

I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,
and loathe to abhor myself.

I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest
have me to do,
for I am amazingly deserted by thee,
and sense thy presence so little;
Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth,
and the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act but every motion is sin.

Return again with showers of converting grace
to a poor gospel abusing sinner.

Help my soul to breath after holiness,
after a constant devotedness to thee,
after growth in graced more abundantly every day.

O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness,
And I am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of goodness bring me not nigh.

Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed Friend
in thought and behaviour;
I confide in thee and lean upon thee
and need thee at all times to assist and lead me.

O that all my distresses and apprehensions
might prove but Christ's school
to make me fir for greater service
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.

New Year

O Lord,

Length of days does not profit me
except in thy service, to thy glory....

May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

Contentment

Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows,
temptations,
if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil,
and be delivered from it with gratitude to thee,
acknowledging this as the highest testimony of they love.