LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,
I ask not to be enrolled amongst the earthly great and rich, but to be numbered with the spiritually blessed.
Make it my present, supreme, persevering concern to obtain those blessings which are
spiritual in naure,
eternal in their continuance,
satisfying in their possession.
Preserve me from a false estimate of the whole or a part of my character;
May I pay regard to my principles as well as my conduct,
my motives as well as my actions.
Help me never to mistake the excitement of my passions for the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Read the rest of this entry »
O LORD,
We commune with Thee every day, but week days are worldly days, and secular concerns reduce heavenly impressions.
We bless Thee therefore for the day sacred to our souls when we can wait upon Thee and be refreshed;
We thank Thee for the institutions of religion by use of which we draw near to Thee and Thou to us;
We rejoice in another Lord’s Day when we call off our minds from the cares of the world and attend upon Thee without distraction;
Let our retirement be devout,
our conversation edifying,
our reading pious,
our hearing profitable,
that our souls may be quickened and elevated.
Read the rest of this entry »
O Lord God,
Thou art my protecting arm,
fortress, refuge, shield, buckler.
Fight for me and my foes must flee;
Uphold me and I cannot fall;
Strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmovable;
Equip me and I shall receive no wound;
Stand by me and Satan will depart;
Anoint my lips with a song of salvation
and I shall shout Thy victory;
Give me abhorrence of all evil,
as a vile monster that defies Thy law,
casts off Thy yoke,
defiles my nature,
spreads misery.
Teach me to look to Jesus on His cross
and so to know sin’s loathsomeness in Thy sight.
There is no pardon but through Thy Son’s death,
no cleansing but in His precious blood,
no atonement but His to expiate evil.
Read the rest of this entry »
O Lord,
May I…
Never fail to come to the knowledge of the truth,
Never rest in a system of doctrine, however scriptural, that does not bring or further salvation, or teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, or help me to live soberly, righteously, godly;
Never rely on my own convictions and resolutions, but be strong in Thee and in Thy might;
Never cease to find Thy grace sufficient in all my duties, trials, and conflicts;
Never forget to repair to Thee in all my spiritual distresses and outward troubles, in all the dissatisfactions experienced in creature comforts;
Never fail to retreat to Him who is full of grace and truth, the Friend that loveth at all times, who is touched with the feelings of my infirmities, and can do exceeding abundantly for me;
Read the rest of this entry »
Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin, a dread of its approach.
Help me chastely to flee it
and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Yours alone.
Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in You,
the ground of my rest,
the spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of Yourself
as Savior, Master, Lord, and King.
Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in Your Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from You.
Read the rest of this entry »
O LORD,