Devotionals

KING OF GLORY, DIVINE MAJESTY, Every perfection adorns thy nature       and sustains thy throne; The heavens and earth are thine, The world is thine and its fullness. Thy power created the universe from nothing; Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns,   presiding over nations, families, individuals. Thy goodness is boundless;   all creatures wait on […]

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 […]

O GOD, We bless thee,         our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, Teacher,   for opening to us the volume of nature     where we may read and consider thy works. Thou hast this day spread before us the fuller pages     of revelation,   and in them we see what thou wouldest     have us do,   what thou requirest of us,   what […]

CREATOR, UPHOLDER AND PROPRIETOR OF ALL THINGS, We cannot escape from thy presence         and control,     nor do we desire to do so. Our privilege is to be under the agency     of thy omnipotence,   righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy and grace; For thou art Love with more than parental affection. We admire thy goodness,   stand in awe […]

O LORD GOD, Thou art our Preserver, Governor, Saviour,         and coming Judge. Quieten our souls to call upon thy name; Detach us from the influence of the flesh     and the senses; Impress us with the power of faith; Promote in us spirituality of mind   that will render our services acceptable to thee,   and delightful and […]

O LORD, The world is artful to entrap,       approaches in fascinating guise,       extends many a gilded bait,       presents many a charming face. Let my faith scan every painted bauble,   and escape every bewitching snare   in a victory that overcomes all things. In my duties give me firmness, energy, zeal,     devotion to thy cause,     courage in […]

My God, I bless thee that thou hast given me the eye       of faith,   to see thee as Father,   to know thee as a covenant God,   to experience thy love planted in me; For faith is the grace of union   by which I spell out my entitlement to thee: Faith casts my anchor upwards   where […]

HOLY TRINITY, All praise to thee for electing me           to salvation,       by foreknowledge of God the Father,       through sanctification of the Spirit,       unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood         of Jesus; I adore the wonders of thy condescending love,   marvel at the true believer’s high privilege   within whom all heaven comes to dwell,   abiding in […]

O LORD, I live here as a fish in a vessel of water,       only enough to keep me alive,   but in heaven I shall swim in the ocean. Here I have a little air in me to keep me breathing,   but there I shall have sweet and fresh gales; Here I have a beam of […]

GLORIOUS JEHOVAH, MY COVENANT GOD, All thy promises in Christ Jesus are       yea and amen, and all shall be fulfilled. Thou hast spoken them, and they shall be done,   commanded, and they shall come to pass. Yet I have often doubted thee,   have lived at times as if there were no God. Lord, forgive me […]

THOU ETERNAL GOD, Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable       goodness, super-abundant grace; I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s ‘lip’   as number thy favours towards me; I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise. I thank thee for personal mercies,   a measure of health, preservation of body,   comforts of house and […]

GOD OF MY END, It is my greatest, noblest pleasure     to be acquainted with thee     and with my rational, immortal soul; It is sweet and entertaining   to look into my being   when all my powers and passions   are united and engaged in pursuit of thee,   when my soul longs and passionately breathes   after conformity to […]

O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER, Teach me to pray.         I confess that in religious exercises   the language of my lips and the feelings     of my heart have not always agreed,   that I have frequently taken carelessly upon     my tongue a name never pronounced above       without reverence and humility,   that I have often desired things which […]

O GOD OF UNSEARCHABLE GREATNESS, Before thee I am nothing but vanity, iniquity,       perishing; Sin has forfeited thy favour,   stripped me of thy image,   banished me from thy presence,   exposed me to the curse of thy law; I cannot deliver myself, and am in despair. But a resource is found in thee,   for without my […]

O LORD, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,     be crucified, dead, and buried. The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,   for it is empty and thou art risen;   the four-fold gospel attests it,   the living witnesses prove it,   my heart’s experience knows it. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to […]

LORD JESUS, Grant me the favour of being led by thee,       under the directions of thy providence       and thy Word. Grant me thy blessings with bitter things,   to brighten and quicken me,   not to depress and make me lifeless; Grant me, like Gideon of old, way-tokens,   by removing things that discourage me; Grant me succour […]

O THOU MOST HIGH, It becomes me to be low in thy presence.     I am nothing compared with thee; I possess not the rank and power of angels,   but thou hast made me what I am,   and placed me where I am;   help me to acquiesce in thy sovereign pleasure. I thank thee that in […]

O GOD OF GRACE, Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute,       and hast imputed his righteousness     to my soul,   clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe,   decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags;   my best prayers are stained with sin;   my penitential tears are so much […]

HEAVENLY FATHER, If I should suffer need, and go unclothed,     and be in poverty,   make my heart prize thy love,   know it, be constrained by it,   though I be denied all blessings. It is thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants,   for by these trials I see my sins,   and desire severance from […]

MY GOD, I feel it is heaven to please thee, and to be what thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in thy Book, and shall I break them? must […]

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, unmoveable; Equip me and I shall receive no wound; Stand by me and Satan will depart; Anoint my lips with a song of […]

O GOD, THOU ART VERY GREAT, My lot is to approach thee with godly fear         and humble confidence,   for thy condescension equals thy grandeur,   and thy goodness is thy glory. I am unworthy, but thou dost welcome;   guilty, but thou art merciful;   indigent, but thy riches are unsearchable. Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me […]

HOLY LORD, I have sinned times without number,     and been guilty of pride and unbelief,   of failure to find thy mind in thy Word,   of neglect to seek thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings   present me with a list of accusations, But I bless thee that they will not stand against me, […]

GIVER OF ALL GOOD, Streams upon streams of love overflow my path.       Thou hast made me out of nothing,       hast recalled me from a far country,   hast translated me from ignorance to knowledge,       from darkness to light,       from death to life,       from misery to peace,       from folly to wisdom,       from error to truth,       from sin […]

FATHER OF JESUS, Dawn returns, but without thy light within       no outward light can profit; Give me the saving lamp of thy Spirit that I may     see thee,   the God of my salvation, the delight of my soul,   rejoicing over me in love. I commend my heart to thy watchful care,   for I know its […]