Saturday, February 28, 2009

Lord's Day Eve

Another week has gone and I have been preserved in my going out and my coming in.
Thine has been the vigilance that has turned threatened evils aside;
Thine the supplies that have nourished me;
Thine the comforts that have indulged me;
Thine the relations and friends that have delighted me;
Thine the means of grace which have edified me;
Thine the book, which, amidst all my enjoyments, has told me that is is not my rest,
    that in all successes one thing alone is needful, to love my Savior.
Nothing can equal the number of thy mercies but my imperfections and sins.

These, O God, I will neither conceal or palliate,
    but confess with a broken heart.
In what condition would secret reviews of my life leave me
    where it not for the assurance that with thee
       there is plenteous redemption
       that thou art a forgiving God,
       that thou mayest be feared!
While I hope for pardon through the blood of the cross,
    I pray to be clothed with humility,
       to be quickened in thy way,
       to be more devoted to thee,
       to keep the end of my life in view,
       to be cured of the folly of delay and indecision,
       to know how frail I am,
       to number my days and apply my heart unto wisdom.

- The Valley of Vision, pp. 352-53