Lord Jesus,
If I love thee my soul shall seek thee, but can I seek thee unless my love to thee is kept alive to this end?
Do I Love thee because thou art good, and canst alone do me good?
It is fitting thou shouldst not regard me, for I am vile and selfish; yet I seek thee, and when I find thee there is no wrath to devour me, but only sweet love.
Thou dost stand as a rock between the scorching sun and my soul, and I live under the cool lee-side as one elect.
When my mind acts without thee it spins nothing but deceit and delusion; when my affections act without thee nothing is seen but dead works.
O how I need thee to abide in me, for I have no natural eyes to see thee, but I live by faith in one whose face to me is brighter than a thousand suns!
When I see that all sin is in me, all shame belongs to me; let me know that all good is in thee, all glory is thine.
Keep me from the error of thinking thou dost appear gloriously when some strange light fills my heart, as if that were the glorious activity of grace, but let me see that the truest revelation of thyself is when thou dost eclipse all my personal glory and all the honor, pleasure and good of this world.
The Son breaks out in glory when he shows himself as one who outshines all creation, makes men poor in spirit, and helps them to find their good in him.
Grant that I may distrust myself, to see my all in thee.
~Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, A. Bennet, ed.
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