The Valley of Vision

Ok, so I've thought about buying a copy of "The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions" for quite some time now. Well, last week I picked up a copy and I can say with confidence that these old dead guys of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries thought more deeply and lovingly about our great God and Savior than I ever will. I want to share one with you. Now let me warn you that these poems are in King James like language - don't be a sissy!!! I know it's not everyday language and I don't read out of the KJV either. Struggle through it, engage your mind and heart and you will be rewarded. May it cause you to worship!

The Deeps

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 thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in thee,
the ground of my rest,
the spring of my being.

Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself
as savior, master, lord and king.

Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in thy Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.

Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman,
that my being may be a tilled field.
the roots of grace spreading far and wide,
until thou alone art seen in me,
thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no master but thee,
no law but thy will,
no delight but thyself,
no wealth but that thou givest,
no good but that thou blessest,
no peace but that thou bestowest.

I am nothing but that thou makest me,
I have nothing but that I receive from thee,
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.

Quarry me deep, dear Lord,
and then fill me to overflowing with living water.