Lord of All Being,
There is one thing that deserves my greatest care,
that calls
forth my ardent desires,
That is, that I many answer the great end for which
I am made —
to glorify
thee who hast given me being,
and to do
all the good I can for my fellow men;
Verily, life is not worth having
if it be
not improved for this noble purpose.
Yet, Lord, how little is this the thought of mankind!
Most men seem to live for themselves,
without
much or any regard for thy glory,
or for the
good of others;
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue
the riches,
honours, pleasures of this life,
as if they
supposed that wealth, greatness, merriment,
could make
their immortal souls happy;
But, alas, what false delusive dreams are these!
And how miserable ere long will those be that
sleep in
them,
for all our
happiness consists in loving thee,
and being
holy as thou art holy.
O may I never fall into the tempers and vanities,
the
sensuality and folly of the present world!
It is a place of inexpressible sorrow, a vast empty
nothingness;
Time is a moment, a vapour,
and all its
enjoyments are empty bubbles,
fleeting
blasts of wind,
from which
nothing satisfactory can be derived;
Give me grace always to keep in covenant with thee,
and to
reject as delusion a great name here or hereafter,
together
with all sinful pleasures or profits.
Help me to know continually
that there
can be no true happiness,
no
fulfilling of thy purpose for me,
apart from
a life lived in and for
the Son of
thy love.
The Valley of Vision
Edited by Arthur Bennett
