UNION WITH CHRIST

O Father,

hou hast made man for the glory of thyself,
and when not an instrument of that glory,
he is a thing of nought;
No sin is greater than the sin of unbelief,
for if union with Christ is the greatest good,
unbelief is the greatest sin,
as being cross to thy command;
I see that whatever my sin is,
yet no sin is like disunion from Christ by unbelief.
Lord, keep me from committing the greatest sin
in departing from him,
for I can never in this life perfectly obey
and cleave to Christ.
When thou takest away my outward blessings,
it is for sin,
in not acknowledging that all I have is of thee,
in not serving thee through what I have,
in making myself secure and hardened.
Lawful blessings are the secret idols,
and do most hurt;
the greatest injury is in the having,
the greatest good is in the taking away.
In love divest me of blessings that I may glorify
thee the more;
remove the fuel of my sin,
and may I prize the gain of a little holiness
as overbalancing all my losses.
The more I love thee with a truly gracious love
the more I desire to love thee,
and the more miserable I am at my want of love;
The more I hunger and thirst after thee,
the more I faint and fail in finding thee,
The more my heart is broken for sin,
the more I pray it may be far more broken.

My great evil is that I do not remember
the sins of my youth,
nay, the sins of one day I forget the next.
Keep me from all things that turn to unbelief
or lack of felt union with Christ.

—from The Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett, editor (Banner of Truth Trust, 2002).

salme 117
(Geneva Bible)

1 All nations, praise ye the Lorde: all ye people, praise him.
2 For his louing kindnes is great toward vs, and the trueth of the Lorde endureth for euer. Praise yee the Lord.

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