Sincerity

Elector of Saints,

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and callest to thyself.

With thee is mercy, redemption, assurance, forgiveness;

Thou hast lifted me, a prisoner, out of the pit of sin

            and pronounced my discharge,

                   not only in the courts of heaven,

            but in the dock of conscience;

            hast justified me by faith,

                   given me peace with thee,

                   made me to enjoy glorious liberty as thy child.

Save me from the false hope of the hypocrite:

May I never suppose I am in Christ unless I am a new creature,

            never think I am born of the Spirit

                        Unless I mind the things of the Spirit,

            never rest satisfied with professions of belief

                        and outward forms and services,

                               while my heart is not right with thee.

May I judge my sincerity in religion

                        by my fear to offend thee,

                             my concern to know thy will,

                             my willingness to deny myself.

May nothing render me forgetful of thy glory,

            or turn me aside from thy commands,

            or shake my confidence in thy promises,

            or offend thy children.

Let not my temporal occupations injure my spiritual concerns,

or the cares of life make me neglect the one thing needful.

May I not be inattentive to the design of thy dealings with me,

            or insensible under thy rebukes,

            or immobile at thy calls.

May I learn the holy art of abiding in thee,

            of being in the world and not of it,

            of making everything not only consistent with

                  But conducive to my religion.

 

(From: The Valley of Vision, pg. 174)