My God,
I feel
it is heaven to please thee,
and to
be what thou wouldst have me be.
O that I
were holy as thou art holy,
pure as
Christ is pure,
perfect
as thy Spirit is perfect!
These, I
feel, are the best commands in thy Book,
and
shall I break them? must I break them?
am I
under such a necessity as long as I live here?
Woe, woe
is me that I am a sinner,
that I
grieve this blessed God,
who is
infinite in goodness and grace!
O, if he
would punish me for my sins,
it would
not wound my heart so deep
to
offend him;
But
though I sin continually,
he
continually repeats his kindness to me.
At times
I feel I could bear any suffering,
but how
can I dishonour this glorious God?
What
shall I do to glorify and worship
this
best of beings?
O that I
could consecrate my soul and body
to his
service,
without
restraint, for ever!
O that I
could give myself up to him,
so as
never more to attempt to be my own!
or have
any will or affections
that are
not perfectly conformed to his will
and his
love!
But,
alas, I cannot live and not sin.
O may
angels glorify him incessantly,
and, if
possible, prostrate themselves lower
before
the blessed King of heaven!
I long
to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise;
But when
I have done all I can to eternity
I shall
not be able to offer more than
a small
fraction of the homage
that the
glorious God deserves.
Give me
a heart full of divine, heavenly love.
- Valley of Vision
