Lord of the Cloud and Fire,
I am a stranger with a stranger’s indifference;
My hands hold a pilgrim’s staff,
My march is Zionward,
My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,
My heart is in your hands without holding back.
You have created it,
redeemed it,
renewed it,
captured it,
conquered it.
Keep my heart from every opposing foe,
crush every rebel lust,
mortify every treacherous passion,
annihilate every earthborn desire.
All faculties of my being vibrate to your touch;
I love you with soul, mind, body, strength,
might, spirit, affection, will,
desire, intellect, understanding.
You are the very perfection of all perfections;
All intellect is derived from you;
My tiny streams flow from your unfathomable fountain.
Compared to you the sun is darkness,
all beauty is deformity,
all wisdom folly,
the best goodness faulty.
You are worthy of an adoration greater than my dull heart can yield;
Invigorate my love that it may rise up to your worthiness,
tightly intertwined with you
allured by you.
Then my walk will be an endless praise.
The Valley of Vision A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, slightly updated
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
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