To be holy and happy

from the one book I would want with me, besides my Bible, if I was on a deserted island:
(which btw, I wouldn't need for long because, being the total wimp and non-survivalist I am I would be in Heaven very, very soon after being deserted and I could just talk to God face-to-face...) These prayers are amazingly applicable even though they were written long ago.

Not that I want to tell you what to do (ahem...), but this is best read slowly and contemplatively, ....with a cup of tea and a chocolate biscotti.


Crucifixion and Resurrection

O Lord,
I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried.
The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,
for it is empty and thou art risen;
the four-fold gospel attests it,
the living witnesses prove it,
my heart's experience knows it.

Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,
for I wish to be as dead and buried
to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
and might be delivered from his lusts.

O Lord, there is much ill about me - crucify it,
much flesh within me - mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness,
the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern.

Let me reckon my old life dead
because of the crucifixion,
and never feed it as a living thing.

Grant me to stand with my dying Savior,
to be content to be rejected,
to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
and to hold fast despised teachings until death.

Help me to be resolute and Christ contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials,
and grace for all the joys.

Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.

Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
may it rule me,
may I walk in its power,
and be strengthened through its influence.

The Valley of Vision
A Collection of Puritan prayers and devotions
Edited by Arthur Bennett
published by The Banner of Truth