CONFLICT

From The Valley of Vision — A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

Edited by Arthur Bennett

Published by The Banner of Truth Trust

O LORD GOD,

Thou art my protecting arm,

fortress, refuge, shield, buckler.

fight for me and my foes must flee;

Uphold me and I cannot fall;

Strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmovable;

Equip me and I shall receive no wound;

Stand by me and Satan will depart;

Annoint my lips with a song of salvation

and I shall shout thy victory;

Give me abhorrence of all evil,

as a vile monster that

defies thy law, casts off thy yoke,

defiles my nature, spreads misery.

Teach me to look to Jesus on his cross

and so to know sin’s loathsomeness in thy sight.

There is no pardon but through thy Son’s death,

no cleansing but in his precious blood,

no atonement but his to expiate evil.

Show me the shame, the agony, the bruises

of incarnate God,

that I may read boundless guilt in the

boundless price;

May I discern the deadly viper in its real malignity,

tear it with holy indignation from my breast,

resolutely turn from its every snare,

refuse to hold polluting dalliance with it.

Blessed Lord Jesus, at thy cross

may I be taught the awful miseries from which

I am saved,

ponder what the word ‘lost’ implies,

see the fires of eternal destruction;

Then may I cling more closely to thy broken self,

adhere to thee with firmer faith,

be devoted to thee with total being,

detest sin as strongly as thy love to me

is strong,

And may holiness be the atmosphere

in which I live.