Love of Jesus
LORD JESUS,
If I love thee my soul shall seek thee
but can I seek thee unless my love to thee
is kept alive to this end?
Do l love thee because thou art good,
and canst alone do me good?
It is fitting thou shouldest not regard me,
for I am vile and selfish,
yet I seek thee,
and when I find thee there is no wrath
to devour me
but only sweet Love.
Thou dost stand as a rock between the scorching sun
and my soul,
and I live under the cool lee-side as one elect.
When my mind acts without thee
it spins nothing but deceit and delusion;
When my affections act without thee
nothing is seen but dead works.
O how I need thee to abide in me,
for I have no natural eyes to see thee,
but I live by faith in one whose face to me,
Is brighter than a thousand suns!
When I see that all sin is in me, all shame
belongs to me;
let me know that all good is in thee,
glory is thine.
Keep me from the error of thinking thou dost
appear gloriously
When some strange light fills my heart,
As if that were the glorious activity of grace,
But let me see that the truest revelation of thyself
Is when thou dost eclipse all my personal glory
And all the honour, pleasure and good of this world.
The Son breaks out in glory
When he shows himself as one who outshines all creation,
Makes men poor in spirit,
and helps them to find their good in him.
Grant that I may distrust myself, to see my all in thee.
This is an excerpt from the book Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett. If you would like to buy this book please click here.