These days of sin and temptation

(John Fawcett, "Christ Precious")

"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!"
1 Peter 2:7

I daily search for Jesus in my retired devotions. There I tell Him all my heart—in secret groans and cries. He knows what my sighs mean, and what are my fears, and my painful sorrows. There I blush before Him—for my secret sins, and pour out the tear of penitential sorrow. There I utter my bitter complaints—of the disorderly passions I daily feel within me. I lament over the vanity of my thoughts, and spread before His eyes—all my soul's sores and diseases. I lay myself low in the dust at His feet, and tell Him with humble confusion of face—how much I have done to dishonor Him, how unworthy I am of His notice, and yet how I long for communion with Him.

O when shall these days of sin and temptation, these tedious seasons of absence and distance from my God and Savior—have an end? I breathe out from time to time, the most earnest desires after Him, and after the endearing sensations of His love.

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42:1-2