VII. Make an offering to God _of all that thou hast, and undertakest_. If thou canst not bring offerings of a high and exalted devotion, of prayer, of thanksgiving, and of other similar acts of religion, offer at least what thou hast, with a good will, and a fervent desire. _Wish_, at least, that it may prove acceptable unto the Lord; for to have such a desire, or to be willing to have it, is no contemptible offering, but is very agreeable to the kindness of God. In what measure thou _desirest_ to offer up thy devotion, thy prayer, and praise; in that measure God accepts the same. He requires no more at thy hands than he himself works in thee by his grace: nor canst thou return him more than he has first conferred on thee. In the meantime, entreat the Lord Jesus, that he would graciously please to supply what is defective in thee, by his own more perfect oblation and sacrifice: because he, and he only, is the perfection of our imperfect worship and service. Say, therefore, in faith: “O my God, and my Father, I beseech thee, let my devotion, my prayer, and thanksgiving, together with all the acts of my faith and worship, be graciously accepted by thee in thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Esteem them, not according to what they are in themselves, but according to what they are made by the merit of the all-sufficient sacrifice offered up by thy Son. O look upon that, and upon all that he has wrought for me in the flesh; and as his most perfect works must needs be pleasing to thee, so let mine also be acceptable to thee for his sake. He, O my God, shall abundantly make up whatsoever is defective in me.” By this means, our devotion, our prayer, and thanksgiving, how imperfect, weak, and obscure soever they may be in themselves, acquire a certain lustre, worth, and dignity derived from the merit of Christ, whereby our works are rendered acceptable to the Lord. As a naked and unclean infant is offensive to every one that sees it, but becomes sweet and lovely when it is thoroughly cleansed, and covered with fine linen: in like manner, all the works which thou doest in thy natural state, are polluted with sin, and of no account before God; but no sooner art thou covered with the perfection of Christ (Isa. 61:10), than thy works are acceptable to God. As fruit, which is not valuable in itself, surprises the spectator into a love of it, when served up in vessels of precious gold: so our prayers and acts of devotion, though of no account in themselves, are exalted in Jesus Christ, in whom, as _in the beloved, we are made accepted_ with God. Eph. 1:6.