As we rise today, then gather to worship, it is good to pray that all we do would be to the glory of God. Perhaps a prayer like this, drawn from the works of J.R. Miller, will orient your heart aright as you set out on another Lord’s Day. Jesus, who died for our sins, and rose again from the dead, we worship You on this Your day. You are the resurrection and the life. You brought life and immortality …

I have come to love and appreciate the poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I find that wherever I am at in life, he has a poem that speaks to it. And that’s the case today, on Father’s Day, as I think back to the years gone by. His poem “The Children’s Hour” is a celebration of his daughters and his love for them, and I think any father will be able to identify with it. Between the dark and the …

I always enjoy finding new prayer resources and, for that reason, was glad to receive a copy of Donald McKim’s new Everyday Prayer with the Puritans. It features prayers from the Puritans accompanied by devotions from McKim. Here is a prayer from Lewis Bayly that stood out to me. Perhaps it can help and guide you as you pray… O most gracious God and loving Father, who art about my bed and knowest my down-lying and my uprising, and art near …

Christopher Newman Hall was an English Nonconformist leader in the nineteenth century and one who dedicated much of his ministry to writing poetry and songs. I previously shared his poem “Thy Way Is Best” and today wanted to share another of his—a simple sonnet based on a verse from Psalm 126: “He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Here is his poetic interpretation, his poetic encouragement: Weeping …

I wonder if you have ever thought about the kind of courage—but also the kind of conceit—it takes for a young man to ask a father for the hand of his daughter. De Witt Talmage once considered this in a discourse on marriage and, frankly, his thoughts are hilarious. I trust you’ll enjoy reading about the very “sublimity of impudence” as he highlights it here. I charge you realize your responsibility in having taken her from the custody and care …

Among Nick’s things I found a collection of George Herbert’s poetry—a text from one of his Bible college courses (and presumably one taught by the book’s author, Jim Orrick). Herbert was a Puritan-era devotional poet who left behind some wonderful reflections on Christian living and doctrine. I especially appreciated this short one in which he displays skill through concision. Every word counts in “Trinity Sunday.” Lord, who hast formed me out of mud, And hast redeemed me through thy blood, …

In recent months I have often mentioned the growing importance of poetry in my life. As we come to Good Friday and Easter, I have been enjoying some of the devotional poetry of days gone by, and was especially struck by Hannah Flagg Gould’s “To the Mourner.” It does not deal with Easter per se, but with the wonderful consequences of Easter, for if Christ rose, so shall those who have died in him. Here is her reflection on the …

I have been reading some of the works of Charles Ebert Orr who wrote in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Besides books he also penned a small number of poems and hymns and, among them, I most appreciated one titled “Savior, Lead Me.” It is a simple profession of confidence in God’s goodness and sovereignty and a simple consecration to his purposes. I think you’ll enjoy it as well. I do not pray that life be spent On flow’ry …