Christians throughout the ages have written devotionals as a way to bend their souls toward God and teach about him, communicating rich truths and encouraging readers to grow in grace and godliness. In this collection of 50 devotionals and creeds by figures such as Augustine, John Calvin, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, literary expert Leland Ryken introduces readers to insightful selections of their classic writings. Each entry contains a devotional passage from a historical figure, analysis by Ryken, and a concluding Bible passage to help readers understand and appreciate the literary beauty and spiritual truths they contain. Literary-inclined readers and first-time devotional readers alike will relish this one-of-a-kind anthology carefully compiled to help them encounter God in fresh ways.
192 pages.
Editor’s Introduction
1. Augustine on Finding Rest for Our Restless Heart
2. Gerard Manley Hopkins on Jesus as Our Hero
3. Florence Nightingale’s Exhortation to Christlike Living
4. John Donne on For Whom the Bell Tolls
5. George Washington Carver on Communing with God through Nature
6. Martin Luther’s Preface to Galatians
7. Andrew Murray on Waiting on God
8. The Westminster and Heidelberg Catechisms on the Foundational Principles of the Christian Life
9. Thomas à Kempis on the Imitation of Christ
10. Two Prayers of Samuel Johnson
11. John Henry Newman on Jesus Our Guide and Guardian
12. The Bidding Prayer from Lessons and Carols
13. John Calvin on True and Substantial Wisdom
14. The Apostles’ Creed on What Christians Believe
15. Harriet Beecher Stowe on Following the Steps of the Master
16. William Law’s Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
17. Brother Lawrence on Practicing the Presence of God
18. Richard Baxter on the Saints’ Everlasting Rest
19. Samuel Taylor Coleridge on What Makes the Bible the Greatest Book
20. Jeremy Taylor on Holy Living
21. Jonathan Edwards on Earthly and Divine Beauty
22. The Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
23. Reflections on the Supreme Loveliness of Christ
24. Bernard of Clairvaux on Loving God
25. Jeremiah Burroughs on the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
26. Nathaniel Hawthorne on Nature as God’s Signpost
27. Blaise Pascal’s Thoughts on the Mission and Greatness of Jesus
28. Jeremy Taylor on Holy Dying
29. William Bradford on Trusting and Praising God in Extremity
30. Jane Austen’s Evening Prayer
31. The Geneva Bible and King James Version on What the Bible Means to a Believer
32. John Wesley on the Almost Christian
33. Martin Luther on the Estate of Marriage
34. John Donne on Death as a Welcome Sleep
35. Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon
36. John Flavel on the Mystery of Providence
37. George MacDonald on the Believer’s New Name
38. Reflections on Mortality and Immortality from the Prayer Book’s Burial Service
39. John Calvin on the World as the Theater of God’s Glory
40. J. C. Ryle on Holiness
41. Lilias Trotter on Death as the Gate of Life
42. Three Puritan Exhortations to Remember God’s Visitations
43. Thomas Brooks on How a Believer’s Last Day Is His Best Day
44. Jonathan Edwards on Charity and Its Fruits
45. Reflections on Providence from the Westminster Confession and Heidelberg Catechism
46. A. W. Tozer on the Pursuit of God
47. George Whitefield on the Care of the Soul Urged as the One Thing Needful
48. Edification from Last Wills and Testaments
49. Julian of Norwich on How All Things Shall Be Well
50. J. I. Packer on Knowing God
Notes on Sources
Heart in Pilgrimage, The: A Treasury of Classic Devotionals on the Christian Life is in the following collections: