The Last Old, Old Song
A reading for today: Psalm 139
Today’s we conclude our week of devotions that have centered on great hymns that have sustained people of faith. Here in Hendricks County, Indiana, we are privileged to have a significant number of Quakers. John Greenleaf Whittier, America’s beloved Quaker poet, wrote the hymn “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.” Over 75 of his poems have been made into hymns.
Whittier was a good example of quiet godliness in word and in deed. One writer said, “He left upon our literature the stamp of genius and upon our religion the touch of sanity.” Allow today’s hymn to slow down your rushing spirit, to bathe you with a calm assurance and to set the tone for a calm and enjoyable weekend:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind; in purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise!
Drop Thy still dews of quietness till all our strings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe thru the heats of our desire Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; speak thru the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm.
A prayer for today: Lord God, grant me a quiet mind that trusts you and your kindness.
Ben Keckler
07.11.08
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