Fear not, O seed, to perish in the spring;
The pretty fields will only bloom awhile;
What though the earth doth greenest, gayest smile,
Its pleasures no true joy nor lasting bring.
Awinter thou wast safe in silo kept
From trial’s frost, unto this sowing hour,
But never barn could nourish what must flow’r,
However warmly there thy kernel slept.
But when at last in soil thou art lain,
Thou shalt see beatific, summer sun
And sprouting shoot rise up in thee again
As yet more perfect life be then begun,
Until in ripened plenitude of grain
Thy resurrection-harvest’s fully done.
—2/24/26
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Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Superlative Grace
God is greater than our heart. 1 John iii. 20.
Redder than my blushing shame
Is the blood that penned my name
In thy book of life, O Lamb.
Cleaner than my filthy dress
Is the Fuller’s righteousness,
Washing all who guilt confess.
Whiter than my leprous hands
Is thy cov’ring grace, that stands
In great drifts o’er sin-smirched lands.
Sweeter than my graverot stench
Are thy prayers my guilt to quench—
Incense ere the mercy-bench.
Higher than my heaping sin
Stands the cross where thou wast giv’n;
‘Tis the ladder up to heav’n.
Further than the end of days
Runs the promise that we praise:
We shall serve our God always.
Long and high and deep and broad
Is the matchless love of God;
Unto thee be endless laud!
—Insomnia III. To “Holy Ghost” (Crüger) or “Man of Sorrows, What a Name.” 1/30/26.
Redder than my blushing shame
Is the blood that penned my name
In thy book of life, O Lamb.
(Rev 21:27)
Cleaner than my filthy dress
Is the Fuller’s righteousness,
Washing all who guilt confess.
(Mal 3:2)
Whiter than my leprous hands
Is thy cov’ring grace, that stands
In great drifts o’er sin-smirched lands.
(Ex 4:6; Isa 1:18)
Sweeter than my graverot stench
Are thy prayers my guilt to quench—
Incense ere the mercy-bench.
(Heb 7:25; Rev 5:8)
Higher than my heaping sin
Stands the cross where thou wast giv’n;
‘Tis the ladder up to heav’n.
(Rev 18:5; John 1:51)
Further than the end of days
Runs the promise that we praise:
We shall serve our God always.
(Luke 1:74-75)
Long and high and deep and broad
Is the matchless love of God;
Unto thee be endless laud!
(Eph 3:18-19)
—Insomnia III. To “Holy Ghost” (Crüger) or “Man of Sorrows, What a Name.” 1/30/26.
Monday, February 2, 2026
Meditations: January 2026
When Jesus slept in the stern,
Slumbering as the wind and waves rose,
Unwaking as water filled the boat,
Was it because he discerned his father’s footsteps in the storm?
Was he pondering his work
And dreaming of his mighty deeds?
“When the waters saw you, my Father,
When the waters saw you they were afraid
And the deeps trembled.
The clouds poured out water—
The skies gave forth thunder—
Your arrows flashed on every side—
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind—
Your lightnings lighted up the world—
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
Your path through the great waters,
Yet your footprints were unseen:
You led your people like a flock
By the hand of the Son of Man.”
This and the below have been my meditations for the past month. There are fewer this month; I’ve had to learn again to focus on the more profitable than the less. But what profit still the Lord blesses me with.
Slumbering as the wind and waves rose,
Unwaking as water filled the boat,
Was it because he discerned his father’s footsteps in the storm?
Was he pondering his work
And dreaming of his mighty deeds?
“When the waters saw you, my Father,
When the waters saw you they were afraid
And the deeps trembled.
The clouds poured out water—
The skies gave forth thunder—
Your arrows flashed on every side—
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind—
Your lightnings lighted up the world—
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
Your path through the great waters,
Yet your footprints were unseen:
You led your people like a flock
By the hand of the Son of Man.”
(Mark 4:35-41; Ps 77:12, 16-20)
This and the below have been my meditations for the past month. There are fewer this month; I’ve had to learn again to focus on the more profitable than the less. But what profit still the Lord blesses me with.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Meditations: December 2025
Lord, I have nothing to offer anyone
But my sin and your grace.
Be mighty, please.
God is spirit; man is flesh.
Thank you that there is flesh in heaven:
An advocate for man to God.
Thank you that there is Spirit in me:
An advocate for God to man.
I am slowly getting caught up from the holidays. Part of that is that I am finally posting my December meditations almost a week late. There are not so many of them, for the same reason as the lateness of their posting. That’s all right. The first half of December was busy before I got the flu, and the second was filled with gratitude for family in town. I’m happy that things are settling as the new year begins, however, and I’ve almost recovered my routine. The rest of these little thoughts:
But my sin and your grace.
Be mighty, please.
God is spirit; man is flesh.
Thank you that there is flesh in heaven:
An advocate for man to God.
Thank you that there is Spirit in me:
An advocate for God to man.
(1 John 2:1; John 15:26)
I am slowly getting caught up from the holidays. Part of that is that I am finally posting my December meditations almost a week late. There are not so many of them, for the same reason as the lateness of their posting. That’s all right. The first half of December was busy before I got the flu, and the second was filled with gratitude for family in town. I’m happy that things are settling as the new year begins, however, and I’ve almost recovered my routine. The rest of these little thoughts:
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