The Christian Book of Mystical Verse compiled by A.W. Tozer is just beautiful.  It’s filled with poems, hymns and a prayers by over fifty different authors including Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, Frederick William Faber, John Newton, and Gerhard Tersteegen.  The book is organized into fifteen sections including topics such as the cross of Christ, communion, adoration of God, immortality and the world to come, victory, spiritual warfare and delighting in God’s presence.

If you are not a poetry lover, this is probably not the book for you.  If, like me, you love prose you will love this book.  I keep it in my car so I can read it at stop lights or in drive thru’s.  It’s a great book to read along with your regular Bible study as there are over 100 short poems, lyrics or prayers to reflect and meditate on.  Each one, on its own, is a wonderful inspiration for worship as many of them reflect on specific attributes of the Father, Son or Spirit and all of them are beautifully written.

In the back of the book, the selections are indexed by title, author and first line.  Keep in mind that this book is filled with words written long ago and therefore the language and writing style reflects that.  Many of these selections were written in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however there are some, such as The Celestial Country by Bernard of Cluny (from the 12th century), that go back much farther.

I particularly love the poem by Anna Laetitia Waring titled My Heart is Resting, O My God.  Here is the last stanza (and my favorite part):My heart is resting, O my God,      

My heart is in Thy care;                    

 I hear the voice of joy and health

Resounding everywhere.

Thou art my portion, saith my soul,

Ten thousand voices say,

And the music of their glad Amen

Will never die away.

For anyone who loves poetry, The Christian Book of Mystical Verse would be an excellent addition to your collection.