Samuel Rutherford
Dancing with Divines
December 16, 2021 (Thursday)
Nineteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the Scottish pastor Samuel Rutherford. He was a member of the Westminster Assembly, and his writings have been called “a bundle of myrrh whose ointment and perfume would revive and gladden the hearts of many generations”.
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Prayer
O Gracious Word and Power Who shows the steadfast love of God, I place my trust in You this day and take Your light and life with joy. I acknowledge the feelings that are roadblocks to my faith, and I acknowledge the experiences that have made doubt my companion. I thank You for these things which pave the path before me, and may they turn from fainted stones to flashing gems that call for praise. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Margaret Hoby
Dancing with Divines
December 15, 2021 (Wednesday)
Eighteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the Puritan noblewoman Margaret Hoby. Her diaries were the earliest known ones that were written by a woman in English, and they do not have great theological insights or spiritual epiphanies. Instead, Lady Hoby’s accounts depict the ins and outs of daily life, and present the reader with an authentic faith and an ordinary piety.
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Prayer
Almighty God, I simply pray thank You for Your presence in the ordinary and mundane, and thank You for Your gracious hand in the normal things from day to day. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to dwell among us. Amen.
Isaac Ambrose
Dancing with Divines
December 14, 2021 (Tuesday)
Seventeenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the Puritan mystic Isaac Ambrose. He was known for his warm and welcoming spirituality, and his opponents spoke highly of him for the kindness that he showed to all people.
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Prayer
O Keeper of the stars and source of all salvation, I thank You for the many lights that guide me on my journey. Grant me Your mercy and grace to reach my destination, and grant me Your protection from all dangers found along the way. Let me not make my home in the signs that speak of Jesus, and may I follow them to Him as the Magi did so long ago. To you be all blessing and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Samson Occum
Dancing with Divines
December 13, 2021 (Monday)
Sixteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the Indigenous pastor Samson Occum, who studied at a Puritan school and did mission work among his people (the Mohegans). He was also a friend of the poet Phillis Wheatley, and like her visited England where he was welcomed and received great fame.
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Prayer
Sovereign Lord, Who calls for and brings justice to the lowly, I thank You for the life and witness of Your servant Samson Occom. Though forsaken by closest friends You did not forsake him, and You kept him by Your powerful hand through many trials peculiar. Lord, guide me by that strange providence that guided him; Your loving care which everflows with peace that passes all understanding. In Your matchless name I pray. Amen.
Phillis Wheatley
Dancing with Divines
December 12, 2021 (Sunday)
Fifteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the Black poet Phillis Wheatley, who was a member of the Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Though achieving great fame abroad, including recognition from Voltaire, she was rejected by Boston’s colonists who believed that Africans could not write poetry.
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Prayer
O Lord, Who embraces despite differences, I pray that I would do the same this Advent season and all other seasons. Thank You for the Phillis Wheatley’s placed within my life, and as I follow Christ with them may I acquire His radical love. The love that changes people and will one day change the world; let me be changed by it for the sake of Your glory. Through Your Son I pray these things. Amen.
Jeremiah Burroughs
Dancing with Divines
December 11, 2021 (Saturday)
Fourteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is Jeremiah Burroughs, who was an Independent member of the Westminster Assembly. He followed the Latin motto “Opinionum varietas et opinantium unitas non sunt ασυστατα”, which means “Difference of belief and unity of believers are not inconsistent”.
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Prayer
O God, Who’s will is good and calls me to contentment, help me to hear Your voice and know what burdens I should carry. Keep me from the crosses that Your will has not allowed, and give me the strength to choose good health instead of what is harmful. And Lord, grant unto me a heart that beats with compassion, and humble hands that help to lift the crosses borne by others. In Your gracious name I pray. Amen.
Richard Mather
Dancing with Divines
December 10, 2021 (Friday)
Thirteenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the pastor Richard Mather, who was the father of the theologian Increase Mather and the grandfather of the theologian Cotton Mather. While serving his congregation in Boston Massachusetts, he helped to establish Congregationalism and published British North America’s first hymnal.
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Prayer
Sovereign Lord and Maker of time I thank You for this age; this moment of transition where many things must be released. It is very difficult to let go of what is cherished, but what awaits are greater things to be cherished in the future. Take from my heart the fear of what is unfamiliar, and help me to embrace the things unknown that bring maturity. Help me, and all of Your people, to grow in grace and character until the day when we are like Your Son and feast with Him in world without end. In His blessed name I pray. Amen.
Philip Nye
Dancing with Divines
December 9, 2021 (Thursday)
Twelfth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the preacher Philip Nye, who was a member of the Westminster Assembly and a doctor of theology. Because of his experience in exile due to persecution, he called for religious freedom and the fair treatment of Jews.
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Prayer
O Blessed One, Whose beauty is shown throughout the creation, You see a beauty within the mix that is Your Church and people. You also see a beauty in every person that You have made, and even those with unbelief who put down Your existence. We are all comely and of value in Your sight, and we are all cherished and beloved in Your friendly heart. Lord, may I accept Your Word about us which is truth, and may I proclaim it to others with the Good News of the Savior. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.
Hannah Duston
Dancing with Divines
December 8, 2021 (Wednesday)
Eleventh Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the infamous Hannah Duston, who was captured with her family and friends during a raid by the Abenaki people. She led her fellow captives to fight against their captors, and became an American legend with monuments in her honor.
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Prayer
O Holy One, Who alone is worthy of all worship, forgive me for the things that I have put within Your rightful place. No matter how noble they are, they pale in comparison to You and are stumbling blocks to the wondrous things You have for me in Jesus. Help those who have not bowed to the idols I have fashioned, and help me to make restitution if my foolish ways have harmed them. Tear down the pride that makes me think of them as foreign, and raise them up by truth and hope that I might call them brothers and sisters. Through Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Thomas Goodwin
Dancing with Divines
December 7, 2021 (Tuesday)
Tenth Day of Advent
Divine
Today’s Divine is the pastor-theologian Thomas Goodwin, who was chaplain to the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. As a Congregationalist he pastored the Fetter Lane Independent Church, and was a member of the Westminster Assembly and Whitehall Conference for the fair treatment of Jews.
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Prayer
Gracious and Merciful God, Who loves to hear Your people, how many times have You sought my voice and I have chosen silence? How many times have I asked for a Word to come from You in trouble, but have kept my words from doubts and fears and flaws I wish to hide away? I have promised many times to pray when I am right with You, but You have not required this of me or any person. You only say to pray no matter what the season, and You will give a listening ear to all who call upon You. Help me to be like David who called out despite his failures, and may I never cease to pray for others in their time of need. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.