Inspirational and Devotional Verse

The poems in this collection are precisely what the title implies -- inspirational and devotional. They are the songs of courageous Christians and hearing them, those less brave take heart. Devotional quality was among the criteria employed by Dr. Jones in his painstaking preparation of the versatile collection. He has included a poem to enrich your devotional hour each day of the year. The compiler says of Inspirational and Devotional Verse: "I have sought to select poems which arouse fragrant memories of the past, lighten sad hours, and lift man's thoughts heavenward. Most of the poems included herein have definite literary value. A few, I must confess, have not, but all have heart-appeal. Some are new and are printed here for the first time. Others have been out of print so long that they will seem new to many readers. Some will be recognized as old favorites. Others unfamiliar to the average reader will become old friends as they are read again and again and are treasured in the memory." - Jacket flap. The great temptation which comes to the collector of poems for an anthology is to select only his own personal favorites. I have resisted that temptation to the extent of including in the present volume several score poems which have never appealed strongly to me personally, but which have, over a period of many years, proved generally popular. I have sought to select poems which arouse fragrant memories of the past, lighten sad hours, and lift man's thoughts heavenward. Most of the poems included herein have definite literary value. A few, I must confess, have not, but all have heart-appeal. Some are new and are printed here for the first time. Others have been out of print so long that they will seem new to many readers. Some will be recognized as old favorites. Others unfamiliar to the average reader will become old friends as they are read again and again and are treasured in the memory. In every case where it has been possible to ascertain authorship, proper acknowledgment has been made. We appreciate the cooperation of authors and publishers in granting permission to use copyrighted material. - Bob Jones, Jr., Cleveland, Tenn. - Introduction.