The Christian Book of Mystical Verse

By: A. W. Tozer

Narrated by: Dennis Rowley

The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, first published in 1963, is a collection of poems, hymns, and prayers compiled by Christian pastor and writer A.W. Tozer. Intended to provide an aid to the devotee, it is a selection of over 100 pieces of theologically sound verse to support "the worshipping soul."

It may seem odd to find a fundamentalist like Tozer use the word "mystical" in the title of his collection. But in his introduction, he differentiates the Christian mystic from those with "a strong psychic bent that predisposes them toward the occult...ready to accept whatever in the realm of religion is bizarre and prodigious."

Rather, the mystic of Tozer's collection had experienced "...that personal spiritual experience common to the saints of Bible times and well known to multitudes of persons in the post-Biblical era. I refer to the evangelical mystic who has been brought by the gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead."

To Tozer, the mystical is God-oriented. The poems in his collection "...begin with God, embrace the worshipping soul, and return to God again."

There are 111 verses and hymns included in this collection, divided into 15 logical sections:

1. Adoration of the Godhead
2. Devotional Meditations on the Cross of Christ
3. Penitential Reflections on Our Sins
4. Rejoicing in Forgiveness and Justification
5. Yearning for Purity of Heart
6. Aspirations After God
7. Delighting in God's Presence
8. The Raptures of Divine Love
9. The Rest of Faith
10. The Spiritual Warfare
11. Victory Through Praise
12. The Prayer of Quiet
13. The Bliss of Communion
14. Joyous Anticipation of Christ's Return
15. Immortality and the World to Come

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