Skip to content ↓

The Penitential Tear

The Penitential Tear

Few of us take the time to mine and appreciate the vast stores of poetry laid up by so many of our Christian forebears. Yet in centuries past poetry was the language of many a sorrowful and rejoicing believer. In the last several months I have been discovering some of treasures and particularly enjoying the work of the 19th-century American poet Hannah Flagg Gould. This work, “The Penitential Tear,” is representative of her spiritual meditations.

Thou trembling, pure, and holy thing!
What skill from ocean’s depths can bring,
Or toil from out the mine—
What monarch in his diadem,
Or glittering garb, produce a gem,
Whose brightness equals thine?

Thy source is deeper than the caves
Of riven rock, or opening waves,
Invisible as air:
And, though the angel throng above
Behold thee with delight and love,
They ne’er can have thee there.

Nor change, nor age thy sheen can dim;
Thou ‘rt now unstained as when with him,
Who dared, in olden time,
Thrice his dear, suffering Lord deny;
Then, melted at the Saviour’s eye,
And paid thee for his crime.

Called from the treasures of the soul
By power divine, when thou dost roll
Forth from the mourner’s eye,
Thy wearer thou dost then proclaim
The heir of life, who has his name
Writ in the Book on high.

Thou art a pearl, that all may own,
And when thy matchless worth is known
To those, who wear thee here,
They will be changed, and shall behold
The shining gates of heaven unfold,
Bright Penitential Tear!


  • New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    As October draws to its close, I wanted to ensure you know about at least some of the most notable books it brought our way. I did not see quite the quantity of new books I have seen in some previous months, but there were still some special ones. For each, I’ve provided the publisher’s…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 31)

    A La Carte: What is the Reformation? / More than a list of problems / A surprising story / More than songs of praise / Do elders need to evangelize? / Preach the gospel / and more.

  • From Practice to Perfection

    From Practice to Perfection

    You should stop by someday,” he said. “The orchestra is beginning to learn a new piece. I think you would enjoy hearing them. As promised, he met me in the lobby and led me through a locked door. As we walked down a long hallway, I could begin to hear music coming from somewhere ahead.…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 30)

    A La Carte: Not the Halloween you remember / How God used the loss of a loved one to save another / Infertility and longing / Daylight saving and spiritual disciplines / Belong and believe? / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 29)

    A La Carte: When King Charles came to church / Curiositas and the David Platt documentary / Teasing out idolatry in narcissism / Loving people through slow change / Can God forgive without punishment? / and more.

  • Disappointment

    The Practice of Accepting Disappointment

    One of the most important habits you can develop is the habit of accepting that life is full of disappointments. One of the best ways to grow in contentment is to accept the inevitability of discontentment. One of the ways you can be most joyful in life is to be realistic about life, to know…