- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Christian Herald Association (1977)
- ISBN: 0-915684-15-2
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Golden Treasury of Texts for Every Day in the Year
By Carl Heinrich von Bogatzky
Bogatzky’s Golden Treasury has been translated into nearly all European languages, and has obtained an enormous circulation in Germany and Great Britain. In this country very few books, except the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” have been so largely circulated or so widely read. It will surprise many to learn that more than a century and a half have elapsed since the first publication of this valued volume.
Until the great day of account, it will not be known how many thousands have derived spiritual blessing from its well-known pages. For five or six generations the familiar “Bogatzky” has been in daily use in many a godly household at family worship; in many a quiet chamber the little volume has been a treasured daily monitor; from its pages hundreds of trembling believers have gathered strength and wisdom; from its teachings many an enquiring soul has been led into life and light; and from its consolations many a sorrowing mourner has drawn comfort in tribulation.
The mission of this book is not yet over. It is hoped and believed that another generation will derive spiritual instruction from a volume which has been richly blest to the one now passing away, as well as to generations which have previously “crossed the flood.”
The Golden Treasury is a daily devotional guide in the style and form we have come to recognize as standard for the type. It was in fact this book which, in large part, established the primacy of the daily devotion format in this country at the turn of the century. Its concise and evocative presentation of biblical themes won wide acceptance. And its three part structure for each daily entry provides an easy scale of steps that lead one from God’s Word, to reflection upon that Word, to prayer.
We might call such a design centrifugal. Each daily entry begins with a verse or verses on a common theme from Scripture which provides a focus for the reader’s reflection. Next there is a short prose passage which explains, elaborates and expands upon this theme to concentrate and direct our own reflection. Finally, there is a short poetic prayer which leads our thoughts outward from the text to our own lives, to the lives of our loved ones, to the lives of our loved ones and to the concerns of the world we live in.
This altogether satisfactory format cannot have been accidental. It forms, as it were, a Circle of Devotion – God’s Word, Man, Prayer returning to God – which becomes a model for authentic Christian life. Thus we sense that devotional reading is a unique sort of enterprise, one that is emblematic of the Christian’s response to life.
Unlike reading for information, the habit of mind in devotional reading is open and receptive, rather than analytical and argumentative. Unlike reading for simple pleasure, the mind is not engaged in an arousal of expectations and desires, rather it is resolved in quietness, calmness. Devotional reading may be regarded as an exercise in “negative capability” in which the mind lets go of self-centeredness in preparation for prayer and praise. In devotional reading one finds what one does not seek. One knows what cannot be confirmed by evidence. One is called out to Christian action by a force that is as compelling as it is gentle.
How then should this book be used? Basically it is a tool, a device, for regulating one’s own devotional life – in the same fashion that training equipment for physical exercise is used. Many people spend time with this book at a certain hour each day – just before bed, or upon first rising in the morning. But any hour of the day is appropriate, any convenient time when one wants to compose one’s thoughts and draw closer to God. The key, just as in physical exercise, is daily use. A business man might find that his hurried lunch hour can be transformed into a leisurely feast for the spirit by spending a few quiet moments with this book. Its effect can be physical as well as spiritual, calming one’s heart, easing tension and anxiety. A housewife might find a moment to rest in her hectic schedule just after the children are off to school or put down for a nap. The vital rewards of devotion derive from its discipline, regularity and its increasing depth.
In our frantic and clouded world, a time of daily devotion can be a constant shining beacon, a tolling, reassuring bell. May THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF TEXTS FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR be a blessing to your life.
