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The Enduring Popularity of Puritans

Received another royalty cheque today.

This makes me feel (and sound) terribly important, but I've done nothing for it. It's my share of the royalties for a book my grandfather wrote thirty years ago. Thanks to its enduring popularity - and occasional reinvention by the publishers (leather-bound gift edition, anyone?) - the royalties continue to trickle in.

The book's "A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions" edited by Grandad, with one additional prayer of his ("The Valley of Vision"). Every now and then I Google for that prayer. It's a good prayer, loved by Puritans and Radiohead fans alike ("hemmed in by mountains of sin" - expect that on the Oxford boys' next album), but I'm always surprised by the impact it continues to have, being used as liturgy, in prayer letters, sermons and standing alone on websites as poetry.

Grandma and Grandad gave me a copy of the book on the occasion of my Confirmation in 1987; I'm nearly motivated enough to read past that prayer on the first page.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.