O Lamp of Life
Title page of Carter’s Evening Rest
Today's Devotional
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself—John 12:32 (NASB).
O Lamp of Life! that on the bloody Cross
Dost hang, the beacon of our wandering race,
To guide us homeward to our resting-place,
And save our best wealth from eternal loss;
So purge my mind and sight from earthly dross,
That fixed upon Thy Cross, or near or far,
In all the storms this weary bark that toss,
Whate’er be lost in that tempestuous war,
Thee I retain, my Compass and my Star!
About the author and the source
The author of Evening Rest was an anonymous lady. The Rev. Thomas Thelluson Carter (1808–1901) wrote its introduction. He was a significant figure in the Victorian church and a prolific author who reintroduced some Catholic practices into his parish.
Anonymous. Evening Rest; or, Closing Thoughts for Every Day in the Christian Year. New York: Pott and Amercy, 1871.