Early will I seek thee

(Photo by Richard Lawry of Mena, Arkansas. Used by permission.)

I don’t know what you use your little black book for, but I used mine to write down things too important to forget. I remember copying down the following poem and Bible verses in my small, loose-leaf, two-ring binder when I was twenty years old. That was almost 48 years ago. I don't know whatever became of the little black book, but the poem and verses are still very much with me.

The Secret
by Ralph S.Cushman

I met God in the morning
When my day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O’er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them
Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings,
With the Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day!

(Published in Spiritual Hilltops by Ralph S. Cushman, Copyright 1932, The Abingdon Press.)


“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.” --Psalm 63:1

“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” --Isaiah 26:9


If you don’t have a little black book, maybe you ought to get one.