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Mary Wilder Tileston
Mary Wilder Tileston was born on August 20, 1843, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Caleb Foote, owner and editor of the Salem Gazette, and Mary Wilder White Foote. Raised in a family with strong intellectual and religious ties—her brother Henry Wilder Foote became a Harvard-educated minister, and her brother Arthur Foote a noted composer—she attended private schools in Salem. On September 25, 1865, she married John Boies Tileston, a publisher’s son, and they had seven children: Mary, Margaret, Roger, Amelia, Wilder, Edith, and Eleanor. The family lived in Concord, Massachusetts, on a 200-acre farm from around 1874 to 1882, then moved to Salem and later Brookline, Massachusetts, where she died on July 3, 1934. Tileston’s career was centered on her literary contributions rather than preaching. Her most notable work, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, a collection of prose, verse, and scripture for daily reading, sold over 250,000 copies by 1910 and was highly regarded. She compiled other devotionals, including Prayers Ancient and Modern (1897) and children’s works like The Child’s Harvest of Verse (1910), reflecting her love for spiritual literature. While not a preacher by occupation, her anthologies served a preaching-like function, offering spiritual guidance to readers. Her legacy lies in these writings, which continue to inspire, rather than in a formal ministerial role.
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Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about drawing strength and courage from God's commands and victories. She emphasizes the importance of combatting fear and dismay by being strong and courageous, knowing that each battle we face teaches us to fight and become braver warriors armed with God's might. Tileston encourages the audience to fight with the confidence of victory, having trusted in God and not being confounded. She reminds them to look back on past victories for encouragement, as songs of joy and triumph bring strength and support in times of pain, sorrow, and disappointments.
The Lord Will Strengthen
Thy God hath commanded thy strength; strengthen, 0 God, that which Thou hast wrought for us. PSALMS 68:28 Fear not, nor be dismayed; be strong, and of good courage. JOSHUA 10:25 THEN combat well, of naught afraid, For thus His follower thou art made, Each battle teaches thee to fight, Each foe to be a braver knight, Armed with His might. J. H. BOHMER, 1704 HENCEFORTH my soul should fight with the prestige of victory, with the courage that comes of having striven and won, trusted and not been confounded. JULIANA H. EWING They have had their victories; and when the stress is hardest, it is wise to look back on these for encouragement, as songs of joy and triumph bring strength and support along a way beset with pain and sorrow and disappointments; which, when seen in their true proportions, are only as faint specks showing in a universe of infinite light. LAURENCE OLIPHANT
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Mary Wilder Tileston was born on August 20, 1843, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Caleb Foote, owner and editor of the Salem Gazette, and Mary Wilder White Foote. Raised in a family with strong intellectual and religious ties—her brother Henry Wilder Foote became a Harvard-educated minister, and her brother Arthur Foote a noted composer—she attended private schools in Salem. On September 25, 1865, she married John Boies Tileston, a publisher’s son, and they had seven children: Mary, Margaret, Roger, Amelia, Wilder, Edith, and Eleanor. The family lived in Concord, Massachusetts, on a 200-acre farm from around 1874 to 1882, then moved to Salem and later Brookline, Massachusetts, where she died on July 3, 1934. Tileston’s career was centered on her literary contributions rather than preaching. Her most notable work, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, a collection of prose, verse, and scripture for daily reading, sold over 250,000 copies by 1910 and was highly regarded. She compiled other devotionals, including Prayers Ancient and Modern (1897) and children’s works like The Child’s Harvest of Verse (1910), reflecting her love for spiritual literature. While not a preacher by occupation, her anthologies served a preaching-like function, offering spiritual guidance to readers. Her legacy lies in these writings, which continue to inspire, rather than in a formal ministerial role.