Daily Strength for Daily Needs
by Mary Wilder Tileston · English · Gutenberg #8534 · 424,046 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Daily Strength for Daily Needs
Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Release date: July 1, 2005 [eBook #8534]
Most recently updated: December 26, 2020
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8534
Credits: Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAILY STRENGTH FOR DAILY NEEDS ***
Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
DAILY STRENGTH FOR DAILY NEEDS
By Mary Wilder Tileston
_Selected by the Editor of_ "Joy and Strength for the Pilgrim's Day,"
"Quiet Hours," etc.
"As thy days, so shall thy strength be"
PREFACE
This little book of brief selections in prose and verse, with accompanying
texts of Scripture, is intended for a daily companion and counsellor. These
words of the goodly fellowship of wise and holy men of many times, it is
hoped may help to strengthen the reader to perform the duties and to bear
the burdens of each day with cheerfulness and courage.
MARY WILDER TILESTON.
January 1
_They go from strength to strength_.--PS. lxxxiv. 7.
_First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear_.--MARK. iv. 28.
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!
O. W. HOLMES.
High hearts are never long without hearing some new call, some distant
clarion of God, even in their dreams; and soon they are observed to break
up the camp of ease, and start on some fresh march of faithful service.
And, looking higher still, we find those who never wait till their moral
work accumulates, and who reward resolution with no rest; with whom,
therefore, the alternation is instantaneous and constant; who do the good
only to see the better, and see the better only to achieve it; who are too
meek for transport, too faithful for remorse, too earnest for repose; whose
worship is action, and whose action ceaseless aspiration.
J. MARTINEAU.
January 2
_The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time
forth, and even for evermore_.--PS. cxxi. 8.
_Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations_.--PS. xc. 1.
With grateful hearts the past we own;
The future, all to us unknown,
We to Thy guardian care commit,
And peaceful leave before Thy feet.
P. DODDRIDGE.
We are like to Him with whom there is no past or future, with whom a day is
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, when we do our work
in the great present, leaving both past and future to Him to whom they are
ever present, and fearing nothing, because He is in our future as much as
He is in our past, as much as, and far more than we can feel Him to be, in
our present. Partakers thus of the divine nature, resting in that perfect
All-in-all in whom our nature is eternal too, we walk without fear, full of
hope and courage and strength to do His will, waiting for the endless good
which He is always giving as fast as He can get us able to take it in.
G. MACDONALD.
January 3
_As thy days, so shall thy strength be_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 25.
_Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof_.--MATT. vi. 34.
Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear
The burden of to-morrow?
Sufficient for to-day, its care,
Its evil and its sorrow;
God imparteth by the way
Strength sufficient for the day.
J. E. SAXBY.
He that hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much in love with
sorrow and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, and chooses to sit
down upon his little handful of thorns. Enjoy the blessings of this day, if
God sends them; and the evils of it bear patiently and sweetly: for this
day only is ours, we are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet born to the
morrow. But if we look abroad, and bring into one day's thoughts the evil
of many, certain and uncertain, what will be and what will never be, our
load will be as intolerable as it is unreasonable.
JEREMY TAYLOR.
January 4
_If we sin, we are Thine, knowing Thy power: but--we will not sin, knowing
that we are counted Thine. For to know Thee is perfect righteousness: yea,
to know Thy power is the root of immortality_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON xv. 2,
3.
Oh, empty us of self, the world, and sin,
And then in all Thy fulness enter in;
Take full possession, Lord, and let each thought
Into obedience unto Thee be brought;
Thine is the power, and Thine the will, that we
Be wholly sanctified, O Lord, to Thee.
C. E. J.
Take steadily some one sin, which seems to stand out before thee, to root
it out, by God's grace, and every fibre of it. Purpose strongly, by
the grace and strength of God, wholly to sacrifice this sin or sinful
inclination to the love of God, to spare it not, until thou leave of it
none remaining, neither root nor branch.
Fix, by God's help, not only to root out this sin, but to set thyself to
gain, by that same help, the opposite grace. If thou art tempted to be
angry, try hard, by God's grace, to be _very_ meek; if to be proud, seek to
be _very_ humble.
E. B. PUSEY.
January 5
_That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish_.--EPH. v. 27.
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.--I PETER ii. 5.
One holy Church of God appears
Through every age and race,
Unwasted by the lapse of years,
Unchanged by changing place.
S. LONGFELLOW.
A temple there has been upon earth, a spiritual Temple, made up of living
stones; a Temple, as I may say, composed of souls; a Temple with God for
its light, and Christ for the high priest; with wings of angels for its
arches, with saints and teachers for its pillars, and with worshippers for
its pavement. Wherever there is faith and love, this Temple is.
J. H. NEWMAN.
To whatever worlds He carries our souls when they shall pass out of
these imprisoning bodies, in those worlds these souls of ours shall find
themselves part of the same great Temple; for it belongs not to this earth
alone. There can be no end of the universe where God is, to which that
growing Temple does not reach,--the Temple of a creation to be wrought at
last into a perfect utterance of God by a perfect obedience to God.
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
January 6
_In all ages entering into holy souls, she [Wisdom] maketh them friends of
God, and prophets_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON vii. 27.
Meanwhile with every son and saint of Thine
Along the glorious line,
Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet
We 'll hold communion sweet,
Know them by look and voice, and thank them all
For helping us in thrall,
For words of hope, and bright examples given
To shew through moonless skies that there is light in heaven.
J. KEBLE.
If we cannot live at once and alone with Him, we may at least live with
those who have lived with Him; and find, in our admiring love for their
purity, their truth, their goodness, an intercession with His pity on our
behalf. To study the lives, to meditate the sorrows, to commune with the
thoughts, of the great and holy men and women of this rich world, is a
sacred discipline, which deserves at least to rank as the forecourt of the
temple of true worship, and may train the tastes, ere we pass the very
gate, of heaven. We forfeit the chief source of dignity and sweetness in
life, next to the direct communion with God, if we do not seek converse
with the greater minds that have left their vestiges on the world.
J. MARTINEAU.
Do not think it wasted time to submit yourself to any influence which may
bring upon you any noble feeling.
J. RUSKIN.
January 7
_The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to
the working of His mighty power_.--EPH. i. 19.
The lives which seem so poor, so low,
The hearts which are so cramped and dull,
The baffled hopes, the impulse slow,
Thou takest, touchest all, and lo!
They blossom to the beautiful.
SUSAN COOLIDGE.
A root set in the finest soil, in the best climate, and blessed with all
that sun and air and rain can do for it, is not in so sure a way of its
growth to perfection, as every man may be, whose spirit aspires after all
that which God is ready and infinitely desirous to give him. For the sun
meets not the springing bud that stretches towards him with half that
certainty, as God, the source of all good, communicates Himself to the soul
that longs to partake of Him.
WM. LAW.
If we stand in the openings of the present moment, with all the length and
breadth of our faculties unselfishly adjusted to what it reveals, we are in
the best condition to receive what God is always ready to communicate.
T. C. UPHAM.
January 8
_As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men_.--GAL. vi.
10.
_Let brotherly love continue_.--HEB. xiii. 1.
I Ask Thee for a thoughtful love,
Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And to wipe the weeping eyes,
And a heart at leisure from itself,
To soothe and sympathize.
A. L. WARING.
Surely none are so full of cares, or so poor in gifts, that to them also,
waiting patiently and trustfully on God for His daily commands, He will not
give direct ministry for Him, increasing according to their strength and
their desire. There is so much to be set right in the world, there are so
many to be led and helped and comforted, that we must continually come in
contact with such in our daily life. Let us only take care, that, by the
glance being turned inward, or strained onward, or lost in vacant reverie,
we do not miss our turn of service, and pass by those to whom we might have
been sent on an errand straight from God.
ELIZABETH CHARLES.
Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and
lend a hand.
EDWARD E. HALE.
January 9
_And in every work that be began in the service of the house of God, and in
the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart, and prospered_.--2 CHRON. xxxi. 21.
_What, shall we do, that we might work the works of God_?--JOHN vi. 28.
Give me within the work which calls to-day,
To see Thy finger gently beckoning on;
So struggle grows to freedom, work to play,
And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done.
J. F. CLARKE.
God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be
employed; and that employment is truly "our Father's business." He chooses
work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it
simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough,
for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle
ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are
doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves.
J. RUSKIN.
January 10
_Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise
Thee_.--PS. lxiii. 3.
_Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall
lose his life shall preserve it_.--LUKE xvii. 33.
O Lord! my best desires fulfil,
And help me to resign
Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will,
And make Thy pleasure mine.
WM. COWPER.
What do our heavy hearts prove but that other things are sweeter to us
than His will, that we have not attained to the full mastery of our true
freedom, the full perception of its power, that our sonship is yet but
faintly realized, and its blessedness not yet proved and known? Our consent
would turn all our trials into obedience. By consenting we make them our
own, and offer them with ourselves again to Him.
H. E. MANNING.
Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God hath bound thy trouble
upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown
thee. These cords thou canst not break; and therefore lie thou down gently,
and suffer the hand of God to do what He please.
JEREMY TAYLOR.
January 11
_I will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy: for Thou hast considered my
trouble; Thou hast known my soul in adversities_.--PS. xxxi. 7.
Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned;
Each drop that fills my daily cup Thy hand
Prescribes, for ills none else can understand:
All, all is known to Thee.
A. L. NEWTON.
God knows us through and through. Not the most secret thought, which we
most hide from ourselves, is hidden from Him. As then we come to know
ourselves through and through, we come to see ourselves more as God sees
us, and then we catch some little glimpse of His designs with us, how each
ordering of His Providence, each check to our desires, each failure of our
hopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in our own spiritual state,
which others know not of, and which, till then, we knew not. Until we come
to this knowledge, we must take all in faith, believing, though we know
not, the goodness of God towards us. As we know ourselves, we, thus far,
know God.
E. B. PUSEY.
January 12
_Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer_.--PS. xix. 14.
The thoughts that in our hearts keep place,
Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng,
And steep in innocence and grace
The issue of each guarded tongue.
T. H. GILL.
There is another kind of silence to be cultivated, besides that of
the tongue as regards others. I mean silence as regards one's
self,--restraining the imagination, not permitting it to dwell overmuch
on what we have heard or said, not indulging in the phantasmagoria of
picture-thoughts, whether of the past or future. Be sure that you have
made no small progress in the spiritual life, when you can control your
imagination, so as to fix it on the duty and occupation actually existing,
to the exclusion of the crowd of thoughts which are perpetually sweeping
across the mind. No doubt, you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising,
but you can prevent yourself from dwelling on them; you can put them aside,
you can check the self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly longings
which feed them, and by the practice of such control of your thoughts you
will attain that spirit of inward silence which draws the soul into a close
intercourse with God.
JEAN N. GROU.
January 13
_Speak not evil one of another, brethren_.--JAMES iv. 11.
_Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice_.--EPH. iv. 31.
If aught good thou canst not say
Of thy brother, foe, or friend,
Take thou, then, the silent way,
Lest in word thou shouldst offend.
ANON.
If there is any person to whom you feel dislike, that is the person of whom
you ought never to speak.
R. CECIL.
To recognize with delight all high and generous and beautiful actions; to
find a joy even in seeing the good qualities of your bitterest opponents,
and to admire those qualities even in those with whom you have least
sympathy, this is the only spirit which can heal the love of slander and of
calumny.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
January 14
_Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall
appoint_.--2 SAM. xv. 15.
I love to think that God appoints
My portion day by day;
Events of life are in His hand,
And I would only say,
Appoint them in Thine own good time,
And in Thine own best way.
A. L. WARING.
If we are really, and always, and equally ready to do whatsoever the King
appoints, all the trials and vexations arising from any change in His
appointments, great or small, simply do not exist. If He appoints me to
work there, shall I lament that I am not to work here? If He appoints me
to wait in-doors to-day, am I to be annoyed because I am not to work
out-of-doors? If I meant to write His messages this morning, shall I
grumble because He sends interrupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I
am to speak them, or "show kindness" for His sake, or at least obey His
command, "Be courteous?" If all my members are really at His disposal, why
should I be put out if to-day's appointment is some simple work for my
hands or errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly more important
doing of head or tongue?
F. R. HAVERGAL.
January 15
_For this is the will of God, even your sanctification_.--I THESS. iv. 3.
Between us and Thyself remove
Whatever hindrances may be,
That so our inmost heart may prove
A holy temple, meet for Thee.
LATIN MSS. OF 15TH CENTURY.
Bear, in the presence of God, to know thyself. Then seek to know for what
God sent thee into the world; how thou hast fulfilled it; art thou yet what
God willed thee to be; what yet lacketh unto thee; what is God's will for
thee _now_; what thing thou mayest _now_ do, by His grace, to obtain His
favor, and approve thyself unto Him. Say to Him, "Teach me to do Thy will,
for Thou art my God," and He will say unto thy soul, "Fear not; I am thy
salvation." He will speak peace unto thy soul; He will set thee in the way;
He will bear thee above things of sense, and praise of man, and things
which perish in thy grasp, and give thee, if but afar off, some glimpse of
His own, unfading, unsetting, unperishing brightness and bliss and love.
E. B. PUSEY.
January 16
_Now our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath
loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and
work_.--2 THESS. ii. 16, 17.
When sorrow all our heart would ask,
We need not shun our daily task,
And hide ourselves for calm;
The herbs we seek to heal our woe
Familiar by our pathway grow,
Our common air is balm.
J. KEBLE.
Oh, when we turn away from some duty or some fellow-creature, saying that
our hearts are too sick and sore with some great yearning of our own, we
may often sever the line on which a divine message was coming to us. We
shut out the man, and we shut out the angel who had sent him on to open the
door. There is a plan working in our lives; and if we keep our hearts quiet
and our eyes open, it all works together; and, if we don't, it all rights
together, and goes on fighting till it comes right, somehow, somewhere.
ANNIE KEARY.
January 17
_Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch
as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings_.--I PETER iv. 12, 13.
We take with solemn thankfulness
Our burden up, nor ask it less,
And count it joy that even we
May suffer, serve, or wait for Thee,
Whose will be done!
J. G. WHITTIER.
Receive every inward and outward trouble, every disappointment, pain,
uneasiness, temptation, darkness, and desolation, with both thy hands, as a
true opportunity and blessed occasion of dying to self, and entering into
a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying, suffering Saviour. Look at no
inward or outward trouble in any other view; reject every other thought
about it; and then every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed
day of thy prosperity. That state is best, which exerciseth the highest
faith in, and fullest resignation to God.
WM. LAW.
January 18
_Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given
unto thee_.--DEUT. XXVI. 11.
_Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks_.--I THESS. v. 16, 18.
Grave on thy heart each past "red-letter day"!
Forget not all the sunshine of the way
By which the Lord hath led thee; answered prayers,
And joys unasked, strange blessings, lifted cares,
Grand promise-echoes! Thus thy life shall be
One record of His love and faithfulness to thee.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
Gratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to the particulars of
our state, and to the multitude of God's gifts, taken one by one. It fills
us with a consciousness that God loves and cares for us, even to the least
event and smallest need of life. It is a blessed thought, that from our
childhood God has been laying His fatherly hands upon us, and always in
benediction; that even the strokes of His hands are blessings, and among
the chiefest we have ever received. When this feeling is awakened, the
heart beats with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its return of
praise. It awakens an unceasing daily converse with our Father,--He
speaking to us by the descent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent of
thanksgiving. And all our whole life is thereby drawn under the light of
His countenance, and is filled with a gladness, serenity, and peace which
only thankful hearts can know.
H. E. MANNING.
January 19
_Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord_.--PS. cv. 3.
_The joy of the Lord is your strength_.--NEH. viii. 10.
Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy,
Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy;
Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright,
My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light.
GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.
I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when I have
been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and a white
cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with God in my soul
and heaven in my eye... I rejoice in being exactly what I am,--a creature
capable of loving God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get
up and look for a while out of the window, and gaze at the moon and stars,
the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and
then sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it.
A POOR METHODIST WOMAN, 18TH CENTURY.
January 20
_The Lord taketh pleasure In His people: He will beautify the meek with
salvation_.--PS. cxlix. 4.
Long listening to Thy words,
My voice shall catch Thy tone,
And, locked in Thine, my hand shall grow
All loving like Thy own.
B. T.
It is not in words explicable, with what divine lines and lights the
exercise of godliness and charity will mould and gild the hardest and
coldest countenance, neither to what darkness their departure will consign
the loveliest. For there is not any virtue the exercise of which, even
momentarily, will not impress a new fairness upon the features; neither on
them only, but on the whole body the moral and intellectual faculties
have operation, for all the movements and gestures, however slight, are
different in their modes according to the mind that governs them--and on
the gentleness and decision of right feeling follows grace of actions, and,
through continuance of this, grace of form.
J. RUSKIN.
There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish
to scatter joy and not pain around us.
R. W. EMERSON.
January 21
_Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly
fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk and not faint_.--ISA. xl. 30, 31.
Lord, with what courage and delight
I do each thing,
When Thy least breath sustains my wing!
I shine and move
Like those above,
And, with much gladness
Quitting sadness,
Make me fair days of every night.
H. VAUGHAN.
Man, by living wholly in submission to the Divine Influence, becomes
surrounded with, and creates for himself, internal pleasures infinitely
greater than any he can otherwise attain to--a state of heavenly Beatitude.
J. P. GREAVES.
By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, beyond what I can
express, increase the inward powers of the mind, and shall produce that
cheerfulness and greatness of spirit as will fit us for all good purposes;
and shall not have lost pleasure, but _changed_ it; the soul being then
filled with its own intrinsic pleasures.
HENRY MORE.
January 22
_Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord_.--HOSEA vi. 3.
And, as the path of duty is made plain,
May grace be given that I may walk therein,
Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain,
With backward glances and reluctant tread,
Making a merit of his coward dread,--
But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown,
Walking as one to pleasant service led;
Doing God's will as if it were my own,
Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone!
J. G. WHITTIER.
It is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. So long as men dispute
whether or no a thing is their duty, they get never the nearer. Let them
set ever so weakly about doing it, and the face of things alters. They find
in themselves strength which they knew not of. Difficulties which it seemed
to them they could not get over, disappear. For He accompanies it with the
influences of His blessed Spirit, and each performance opens our minds for
larger influxes of His grace, and places them in communion with Him.
E. B. PUSEY.
That which is called considering what is our duty in a particular case, is
very often nothing but endeavoring to explain it away.
JOSEPH BUTLER.
January 23
_If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday;
and the Lord shall guide thee continually_.--ISA. lviii. 10, 11.
If thou hast Yesterday thy duty done,
And thereby cleared firm footing for To-day,
Whatever clouds make dark To-morrow's sun,
Thou shall not miss thy solitary way.
J. W. VON GOETHE.
O Lord, who art our Guide even unto death, grant us, I pray Thee, grace to
follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. In little daily duties to which Thou
callest us, bow down our wills to simple obedience, patience under pain or
provocation, strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility, kindness; in
great acts of duty or perfection, if Thou shouldest call us to them, uplift
us to self-sacrifice, heroic courage, laying down of life for Thy truth's
sake, or for a brother. Amen.
C. G. ROSSETTI.
January 24
_I will bless the Lord, who bath given me counsel_.--PS. xvi. 7.
_Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord_.--ROM. xii.
11.
Mine be the reverent, listening love
That waits all day on Thee,
With the service of a watchful heart
Which no one else can see.
A. L. WARING.
Nothing is small or great in God's sight; whatever He wills becomes great
to us, however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice of conscience
tells us that He requires anything of us, we have no right to measure its
importance. On the other hand, whatever He would not have us do, however
important we may think it, is as nought to us.
How do you know what you may lose by neglecting this duty, which you think
so trifling, or the blessing which its faithful performance may bring? Be
sure that if you do your very best in that which is laid upon you daily,
you will not be left without sufficient help when some weightier occasion
arises. Give yourself to Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen to
His voice, and then go on bravely and cheerfully.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
January 25
_If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them_.--JOHN xiii. 17.
_Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is
sin_.--JAMES iv. 17.
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire that in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides:
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
MATTHEW ARNOLD.
Hurt not your conscience with any known sin.
S. RUTHERFORD.
Deep-rooted customs, though wrong, are not easily altered; but it is the
duty of all to be firm in that which they certainly know is right for them.
JOHN WOOLMAN.
He often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he who
does a certain thing.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
Every duty we omit obscures some truth we should have known.
JOHN RUSKIN.
January 26
_O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are His judgments, and His--ways past finding out_!--ROM. xi.
33.
_It doth not yet appear what we shall be_.--I JOHN iii. 2.
No star is ever lost we once have seen,
We always may be what we might have been.
Since Good, though only thought, has life and breath,
God's life--can always be redeemed from death;
And evil, in its nature, is decay,
And any hour can blot it all away;
The hopes that lost in some far distance seem,
May be the truer life, and this the dream.
A. A. PROCTER.
St. Bernard has said: "Man, if thou desirest a noble and holy life, and
unceasingly prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant in this thy
desire, it will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only in the day
or hour of thy death; and if God should not give it to thee then, thou
shalt find it in Him in eternity: of this be assured." Therefore do not
relinquish your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, or though
ye may swerve from your aspirations, or even forget them for a time.... The
love and aspiration which once really existed live forever before God, and
in Him ye shall find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it shall
be better for you than if you had never felt them.
J. TAULER.
January 27
_For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name
is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to
revive the heart of the contrite ones_.--ISA. lvii. 15.
Without an end or bound
Thy life lies all outspread in light;
Our lives feel Thy life all around,
Making our weakness strong, our darkness bright;
Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea,
But the calm gladness of a full eternity.
F. W. FABER.
O truth who art Eternity! And Love who art Truth! And Eternity who art
Love! Thou art my God, to Thee do I sigh night and day. When I first knew
Thee, Thou liftedst me up, that I might see there was somewhat for me to
see, and that I was not yet such as to see. And Thou streaming forth Thy
beams of light upon me most strongly, didst beat back the weakness of my
sight, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far
off from Thee in the region of unlikeness.
ST. AUGUSTINE.
January 28
_O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear
Him_--PS. xxxiv. 9.
_Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living
thing_.--PS. cxlv. 16.
What Thou shalt to-day provide,
Let me as a child receive;
What to-morrow may betide,
Calmly to Thy wisdom leave.
'Tis enough that Thou wilt care;
Why should I the burden bear?
J. NEWTON.
Have we found that anxiety about possible consequences increased the
clearness of our judgment, made us wiser and braver in meeting the present,
and arming ourselves for the future? If we had prayed for this day's bread,
and left the next to itself, if we had not huddled our days together,
not allotting to each its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the
future, and drawing upon the future for its own troubles, which must be
met when they come whether we have anticipated them or not, we should
have found a simplicity and honesty in our lives, a capacity for work, an
enjoyment in it, to which we are now, for the most part, strangers.
F. D. MAURICE.
January 29
_I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will
help thee_.--ISA. xli. 13.
_Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand
them which put their trust in Thee_.--PS. xvii. 7.
Take Thy hand, and fears grow still;
Behold Thy face, and doubts remove;
Who would not yield his wavering will
To perfect Truth and boundless Love?
S. JOHNSON.
Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather
look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will
deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto,--do you but hold fast to
His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when
you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what
may happen to-morrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day,
will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either he will shield you
from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at
peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
January 30
_If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of
the sea: even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold
me_.--PS. cxxxix. 9, 10.
I cannot lose Thee! Still in Thee abiding,
The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam;
The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding,
And I must rest at last in Thee, my home.
E. SCUDDER.
How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful
looking at home, and abiding; within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore,
let a man be at home in his own heart, and cease from his restless chase of
and search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he
will surely come to see what there is to do at home,--what God commands
him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and
then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his
loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or
action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him
follow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel His hand in all things,
let him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for God's sake, out
of love, and still press forward.
J. TAULER.
January 31
_In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths_.--PROV.
iii. 6.
_He leadeth me_.--PS. xxiii. 2.
In "pastures green"? Not always; sometimes He
Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where
The shadows lie, what matter? He is there.
HENRY H. BARRY.
The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not
question nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the
best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or
of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green
for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He
sees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of
trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still
waters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have
all their blessed influences upon you.
H. W. SMITH.
February 1
_Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one
toward another, according to Christ Jesus_.--ROM. xv. 5.
_Let patience have her perfect work_.--JAMES i. 4.
Make me patient, kind, and gentle,
Day by day;
Teach me how to live more nearly
As I pray.
SHARPE'S MAGAZINE.
The exercise of patience involves a continual practice of the presence of
God; for we may be come upon at any moment for an almost heroic display of
good temper, and it is a short road to unselfishness, for nothing is left
to self; all that seems to belong most intimately to self, to be self's
private property, such as time, home, and rest, are invaded by these
continual trials of patience. The family is full of such opportunities.
F. W. FABER.
Only as we know what it is to cherish love when sore at some unkindness, to
overmaster ourselves when under provocation, to preserve gentleness during
trial and unmerited wrong,--only then can we know in any degree the "manner
of spirit" that was in Christ.
T. T. CARTER.
February 2
_Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men_.--I THESS. v.
14.
The little worries which we meet each day
May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way,
Or we may make them stepping-stones to be
Of grace, O Lord, to Thee.
A. E. HAMILITON.
We must be continually sacrificing our own wills, as opportunity serves, to
the will of others; bearing, without notice, sights and sounds that annoy
us; setting about this or that task, when we had far rather be doing
something very different; persevering in it, often, when we are thoroughly
tired of it; keeping company for duty's sake, when it would be a great joy
to us to be by ourselves; besides all the trifling untoward accidents of
life; bodily pain and weakness long continued, and perplexing us often
when it does not amount to illness; losing what we value, missing what
we desire; disappointment in other persons, wilfulness, unkindness,
ingratitude, folly, in cases where we least expect it.
J. KEBLE.
February 3
_Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see
if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting_.--PS.
cxxxix. 23, 24.
Save us from the evil tongue,
From the heart that thinketh wrong,
From the sins, whate'er they be,
That divide the soul from Thee.
ANON.
Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy
mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then with a continuous
series of such thoughts as these: for instance, that where a man can live,
there he can also live well. But he must live in a palace: well, then, he
can also live well in a palace.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
Who is there that sets himself to the task of steadily watching his
thoughts for the space of one hour, with the view of preserving his mind
in a simple, humble, healthful condition, but will speedily discern in the
multiform, self-reflecting, self-admiring emotions, which, like locusts,
are ready to "eat up every green thing in his land," a state as much
opposed to simplicity and humility as night is to day?
M. A. KELTY.
February 4
_If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to
bridle the whole body_.--JAMES iii. 2
_Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips_.--PS.
cxli. 3.
What! never speak one evil word,
Or rash, or idle, or unkind!
Oh, how shall I, most gracious Lord,
This mark of true perfection find?
C. WESLEY.
When we remember our temptations to give quick indulgence to disappointment
or irritation or unsympathizing weariness, and how hard a thing it is
from day to day to meet our fellow-men, our neighbors, or even our own
households, in all moods, in all discordances between the world without
us and the frames within, in all states of health, of solicitude,
of preoccupation, and show no signs of impatience, ungentleness, or
unobservant self-absorption,--with only kindly feeling finding expression,
and ungenial feeling at least inwardly imprisoned;--we shall be ready to
acknowledge that the man who has thus attained is master of himself, and in
the graciousness of his power is fashioned upon the style of a Perfect Man.
J. H. THOM.
February 5
_Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at
all times_.--PS. cvi. 3.
_Thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: because thou shalt forget thy
misery, and remember it as waters that pass away_.--JOB xi. 15, 16.
In the bitter waves of woe,
Beaten and tossed about
By the sullen winds that blow
From the desolate shores of doubt,
Where the anchors that faith has cast
Are dragging in the gale,
I am quietly holding fast
To the things that cannot fail.
WASHINGTON GLADDEN.
In the darkest hour through which a human soul can pass, whatever else is
doubtful, this at least is certain. If there be no God and no future state,
yet even then, it is better to be generous than selfish, better to be
chaste than licentious, better to be true than false, better to be brave
than to be a coward. Blessed beyond all earthly blessedness is the man who,
in the tempestuous darkness of the soul, has dared to hold fast to these
venerable landmarks. Thrice blessed is he, who, when all is drear and
cheerless within and without, when his teachers terrify him, and his
friends shrink from him, has obstinately clung to moral good. Thrice
blessed, because _his_ night shall pass into clear, bright day.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
February 6
_Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe_.--PROV. xxix. 25.
_I will cry unto God most high; unto God, that performeth all things for
me_.--PS. lvii. 2.
Only thy restless heart keep still,
And wait in cheerful hope; content
To take whate'er His gracious will,
His all-discerning love hath sent;
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own.
G. NEUMARK.
God has brought us into this time; He, and not ourselves or some dark
demon. If we are not fit to cope with that which He has prepared for us,
we should have been utterly unfit for any condition that we imagine for
ourselves. In this time we are to live and wrestle, and in no other. Let us
humbly, tremblingly, manfully look at it, and we shall not wish that the
sun could go back its ten degrees, or that we could go back with it. If
easy times are departed, it is that the difficult times may make us more
in earnest; that they may teach us not to depend upon ourselves. If easy
belief is impossible, it is that we may learn what belief is, and in whom
it is to be placed.
F. D. MAURICE.
February 7
_Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk
ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto
you_.--JER. vii. 23.
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred
The task, in smoother walks to stray;
But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may.
W. WORDSWORTH.
Pray Him to give you what Scripture calls "an honest and good heart," or "a
perfect heart;" and, without waiting, begin at once to obey Him with the
best heart you have. Any obedience is better than none. You have to seek
His face; obedience is the only way of seeing Him. All your duties are
obediences. To do what He bids is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to
approach Him. Every act of obedience is an approach--an approach to Him who
is not far off, though He seems so, but close behind this visible screen of
things which hides Him from us.
J. H. NEWMAN.
As soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light
given us to guide our own steps; as the foot-soldier, who hears nothing of
the councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears
plainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey.
GEORGE ELIOT.
February 8
_He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake_.--PS. xxiii. 2, 3.
He leads me where the waters glide,
The waters soft and still,
And homeward He will gently guide
My wandering heart and will.
J. KEBLE.
Out of obedience and devotion arises an habitual faith, which makes Him,
though unseen, a part of all our life. He will guide us in a sure path,
though it be a rough one: though shadows hang upon it, yet He will be
with us. He will bring us home at last. Through much trial it may be,
and weariness, in much fear and fainting of heart, in much sadness and
loneliness, in griefs that the world never knows, and under burdens that
the nearest never suspect. Yet He will suffice for all. By His eye or by
His voice He will guide us, if we be docile and gentle; by His staff and
by His rod, if we wander or are wilful: any how, and by all means, He will
bring us to His rest.
H. E. MANNING.
February 9
_I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou
hast that is thine_.--MATT. xxv. 25.
Time was, I shrank from what was right,
From fear of what was wrong;
I would not brave the sacred fight,
Because the foe was strong.
But now I cast that finer sense
And sorer shame aside;
Such dread of sin was indolence,
Such aim at heaven was pride.
J. H. NEWMAN.
If he falls into some error, he does not fret over it, but rising up with a
humble spirit, he goes on his way anew rejoicing. Were he to fall a hundred
times in the day, he would not despair,--he would rather cry out lovingly
to God, appealing to His tender pity. The really devout man has a horror of
evil, but he has a still greater love of that which is good; he is more
set on doing what is right, than avoiding what is wrong. Generous,
large-hearted, he is not afraid of danger in serving God, and would rather
run the risk of doing His will imperfectly than not strive to serve Him
lest he fail in the attempt.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
February 10
_We have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have
waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation_.--ISA. xxv.
9.
Blest are the humble souls that wait
With sweet submission to His will;
Harmonious all their passions move,
And in the midst of storms are still.
P. DODDRIDGE.
Do not be discouraged at your faults; bear with yourself in correcting
them, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which
exhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors. Accustom yourself
gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations. Speak, move,
work, in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be. Do
everything without excitement, by the spirit of grace. As soon as you
perceive your natural impetuosity gliding in, retire quietly within, where
is the kingdom of God. Listen to the leadings of grace, then say and do
nothing but what the Holy Spirit shall put in your heart. You will find
that you will become more tranquil, that your words will be fewer and more
effectual, and that, with less effort, you will accomplish more good.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
February 11
_I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do_.--JOHN xvii. 4.
_She hath done what she could_.--MARK xiv. 8.
He who God's will has borne and done,
And his own restless longings stilled,
What else he does, or has foregone,
His mission he has well fulfilled.
FROM THE GERMAN.
Cheered by the presence of God, I will do at each moment, without anxiety,
according to the strength which He shall give me, the work that His
Providence assigns me. I will leave the rest without concern; it is not my
affair. I ought to consider the duty to which I am called each day, as the
work that God has given me to do, and to apply myself to it in a manner
worthy of His glory, that is to say, with exactness and in peace. I must
neglect nothing; I must be violent about nothing.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty, too, to
leave undone what thou wouldst do.
THOMAS À KEMPIS.
February 12
_Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits_.--PS. lxviii. 19.
_Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly
all things to enjoy_.--I TIM. vi. 17.
Source of my life's refreshing springs,
Whose presence in my heart sustains me,
Thy love ordains me pleasant things,
Thy mercy orders all that pains me.
A. L. WARING.
And to be true, and speak my soul, when I survey the occurrences of my
life, and call into account the finger of God, I can perceive nothing
but an abyss and mass of mercies, either in general to mankind, or in
particular to myself; and whether out of the prejudice of my affection,
or an inverting and partial conceit of His mercies, I know not; but those
which others term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfortunes, to me who
inquire farther into them than their visible effects, they both appear,
and in event have ever proved, the secret and dissembled favors of His
affection.
SIR T. BROWNE.
February 13
_Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him_.--2 SAM. xv. 26.
To have, each day, the thing I wish,
Lord, that seems best to me;
But not to have the thing I wish,
Lord, that seems best to Thee.
Most truly, then, Thy will is done,
When mine, O Lord, is crossed;
It is good to see my plans o'erthrown,
My ways in Thine all lost.
H. BONAR.
O Lord, Thou knowest what is best for us; let this or that be done, as Thou
shalt please. Give what Thou wilt, and how much Thou wilt, and when Thou
wilt. Deal with me as Thou thinkest good. Set me where Thou wilt, and deal
with me in all things just as Thou wilt. Behold, I am Thy servant, prepared
for all things: for I desire not to live unto myself, but unto Thee; and
oh, that I could do it worthily and perfectly!
THOMAS À KEMPIS.
Dare to look up to God, and say, "Make use of me for the future as Thou
wilt. I am of the same mind; I am one with Thee. I refuse nothing which
seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt, clothe me in whatever
dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that I should be in a public or a private
condition, dwell here, or be banished, be poor or rich? Under all these
circumstances, I will testify unto Thee before men."
EPICTETUS.
February 14
_I would have you without carefulness_.--I COR. vii. 32.
O Lord, how happy should we be
If we could cast our care on Thee,
If we from self could rest;
And feel at heart that One above,
In perfect wisdom, perfect love,
Is working for the best.
J. ANSTICE.
Cast all thy care on God. See that all thy cares be such as thou canst cast
on God, and then hold none back. Never brood over thyself; never stop short
in thyself; but cast thy whole self, even this very care which distresseth
thee, upon God. Be not anxious about little things, if thou wouldst learn
to trust God with thine all. Act upon faith in little things; commit thy
daily cares and anxieties to Him; and He will strengthen thy faith for any
greater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into God's hands, and so trust
Him to take care of thee in all lesser things, as being His, for His own
sake, whose thou art.
E. B. PUSEY.
February 15
_If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself, ye do well_.--JAMES ii. 8.
Come, children, let us go!
We travel hand in hand;
Each in his brother finds his joy
In this wild stranger land.
The strong be quick to raise
The weaker when they fall;
Let love and peace and patience bloom
In ready help for all.
G. TERSTEEGEN.
It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death
hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too,--as if it were
comparatively a light thing to fail in love and reverence to the brother
who has to climb the whole toilsome steep with us, and all our tears and
tenderness were due to the one who is spared that hard journey.
GEORGE ELIOT.
Would we codify the laws that should reign in households, and whose daily
transgression annoys and mortifies us, and degrades our household life,--we
must learn to adorn every day with sacrifices. Good manners are made up
of petty sacrifices. Temperance, courage, love, are made up of the same
jewels. Listen to every prompting of honor.
R. W. EMERSON.
February 16
_Serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind_.--I CHRON.
xxviii. 9.
And if some things I do not ask,
In my cup of blessing be,
I would have my spirit filled the more
With grateful love to Thee,--
More careful,--not to serve Thee much,
But to please Thee perfectly.
A. L. WARING.
Little things come daily, hourly, within our reach, and they are not less
calculated to set forward our growth in holiness, than are the greater
occasions which occur but rarely. Moreover, fidelity in trifles, and an
earnest seeking to please God in little matters, is a test of real devotion
and love. Let your aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little
things, and to attain a spirit of childlike simplicity and dependence. In
proportion as self-love and self-confidence are weakened, and our will
bowed to that of God, so will hindrances disappear, the internal troubles
and contests which harassed the soul vanish, and it will be filled with
peace and tranquillity.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
February 17
_My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations
[or "trials"], knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience_.--JAMES i. 2, 3.
For patience, when the rough winds blow!
For patience, when our hopes are fading,--
When visible things all backward go,
And nowhere seems the power of aiding!
God still enfolds thee with His viewless hand,
And leads thee surely to the Fatherland.
N. L. FROTHINGHAM, _from the German_.
We have need of patience with ourselves and with others; with those below,
and those above us, and with our own equals; with those who love us and
those who love us not; for the greatest things and for the least; against
sudden inroads of trouble, and under our daily burdens; disappointments as
to the weather, or the breaking of the heart; in the weariness of the body,
or the wearing of the soul; in our own failure of duty, or others' failure
toward us; in every-day wants, or in the aching of sickness or the decay
of age; in disappointment, bereavement, losses, injuries, reproaches; in
heaviness of the heart; or its sickness amid delayed hopes. In all these
things, from childhood's little troubles to the martyr's sufferings,
patience is the grace of God, whereby we endure evil for the love of God.
E. B. PUSEY.
February 18
_It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy
statutes_.--PS. cxix. 71.
_But though He cause grief yet will He have compassion, according to the
multitude of His mercies_.--LAM. iii. 32.
And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above;
They do not come in anger, but in faithfulness and love;
They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could not yield,
And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose is fulfilled.
ANON.
Heed not distressing thoughts when they rise ever so strongly in thee; nay,
though they have entered thee, fear them not, but be still awhile, not
believing in the power which thou feelest they have over thee, and it will
fall on a sudden. It is good for thy spirit, and greatly to thy advantage,
to be much and variously exercised by the Lord. Thou dost not know what the
Lord hath already done, and what He is yet doing for thee therein.
I. PENINGTON.
Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my
soul? I know He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop.
S. RUTHERFORD.
February 19
_My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His
work_.--JOHN iv. 34.
I am glad to think
I am not bound to make the world go right;
But only to discover and to do,
With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.
I will trust in Him,
That He can hold His own; and I will take
His will, above the work He sendeth me,
To be my chiefest good.
J. INGELOW.
Don't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be reckoned
of infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were it but the more
perfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting-away of your clothes and
trinkets, the arranging of your papers,--"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to
do, _do it_ with all thy might," and all thy worth and constancy. Much
more, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have
brothers, sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie
upon you, on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing needful, to
pay _them_ more and more honestly and nobly what you owe. What matter
how miserable one is, if one can do that? That is the sure and steady
disconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries one has in this world.
T. CARLYLE.
February 20
_Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather,
that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's
way_.--ROM. xiv. 13.
_Them that were entering in, ye hindered_.--LUKE xi. 52.
My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day,
And I said pettish words, and did not keep
Long-suffering patience well, and now how deep
My trouble for this sin! in vain I weep
For foolish words I never can unsay.
H. S. SUTTON.
A vexation arises, and our expressions of impatience hinder others from
taking it patiently. Disappointment, ailment, or even weather depresses
us; and our look or tone of depression hinders others from maintaining
a cheerful and thankful spirit. We say an unkind thing, and another is
hindered in learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. We
say a provoking thing, and our sister or brother is hindered in that day's
effort to be meek. How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act! For
wrong feeling is more infectious than wrong doing; especially the
various phases of ill temper,--gloominess, touchiness, discontent,
irritability,--do we not know how catching these are?
F. R. HAVERGAL.
February 21
_If ye then, being evil, know bow to give good gifts unto your children,
bow much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them
that ask Him_?--MATT. vii. 11.
For His great love has compassed
Our nature, and our need
We know not; but He knoweth,
And He will bless indeed.
Therefore, O heavenly Father,
Give what is best to me;
And take the wants unanswered,
As offerings made to Thee.
ANON.
Whatsoever we ask which is not for our good, He will keep it back from us.
And surely in this there is no less of love than in the granting what we
desire as we ought. Will not the same love which prompts you to give a
good, prompt you to keep back an evil, thing? If, in our blindness, not
knowing what to ask, we pray for things which would turn in our hands to
sorrow and death, will not our Father, out of His very love, deny us?
How awful would be our lot, if our wishes should straightway pass into
realities; if we were endowed with a power to bring about all that we
desire; if the inclinations of our will were followed by fulfilment of our
hasty wishes, and sudden longings were always granted. One day we shall
bless Him, not more for what He has granted than for what He has denied.
H. E. MANNING.
February 22
_Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God_.--PHIL. iv. 6.
We tell Thee of our care,
Of the sore burden, pressing day by day,
And in the light and pity of Thy face,
The burden melts away.
We breathe our secret wish,
The importunate longing which no man may see;
We ask it humbly, or, more restful still,
We leave it all to Thee.
SUSAN COOLIDGE.
That prayer which does not succeed in moderating our wish, in changing
the passionate desire into still submission, the anxious, tumultuous
expectation into silent surrender, is no true prayer, and proves that we
have not the spirit of true prayer. That life is most holy in which there
is least of petition and desire, and most of waiting upon God; that in
which petition most often passes into thanksgiving. Pray till prayer makes
you forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it in God's will. The
Divine wisdom has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the
good things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn to do without them;
not as a means whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become
strong to meet it.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
February 23
_Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight_.--I CHRON. xix. 13.
_Let Thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee_.--PS.
XXXIII. 22.
I cannot feel
That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal
The shining sun;
But then, I know
He lives and loves; and say, since it is so,
Thy will be done.
S. G. BROWNING.
No felt evil or defect becomes divine until it is inevitable; and only when
resistence to it is exhausted and hope has fled, does surrender cease to
be premature. The hardness of our task lies _here_; that we have to strive
against the grievous things of life, while hope remains, as if they were
evil; and then, when the stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand of
God, and doubt not they are good. But to the loving, trusting heart, all
things are possible; and even this instant change, from overstrained will
to sorrowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete surrender is
realized without convulsion.
J. MARTINEAU.
February 24
_These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the
world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world_.--JOHN xvi. 33.
O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace,
Who shedd'st Thy breathing quiet all around,
In me command that pain and conflict cease,
And turn to music every jarring sound.
J. STERLING.
Accustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice. Abide in peace in the
presence of God, who sees all these evils more clearly than you do, and who
permits them. Be content with doing with calmness the little which depends
upon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were not.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
It is rare when injustice, or slights patiently borne, do not leave the
heart at the close of the day filled with marvellous joy and peace.
GOLD DUST.
February 25
_But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed
thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by
thy name; thou art mine_.--ISA. xliii. I.
Thou art as much His care as if beside
Nor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth;
Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide,
To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth.
J. KEBLE.
God beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. "He calls thee by thy
name." He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all
thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy
strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy
day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He
interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the
risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears
thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love
thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more
than He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou
wilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.
J. H. NEWMAN.
February 26
_The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon
Him in truth_.--PS. cxlv. 18.
_I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my
fears_.--PS. xxxiv. 4.
Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!
So shall each murmuring thought be gone;
And grief and fear and care shall fly,
As clouds before the mid-day sun.
C. WESLEY.
Take courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into
material for spiritual progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching
you, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions.
He sends you help, and blesses your affliction. This thought should enable
you to bear your troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who only
allows you to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart continually to
God, seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of your consolation be your
happiness in being His. All vexations and annoyances will be comparatively
unimportant while you know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a
Refuge. May God be ever in your heart.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
February 27
_Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and
verily thou shalt be fed_.--PS. xxxvii. 3.
Build a little fence of trust
Around to-day;
Fill the space with loving work,
And therein stay;
Look not through the sheltering bars
Upon to-morrow,
God will help thee bear what comes,
Of joy or sorrow.
MARY FRANVES BUTTS.
Let us bow our souls and say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" Let us
lift up our hearts and ask, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" Then
light from the opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, revealing the
grains of gold, where yesterday all seemed dust; a hand shall sustain us
and our daily burden, so that, smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say,
"_This is easy, this is light;_" every "lion in the way," as we come up
to it, shall be seen chained, and leave open the gates of the Palace
Beautiful; and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as we are,
ministries shall be assigned, and through our hands blessings shall be
conveyed in which the spirits of just men made perfect might delight.
ELIZABETH CHARLES.
February 28
_Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God_.--I JOHN iv. 7.
So to the calmly gathered thought
The innermost of life is taught,
The mystery dimly understood,
That love of God is love of good;
That to be saved is only this,--
Salvation from our selfishness.
J. G. Whittler.
The Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness,
because it is the truth and reality of God in the soul; and therefore is
in the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on
every occasion. Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It is this
God of Love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness,
which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For all wants
are satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, no life is any longer a
burden, every day is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes a help
to you, because everything you see or do is all done in the sweet, gentle
element of Love.
WM. LAW.
February 29
_Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with
healing in his wings_.--MAL. iv. 2.
_O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me_.--PS. xliii. 3.
Open our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness,
That we may see that glorious world of Thine!
It shines for us in vain, while drooping sadness
Enfolds us here like mist; come, Power benign,
Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile,
Our wintry course do Thou beguile,
Nor by the wayside ruins let us mourn,
Who have th' eternal towers for our appointed bourn.
J. KEBLE.
Because all those scattered rays of beauty and loveliness which we behold
spread up and down over all the world, are only the emanations of that
inexhausted light which is above; therefore should we love them all in
that, and climb up always by those sunbeams unto the eternal Father of
lights: we should look upon Him, and take from Him the pattern of our
lives, and always eying Him, should, as Hierocles speaks, "polish and shape
our souls into the clearest resemblance of Him;" and in all our behavior
in this world (that great temple of His) deport ourselves decently and
reverently, with that humility, meekness, and modesty that becomes His
house.
DR. JOHN SMITH.
March 1
_Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on_.--MATT. vi. 25.
One there lives whose guardian eye
Guides our earthly destiny;
One there lives, who, Lord of all,
Keeps His children lest they fall;
Pass we, then, in love and praise,
Trusting Him through all our days,
Free from doubt and faithless sorrow,--
God provideth for the morrow.
R. HEBER.
It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It
is when to-morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day that the weight
is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you
find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing,
not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.
G. MACDONALD.
_Cast thy burdens upon the Lord_,--hand it over, heave it upon Him,--_and
He shall sustain thee_; shall bear both, if thou trust Him with both, both
thee and thy burden: _He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved_.
ROBERT LEIGHTON.
March 2
_But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God
is well pleased_.--HEB. xiii. 16.
_For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should
love one another_.--I JOHN iii. 11.
Be useful where thou livest, that they may
Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still.
...Find out men's wants and will,
And meet them there. All worldly joys go less
To the one joy of doing kindnesses.
G. HERBERT.
Let the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course
he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words,
sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's
sensitiveness,--these cost very little, but they are priceless in their
value. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to
hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually
practised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character
than the display of great talents and accomplishments.
M. A. KELTY.
March 3
_I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments_.--PS. cxix. 60.
_Ye know not what shall be on the morrow_.--JAMES iv. 14.
Never delay
To do the duty which the hour brings,
Whether it be in great or smaller things;
For who doth know
What he shall do the coming day?
ANON.
It is quite impossible that an idle, floating spirit can ever look up with
clear eye to God; spreading its miserable anarchy before the symmetry of
the creative Mind; in the midst of a disorderly being, that has neither
centre nor circumference, kneeling beneath the glorious sky, that
everywhere has both; and for a life that is _all_ failure, turning to the
Lord of the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, that "not one
faileth." The heavens, with their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no
sadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the slattern in their prayers.
J. MARTINEAU.
March 4
_But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall
no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and
their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter
destruction: but they are in peace_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON iii. 1-3.
But souls that of His own good life partake,
He loves as His own self; dear as His eye
They are to Him: He 'll never them forsake:
When they shall die, then God Himself shall die;
They live, they live in blest eternity.
HENRY MORE.
Though every good man is not so logically subtile as to be able by fit
mediums to demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in a higher
light: his soul, being purged and enlightened by true sanctity, is
more capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in
conjunction with God. It knows that God will never forsake His own life
which He hath quickened in it; He will never deny those ardent desires of
a blissful fruition of Himself, which the lively sense of His own goodness
hath excited within it: those breathings and gaspings after an eternal
participation of Him are but the energy of His own breath within us; if He
had had any mind to destroy it, He would never have shown it such things as
He hath done.
DR. JOHN SMITH.
March 5
_And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is
pure_.--I JOHN iii. 3.
Now, Lord, what wait I for?
On Thee alone
My hope is all rested,--
Lord, seal me Thine own!
Only Thine own to be,
Only to live to Thee.
Thine, with each day begun,
Thine, with each set of sun,
Thine, till my work is done.
ANNA WARNER.
Now, believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. At some time in
our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life
finds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our
best. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or
doctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs
to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, or mother. Here is God,--God
standing silently at the door all day long,--God whispering to the soul,
that to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short
of that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.
ROBERT COLLYER.
March 6
_The shadow of a great rock in a weary land_.--ISA. xxxii. 2.
_In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength_.--ISA. xxx. 15.
O Shadow in a sultry land!
We gather to Thy breast,
Whose love, enfolding like the night,
Brings quietude and rest,
Glimpse of the fairer life to be,
In foretaste here possessed.
C. M. PACKARD.
Strive to see God in all things without exception, and-acquiesce in His
will with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to
Him by a mere upward glance, or by the overflowing of your heart towards
Him. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do
not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole
world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in
His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling
simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that
you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and
simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself
with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
March 7
_There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all_.--I COR. xii. 6.
_I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I
the Lord do all these things_.--ISA. xlv. 7.
"All is of God that is, and is to be;
And God is good." Let this suffice us still,
Resting in childlike trust upon His will,
Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill.
J. G. WHITTIER.
This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to
us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind,
body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless
nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by
the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it
befalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through
man's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in every the least
circumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to
us without God's permission, it would be something out of God's control.
God's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God
Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and
love.
E. B. PUSEY.
March 8
_Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed_.--2 TIM. ii. 15.
_And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap if
we faint not_.--GAL. vi. 9.
The task Thy wisdom hath assigned,
Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil;
In all my works Thy presence find,
And prove Thine acceptable will.
C. WESLEY.
"What is my next duty? What is the thing that lies nearest to me?" "That
belongs to your every-day history. No one can answer that question but
yourself. Your next duty is just to determine what your next duty is. Is
there nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you know you ought not to do?
You would know your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and were not
ambitious of great things." "Ah, then," responded she, "I suppose it is
something very commonplace, which will make life more dreary than ever.
That cannot help me." "It will, if it be as dreary as reading the
newspapers to an old deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something more.
Your duty will begin to comfort you at once, but will at length open the
unknown fountain of life in your heart."
G. MACDONALD.
March 9
_Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine
hands unto_.--DEUT. xii. 18.
_Be ye thankful_.--COL. iii. 15.
Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.
G. HERBERT.
If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all
perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and
praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that
whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for
it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you
could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals
with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.
WM. LAW.
March 10
_When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee_.--ISA.
xliii. 2.
_I am with thee to deliver thee_.--JER. i. 8.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
ANON.
Turn it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to suffer what is appointed
thee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in all our
sorrows and troubles, and God would lay His shoulder under our burdens,
and help us to bear them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we submitted
ourselves to God, no suffering would be unbearable.
J. TAULER.
Learn to be as the angel, who could descend among the miseries of Bethesda
without losing his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. Gain healing
from troubled waters. Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a
certain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life. By the
blessing of God this will prepare you for it; it will make you thoughtful
and resigned without interfering with your cheerfulness.
J. H. NEWMAN.
March 11
_Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved_.--PS. lv. 22.
Now our wants and burdens leaving
To His care who cares for all,
Cease we fearing, cease we grieving,
At His touch our burdens fall.
S. LONGFELLOW.
The circumstances of her life she could not alter, but she took them to the
Lord, and handed them over into His management; and then she believed that
He took it, and she left all the responsibility and the worry and anxiety
with Him. As often as the anxieties returned she took them back; and the
result was that, although the circumstances remained unchanged, her soul
was kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. And the secret she found so
effectual in her outward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in
her inward ones, which were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. She
abandoned her whole self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that
she had; and, believing that He took that which she had committed to Him,
she ceased to fret and worry, and her life became all sunshine in the
gladness of belonging to Him. H. W. SMITH.
March 12
_The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon
thee, and give thee peace_.--NUM. vi. 24-26.
O Love, how cheering is Thy ray!
All pain before Thy presence flies;
Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away,
Where'er Thy healing beams arise.
O Father, nothing may I see,
Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.
P. GERHARDT.
There is a faith in God, and a clear perception of His will and designs,
and providence, and glory, which gives to its possessor a confidence and
patience and sweet composure, under every varied and troubling aspect of
events, such as no man can realize who has not felt its influences in his
own heart. There is a communion with God, in which the soul feels the
presence of the unseen One, in the profound depths of its being, with a
vivid distinctness and a holy reverence, such as no words can describe.
There is a state of union with God, I do not say often reached, yet it has
been attained in this world, in which all the past and present and future
seem reconciled, and eternity is won and enjoyed; and God and man, earth
and heaven, with all their mysteries, are apprehended in truth as they lie
in the mind of the Infinite.
SAMUEL D. ROBBINS.
March 13
_He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit_.--JOHN xv.
5.
_Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us_.--PS. xc. 17.
As some rare perfume in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own,
So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,
All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.
H. B. STOWE.
Some glances of real beauty may be seen in their faces, who dwell in true
meekness. There is a harmony in the sound of that voice to which Divine
love gives utterance, and some appearance of right order in their temper
and conduct whose passions are regulated.
JOHN WOOLMAN.
I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell in any heart, without an
external testimony in manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach the
witness within the heart of the beholder, and bear an unmistakable, though
silent, evidence to the eternal principle from which it emanates.
M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.
March 14
_I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear
unto me, and hear my speech_.--PS. xvii. 6.
_Ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us_.--PS.
lxii. 8.
Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest,
Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast;
Spread before God that wish, that care,
And change anxiety to prayer.
JANE CREWDSON.
Trouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble
and perplexity.
P. MELANCTHON.
Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy Father; put over the matter
into His hand, and so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing
care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer
anything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it,
and acquaint Him with it; yea, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for
matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy duty,
and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and
thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God.
R. LEIGHTON.
March 15
_Hear me, O Lord. for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according
to the multitude of Thy tender mercies_.--PS. lxix. 16.
_Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to
Thy word unto Thy servant_.--PS. cxix. 76.
Love divine has seen and counted
Every tear it caused to fall;
And the storm which Love appointed
Was its choicest gift of all.
ANON.
O that thou couldst dwell in the knowledge and sense of this! even, that
the Lord beholds thy sufferings with an eye of pity; and is able, not only
to uphold thee under them, but also to do thee good by them. Therefore,
grieve not at thy lot, be not discontented, look not out at the hardness of
thy condition; but, when the storm and matters of vexation are sharp, look
up to Him who can give meekness and patience, can lift up thy head over
all, and cause thy life to grow, and be a gainer by all. If the Lord God
help thee proportionably to thy condition of affliction and distress, thou
wilt have no cause to complain, but to bless His name.
I. PENINGTON.
March 16
_Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God_.--I COR. x. 31.
_With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men_.--EPH. vi.
7.
A Servant, with this clause,
Makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws,
Makes that and th' action fine.
G. HERBERT.
Surely the truth must be, that whatsoever in our daily life is lawful and
right for us to be engaged in, is in itself a part of our obedience to
God; a part, that is, of our very religion. Whensoever we hear people
complaining of obstructions and hindrances put by the duties of life in the
way of devoting themselves to God, we may be sure they are under some false
view or other. They do not look upon their daily work as the task God has
set them, and as obedience due to Him. We may go farther; and say, not only
that the duties of life, be they never so toilsome and distracting, are no
obstructions to a life of any degree of inward holiness; but that they are
even direct means, when rightly used, to promote our sanctification.
H. E. MANNING.
March 17
_Where hast thou gleaned to-day_?--RUTH ii. 19.
What have I learnt where'er I've been,
From all I've heard, from all I've seen?
What know I more that's worth the knowing?
What have I done that's worth the doing?
What have I sought that I should shun?
What duties have I left undone?
PYTHAGORAS.
All of this world will soon have passed away. But God will remain, and
thou, whatever thou hast become, good or bad. Thy deeds now are the
seed-corn of eternity. Each single act, in each several day, good or bad,
is a portion of that seed. Each day adds some line, making thee more or
less like Him, more or less capable of His love.
E. B. PUSEY.
There is something very solemn in the thought that that part of our work
which we have left undone may first be revealed to us at the end of a life
filled up, as we had fondly hoped, with useful and necessary employments.
SARAH W. STEPHEN.
March 18
_Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as
brethren, be pitiful, be courteous_.--I PETER iii. 8.
Make us of one heart and mind;
Courteous, pitiful, and kind;
Lowly, meek, in thought and word,
Altogether like our Lord.
C. WESLEY.
A little thought will show you how vastly your own happiness depends on the
way other people bear themselves toward you. The looks and tones at your
breakfast-table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the
faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the
street, the way your cook and housemaid do their work, the letters you
get, the friends or foes you meet,--these things make up very much of the
pleasure or misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and remember that
just so much are you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other people's
days. And this is the half of the matter which you can control. Whether
any particular day shall bring to you more of happiness or of suffering is
largely beyond your power to determine. Whether each day of your life shall
give happiness or suffering rests with yourself.
GEORGE S. MERRIAM.
March 19
_Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour in all things_.--TITUS ii. 10.
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
J. KEBLE
If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil, be duties to
God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our
life. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending
every day.
WM. LAW.
He who is faithful over a few things is a lord of cities. It does not
matter whether you preach in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, so
you be faithful. The faithfulness is all.
G. MACDONALD.
I would have you invoke God often through the day, asking Him to kindle a
love for your vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, "'Lord, what
wouldst Thou have me to do?' Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the lowest
ministries of Thy house? too happy if I may but serve Thee anyhow." And
when any special thing is repugnant to you, ask "Wouldst Thou have me do
it? Then, unworthy though I be, I will do it gladly."
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
March 20
_Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou
serve_.--MATT. iv. 10.
_Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the
whole heart_.--PS. cxix. 2.
The comfort of a mind at rest
From every care Thou hast not blest;
A heart from all the world set free,
To worship and to wait on Thee.
A. L. WARING.
Resign every forbidden joy; restrain every wish that is not referred to His
will; banish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the will of God;
seek Him alone, and you will find peace.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
"I've been a great deal happier since I have given up thinking about what
is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own
will. Our life is determined for us; and it makes the mind very free when
we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and
doing what is given us to do."
GEORGE ELIOT.
March 21
_Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things_.--MATT. vi. 32.
All as God wills, who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold;
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.
J. G. WHITTIER.
Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I
need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give
to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask
either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee; I
open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do
according to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up;
I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself
in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to
accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
March 22
_He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and
little_.--ECCLESIASTICUS xix. I.
One finger's-breadth at hand will mar
A world of light in heaven afar,
A mote eclipse a glorious star,
An eyelid hide the sky.
J. KEBLE.
A single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some
obscure corner of our consciousness,--a sin _which we do not intend to
renounce_,--is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of
action not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and
loving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,--any of these are
impassable obstacles. If we know of a kind act which we might, but do not
intend to, perform,--if we be aware that our moral health requires the
abandonment of some pleasure which yet we do not intend to abandon, here is
cause enough for the loss of all spiritual power.
F. P. COBBE.
It is astonishing how soon the whole conscience begins to unravel, if a
single stitch drops; one little sin indulged makes a hole you could put
your head through.
CHARLES BUXTON.
March 23
_Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest_.--3 JOHN 5.
_And this also we wish, even your perfection_.--2 COR. xiii. 9.
In all the little things of life,
Thyself, Lord, may I see;
In little and in great alike
Reveal Thy love to me.
So shall my undivided life
To Thee, my God, be given;
And all this earthly course below
Be one dear path to heaven.
H. BONAR.
In order to mould thee into entire conformity to His will, He must have
thee pliable in His hands, and this pliability is more quickly reached
by yielding in the little things than even by the greater. Thy one great
desire is to follow Him fully; canst thou not say then a continual "yes" to
all His sweet commands, whether small or great, and trust Him to lead thee
by the shortest road to thy fullest blessedness?
H. W. SMITH.
With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of
your condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise
that do the business.
HENRY MORE.
March 24
_I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest
me dwell in safety_.--PS. iv. 8.
_He giveth His beloved sleep_.--PS. cxxvii. 2.
He guides our feet, He guards our way,
His morning smiles bless all the day;
He spreads the evening veil, and keeps
The silent hours while Israel sleeps.
I. WATTS.
We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His
providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; no more
restless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the
place we are in; for it is God who has put us there, and who holds us in
His arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
One evening when Luther saw a little bird perched on a tree, to roost there
for the night, he said, "This little bird has had its supper, and now it
is getting ready to go to sleep here, quite secure and content, never
troubling itself what its food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow.
Like David, it 'abides under the shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its
little twig content, and lets God take care."
MARTIN LUTHER.
March 25
_I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His
people_.--PS. lxxxv. 8.
There is a voice, "a still, small voice" of love,
Heard from above;
But not amidst the din of earthly sounds,
Which here confounds;
By those withdrawn apart it best is heard,
And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.
ANONYMOUS.
He speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is
everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to
drown His voice. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." It is
a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still,
small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill
our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its
excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or
show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?
E. B. PUSEY.
March 26
_Are they not all ministering spirits_?--HEB. i. 14
May I reach
That purest heaven, be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!
So shall I join the choir invisible
Whose music is the gladness of the world.
GEORGE ELIOT.
Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to
whom we owe the most. Among the common people whom we know, it is not
necessarily those who are busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever
on the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the
stars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and
faithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest
calm and courage. It seems to me that there is reassurance here for many of
us who seem to have no chance for active usefulness. We can do nothing for
our fellow-men. But still it is good to know that we can be something for
them; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the
humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the
world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by
the very existence of that goodness.
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
March 27
_If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in
us_.--I JOHN iv. 12.
_And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And
hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given
us_.--I JOHN iii. 24.
Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love
Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin;
Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire,
And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.
H. B. STOWE.
The Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It
cannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of
Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a
spirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It
cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same
time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be
sympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot
delight in the rectitude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual
elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.
J. H. THOM.
March 28
_Giving thanks always for all things unto God_.--EPH. v. 20.
For blessings of the fruitful season,
For work and rest, for friends and home,
For the great gifts of thought and reason,--
To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.
Yes, and for weeping and for wailing,
For bitter hail and blighting frost,
For high hopes on the low earth trailing,
For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.
E. SCUDDER.
Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and
weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the
inward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout
thanksgiving to the great Author of my being. For more and more am
I unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called "a
thanksgiving for mercies,"--for any benefits or blessings that are
peculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of this,
I would have it to be gratitude for _all_ that belongs to my life and
being,--for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and
disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because
I believe that all is meant for good.
ORVILLE DEWEY.
March 29
_There shall no evil befall thee_.--PS. xci. 10.
_Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear
of evil_.--PROV. i. 33.
I ask not, "Take away this weight of care;"
No, for that love I pray that all can bear,
And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall
Must needs be good, and for my profit prove,
Since from my Father's heart most rich in love,
And from His bounteous hands it cometh all.
C. J. P. SPITTA.
Be like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but
it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I,
because this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has
happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the
present, nor fearing the future. Will then this which has happened prevent
thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure against
inconsiderate opinions and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occasion
which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a
misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
March 30
_Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to
glory_.--PS. lxxiii. 24.
_There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God_.--HEB. iv. 9.
Guide us through life; and when at last
We enter into rest,
Thy tender arms around us cast,
And fold us to Thy breast.
H. F. LYTE.
Go forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer the trials of existence,
believing in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will support you
in duty, and duty firmly done will strengthen faith; till at last, when all
is over here, and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades upon
your dying ear, and you hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound
of the ocean of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining on its
waters still and fair in their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song
of conquest, and in its retrospect of the life which has ended, and its
forward glance upon the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration of the
Hebrew king, "Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my
life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
STOPFORD A. BROOKE.
March 31
_Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts
of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy
tabernacle shall be in peace_.--JOB v. 23, 24.
Love had he found in huts where poor men lie;
His daily teachers had been woods and rills,
The silence that is in the starry sky,
The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
W. Wordsworth.
That spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which seems to come forth to
such from every dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, and
half-embedded stone, on which the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the
poor and hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. If thou fill thy brain
with Boston and New York, with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate
thy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, thou shall find no radiance
of wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods.
R. W. EMERSON.
As a countenance is made beautiful by the soul's shining through it, so the
world is beautiful by the shining through it of a God.
FRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI.
April 1
_For Thou Invest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou
hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst
hated it. But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of
souls_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON xi. 24, 26.
He prayeth well who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast;
He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
S. T. COLERIDGE.
To know that Love alone was the beginning of nature and creature, that
nothing but Love encompasses the whole universe of things, that the
governing Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all,
is nothing but omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infinity of wisdom,
to save every misguided creature from the miserable works of its own hands,
and make happiness and glory the perpetual inheritance of all the creation,
is a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every intelligent creature
that is sensible of it.
WM. LAW.
April 2
_Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you_?--I COR. iii. 16.
Father! replenish with Thy grace
This longing heart of mine;
Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place,
Thy sacred inmost shrine!
JOHANN SCHEFFLER.
Not man's manifold labors, but his manifold cares, hinder the presence of
God. Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine own feverish vanities,
and busy thoughts, and cares; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the
light of His countenance will stream down upon thee. He will make a secret
cell in thine heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou find
Him. And if thou hast found Him there, all around shall reflect Him, all
shall speak to Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly thou mayest be
doing the work of thy calling; inwardly if thou commend thy work to God,
thou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven.
E. B. PUSEY.
April 3
_As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do_.--DEUT.
xviii. 14.
Lord, for the erring thought
Not into evil wrought;
Lord, for the wicked will
Betrayed and baffled still;
For the heart from itself kept,
Our Thanksgiving accept.
W. D. HOWELLS.
What an amazing, what a blessed disproportion between the evil we do, and
the evil we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on the very verge
of doing! If my soul has grown tares, when it was full of the seeds of
nightshade, how happy ought I to be! And that the tares have not wholly
strangled the wheat, what a wonder it is! We ought to thank God daily for
the sins we have not committed.
F. W. FABER.
We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual
mercies _positive_; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies
negative! We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered us _not_ to do,
_not_ to be.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
You are surprised at your imperfections--why? I should infer from that,
that your self-knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be astonished
that you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous faults, and thank
God for His upholding grace.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
April 4
_Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord_.--MATT. xxv. 23.
O father! help us to resign
Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee;
Then even lowliest work of Thine
Most noble, blest, and sweet will be.
H. M. KIMBALL.
Nothing is too little to be ordered by our Father; nothing too little in
which to see His hand; nothing, which touches our souls, too little to
accept from Him; nothing too little to be done to Him.
E. B. PUSEY.
A soul occupied with great ideas best performs small duties; the divinest
views of life penetrate most clearly into the meanest emergencies; so far
from petty principles being best proportioned to petty trials, a heavenly
spirit taking up its abode with us can alone sustain well the daily toils,
and tranquilly pass the humiliations of our condition.
J. MARTINEAU.
Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he ought to do, because it seems
to him too small a thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, but
too great for him, that he doeth it not.
E. B. PUSEY.
April 5
_Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not
bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him_.--I KINGS xix.
18.
He went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in
his heart,--the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has
conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet
learnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still
small voice asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" that however we may
fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is
nowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly
corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
THOMAS HUGHES.
So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all. Seven thousand at
least in Israel had been braced and encouraged by his example, and silently
blessed him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In God's world, for
those who are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly done, no word
earnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in vain.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
April 6
_In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my
soul_.--PS. xciv. 19.
_Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed_.--2 COR. iv.
8, 9.
Discouraged in the work of life,
Disheartened by its load,
Shamed by its failures or its fears,
I sink beside the road;--
But let me only think of Thee,
And then new heart springs up in me.
S. LONGFELLOW.
Discouragement is an inclination to give up all attempts after the devout
life, in consequence of the difficulties by which it is beset, and our
already numerous failures in it. We lose heart; and partly in ill-temper,
partly in real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we first grow
querulous and peevish with God, and then relax in our efforts to mortify
ourselves and to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, and will
lead us into numberless venial sins the first half-hour we give way to it.
F. W. FABER.
Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious
of our faults that we are the most wicked; on the contrary, we are less so.
We see by a brighter light; and let us remember, for our consolation, that
we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
April 7
_That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of
God_.--ROM. xii. 2.
Thou knowest what is best;
And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know?
In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest;
Beneath that will my humble head shall bow.
T. C. UPHAM.
To those who are His, all things are not only easy to be borne, but even to
be gladly chosen. Their will is united to that will which moves heaven and
earth, which gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of the world. It
is a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that know so little
must needs speak little. To be at the centre of that motion, where is
everlasting rest; to be sheltered in the peace of God; even now to dwell in
heaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. "Thou shalt
keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."
H. E. MANNING.
Study to follow His will in all, to have no will but His. This is thy duty,
and thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt
and vex thyself; but by complying all is gained--sweet peace. It is the
very secret, the mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His will,
to be disposed of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought.
R. LEIGHTON.
April 8
_The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want_.--PS. xxiii. 1.
_They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing_.--PS. xxxiv. 10.
God, who the universe doth hold
In his fold,
Is my shepherd kind and heedful,
Is my shepherd, and doth keep
Me, his sheep,
Still supplied with all things needful.
F. Davison.
_Who_ is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a
wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty
Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it
were a very little thing,--HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself
with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care
and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought,
you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how
could it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?
H. W. Smith.
April 9
_Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation_.--MATT. xxvi. 41.
I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A spirit still prepared,
And armed with jealous care,
Forever standing on its guard,
And watching unto prayer.
C. WESLEY.
When you say, "Lead us not into temptation," you must in good earnest mean
to avoid in your daily conduct those temptations which you have already
suffered from. When you say, "Deliver us from evil," you must mean to
struggle against that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious of, and
which you pray to be forgiven. To watch and pray are surely in our power,
and by these means we are certain of getting strength. You feel your
weakness; you fear to be overcome by temptation; then keep out of the way
of it. This is watching. Avoid society which is likely to mislead you; flee
from the very shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; better be a little
too strict than a little too easy,--it is the safer side. Abstain from
reading books which are dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they
arise.
J. H. NEWMAN.
April 10
_Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing
God. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto
men_.--COL. iii. 22, 23.
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee.
G. HERBERT.
There is no action so slight nor so mean but it may be done to a great
purpose, and ennobled thereby; nor is any purpose so great but that
slight actions may help it, and may be so done as to help it much, most
especially, that chief of all purposes--the pleasing of God.
J. RUSKIN.
Every duty, even the least duty, involves the whole principle of obedience.
And little duties make the will _dutiful_, that is, supple and prompt to
obey. Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty is full of
probation and of discipline; it trains the will, heart, and conscience.
We need not to be prophets or apostles. The commonest life may be full
of perfection. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of
heaven.
H. E. MANNING.
April 11
_Wherefore, beloved... be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace,
without spot, and blameless_,--2 PETER iii. 14.
His conscience knows no secret stings,
While grace and joy combine
To form a life whose holy springs
Are hidden and divine.
I. WATTS
Even the smallest discontent of conscience may render turbid the whole
temper of the mind; but only produce the effort that restores its peace,
and over the whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread;
doubt and irritability pass as clouds away; the withered sympathies of
earth and home open their leaves and live; and through the clearest blue
the deep is seen of the heaven where God resides.
J. MARTINEAU.
The state of mind which is described as meekness, or quietness of spirit,
is characterized in a high degree by inward harmony. There is not, as
formerly, that inward jarring of thought contending with thought, and
conscience asserting rights which it could not maintain.
T. C. UPHAM.
April 12
_Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God
of love and peace shall be with you_.--2 COR. xiii. 11.
_He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom
he hath not seen_?--I JOHN iv. 20.
Lord! subdue our selfish will;
Each to each our tempers suit,
By Thy modulating skill,
Heart to heart, as lute to lute.
C. WESLEY.
It requires far more of the constraining love of Christ to love our cousins
and neighbors as members of the heavenly family, than to feel the heart
warm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole
Church is one thing; to love--that is, to delight in the graces and veil
the defects--of the person who misunderstood me and opposed my plans
yesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sensitive feelings,
or whose natural faults are precisely those from which my natural character
most revolts, is quite another.
ELIZABETH CHARLES.
April 13
_In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us_.--ROM. viii. 37.
Thus my soul before her God
Lieth still, nor speaketh more,
Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong,
That once smote her to the core;
Like a silent ocean, bright
With her God's great praise and light.
J. J. WINCKLER.
My mind is forever closed against embarrassment and perplexity, against
uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety; my heart against grief and desire. Calm
and unmoved, I look down on all things, for I know that I cannot explain a
single event, nor comprehend its connection with that which alone concerns
me. In His world all things prosper; this satisfies me, and in this belief
I stand fast as a rock. My breast is steeled against annoyance on account
of personal offences and vexations, or exultation in personal merit; for my
whole personality has disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose of my
being.
J. G. FICHTE.
April 14
_All thing are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or
life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye
are Christ's; and Christ is God's_.--I COR. iii. 21, 22, 23.
_As having nothing, and yet possessing all things_,--2 COR. vi. 10.
Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
As more of heaven in each we see:
Some softening gleam of love and prayer
Shall dawn on every cross and care.
J. KEBLE.
Out of love and hatred, out of earnings, and borrowings, and lendings, and
losses; out of sickness and pain, out of wooing and worshipping; out of
travelling, and voting, and watching, and caring; out of disgrace and
contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws. Let him not
slur his lesson; let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor exactly,
bravely, and cheerfully, to solve the problem of that life which is set
before _him_. And this, by punctual action, and not by promises or dreams.
Believing, as in God, in the presence and favor of the grandest influences,
let him deserve that favor, and learn how to receive and use it, by
fidelity also to the lower observances.
R. W. EMERSON.
April 15
_We know that all things work together for good to them that love
God_.--ROM. viii. 28.
_As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good_.--GEN.
1. 20.
Ill that He blesses is our good,
And unblest good is ill;
And all is right that seems most wrong,
If it be His sweet Will.
F. W. FABER.
To those who know themselves, all things work together for good, and all
things seem to be, as they are to them, good. The goods which God gives
seem "very good," and God Himself in them, because they know that they
deserve them not. The evils which God allows and overrules seem also "very
good," because they see in them His loving hand, put forth to heal them of
what shuts out God from the soul. They love God intensely, in that He is so
good to them in each, and every, the least good, because it is more than
they deserve: how much more in the greatest! They love God for every, and
each, the very greatest of what seem evils, knowing them to be, from His
love, real goods. For He by whom "all the hairs of our head are numbered,"
and who "knoweth whereof we are made," directs everything which befalls us
in life, in perfect wisdom and love, to the well-being of our souls.
E. B. PUSEY.
April 16
_The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. Faithful is He that
calleth you, who also will do it_.--I THESS. v. 23, 24.
Be still, my soul!--the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide,--
In every change He faithful will remain.
HYMNS FROM THE LAND OF LUTHER.
It was no relief from temporal evils that the Apostle promised. No; the
mercy of God might send them to the stake, or the lions; it was still His
mercy, if it but kept them "unspotted from the world." It might expose
them to insult, calumny, and wrong; they received it still as mercy, if it
"established them in every good word and work." O brethren! how many of
_you_ are content with _such_ faithfulness as this on the part of your
heavenly Father? Is this, indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers?
WM. ARCHER BUTLER.
The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken
sunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.
A. W. THOROLD.
April 17
_Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust_.--PS. xl. 4.
_That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life_.--I TIM. ii. 2.
Just to let thy Father do
What He will;
Just to know that He is true,
And be still;
Just to trust Him, this is all!
Then the day will surely be
Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall,
Bright and blessed, calm and free.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
Every morning compose your soul for a tranquil day, and all through it be
careful often to recall your resolution, and bring yourself back to it, so
to say. If something discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled; but
having discovered the fact, humble yourself gently before God, and try to
bring your mind into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, "Well, I have made
a false step; now I must go more carefully and watchfully." Do this each
time, however frequently you fall. When you are at peace use it profitably,
making constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the most
trifling things. Above all, do not be discouraged; be patient; wait; strive
to attain a calm, gentle spirit.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
April 18
_What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God,
to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with all thy soul_?--DEUT. x. 12.
What asks our Father of His children save
Justice and mercy and humility,
A reasonable service of good deeds,
Pure living, tenderness to human needs,
Reverence, and trust, and prayer for light to see
The Master's footprints in our daily ways?
No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife,
But the calm beauty of an ordered life
Whose every breathing is unworded praise.
J. G. WHITTIER.
Give up yourself to God without reserve; in singleness of heart meeting
everything that every day brings forth, as something that comes from God,
and is to be received and gone through by you, in such an heavenly use
of it, as you would suppose the holy Jesus would have done in such
occurrences. This is an attainable degree of perfection.
WM. LAW.
We ought to measure our actual lot, and to fulfil it; to be with all our
strength that which our lot requires and allows. What is beyond it, is no
calling of ours. How much peace, quiet, confidence, and strength, would
people attain, if they would go by this plain rule.
H. E. MANNING.
April 19
_The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him_.--EZRA viii.
22.
_Into Thy hand I commit my spirit_.--PS. xxxi. 5.
Thou layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart,
And sayest, "Be still!"
The silence and shadow are only a part
Of Thy sweet will;
Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art
I fear no ill.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and
then thou wilt feel the principle of God, to turn thy mind to the Lord God,
from whom life comes; whereby thou mayest receive His strength, and power
to allay all blustering storms and tempests. That is it which works up into
patience, into innocency, into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness,
into quietness, up to God with His power. Therefore be still awhile from
thy own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be
stayed in the principle of God in thee, that it may raise thy mind up to
God, and stay it upon God; and thou wilt find strength from Him, and find
Him to be a God at hand, a present help in the time of trouble and need.
GEORGE FOX.
April 20
_I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my
cry_.--PS. xl. 1.
_Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience,
hope,_--ROM. v. 3, 4.
Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow,
And Thou hast made each step an onward one;
And we will ever trust each unknown morrow,--
Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.
S. JOHNSON.
It is possible, when the future is dim, when our depressed faculties can
form no bright ideas of the perfection and happiness of a better world,--it
is possible still to cling to the conviction of God's merciful purpose
towards His creatures, of His parental goodness even in suffering; still
to feel that the path of duty, though trodden with a heavy heart, leads
to peace; still to be true to conscience; still to do our work, to resist
temptation, to be useful, though with diminished energy, to give up our
wills when we cannot rejoice under God's mysterious providence. In this
patient, though uncheered obedience, we become prepared for light. The soul
gathers force.
WM. E. CHANNING.
April 21
_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect_.--MATT. v. 48.
_As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied,
when I awake, with Thy likeness_.--PS. xvii. 15.
The righteousness he marks in Thee
His will to right doth win;
Delighting in Thy purity,
He deeply drinks it in.
T. H. GILL.
To love God is to love His character. For instance, God is Purity. And
to be pure in thought and look, to turn away from unhallowed books and
conversation, to abhor the moments in which we have not been pure, is
to love God. God is Love; and to love men till private attachments have
expanded into a philanthropy which embraces all,--at last even the evil and
enemies with compassion,--that is to love God. God is Truth. To be true,
to hate every form of falsehood, to live a brave, true, real life,--that is
to love God. God is Infinite; and to love the boundless, reaching on from
grace to grace, adding charity to faith, and rising upwards ever to see the
Ideal still above us, and to die with it unattained, aiming insatiably to
be perfect even as the Father is perfect,--that is to love God.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
April 22
_Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory_.--I PETER i.
8.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.
F. W. FABER.
What would it be to love absolutely a Being absolutely lovely,--to be able
to give our whole existence, every thought, every act, every desire, to
that adored One,--to know that He accepts it all, and loves us in return as
God alone can love? This happiness grows forever. The larger our natures
become, the wider our scope of thought, the stronger our will, the more
fervent our affections, the deeper must be the rapture of such God-granted
prayer. Every sacrifice _resolved on_ opens wide the gate; every sacrifice
_accomplished_ is a step towards the paradise within. Soon it will be no
transitory glimpse, no rapture of a day, to be followed by clouds and
coldness. Let us but labor, and pray, and wait, and the intervals of human
frailty shall grow shorter and less dark, the days of our delight in God
longer and brighter, till at last life shall be nought but His love, our
eyes shall never grow dim, His smile never turn away.
F. B. COBBE.
April 23
_These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges:
there they dwelt with the king for his work_.--I CHRON. iv. 23.
A lowlier task on them is laid,
With love to make the labor light;
And there their beauty they must shed
On quiet homes, and lost to sight.
Changed are their visions high and fair,
Yet, calm and still, they labor there.
HYMNS OF THE AGES.
Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell "with the King for His work." We may
be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a literal
country life, with little enough to be seen of the "goings" of the
King around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all
directions; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of
pottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who placed us "there" will
come and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or He would soon do
away with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way
may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, that is
just exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it
is, for the present, "His work."
F. R. HAVERGAL.
April 24
_Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ_.--GAL. vi.
2.
Is thy cruse of comfort wasting?
Rise and share it with another,
And through all the years of famine,
It shall serve thee and thy brother.
Is thy burden hard and heavy?
Do thy steps drag heavily?
Help to bear thy brother's burden;
God will bear both it and thee.
ELIZABETH CHARLES.
However perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of truth,
one refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something for some
one besides yourself. When your own burden is heaviest, you can always
lighten a little some other burden. At the times when you cannot see God,
there is still open to you this sacred possibility, to _show_ God; for it
is the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine reality
comes home to men, whether they name it or not. Let this thought, then,
stay with you: there may be times when you cannot find help, but there is
no time when you cannot give help.
GEORGE S. MERRIAM.
April 25
_Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of
his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child_.--PS. cxxxi. 2.
Quiet, Lord, my froward heart,
Make me teachable and mild,
Upright, simple, free from art,
Make me as a weaned child;
From distrust and envy free,
Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee.
J. NEWTON.
Oh! look not after great things: small breathings, small desires after
the Lord, if true and pure, are sweet beginnings of life. Take heed
of despising "the day of small things," by looking after some great
visitation, proportionable to thy distress, according to thy eye. Nay, thou
must become a child; thou must lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou
must wait for life to be measured out by the Father, and be content with
what proportion, and at what time, He shall please to measure.
I. PENINGTON.
"When Israel was a child, then I loved him" (Hosea xi. 1). Aim to be ever
this little child, contented with what the Father gives of pleasure or of
play; and when restrained from pleasure or from play, and led for a season
into the chamber of sorrow, rest quiet on His bosom, and be patient, and
smile, as one who is nestled in a sweet and secure asylum.
ANON.
April 26
_If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for
it_.--ROM. viii. 25.
_One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day_.--2 PETER iii. 8.
Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait
To work the thousandth part
Of Thy vast plan, for us create
With zeal a patient heart.
J. H. NEWMAN.
I believe that if we could only see beforehand what it is that our heavenly
Father means us to be,--the _soul_ beauty and perfection and glory, the
glorious and lovely spiritual body that this soul is to dwell in through
all eternity,--if we could have a glimpse of _this_, we should not grudge
all the trouble and pains He is taking with us now, to bring us up to that
ideal, which is His thought of us. We know that it is God's way to work
slowly, so we must not be surprised if He takes a great many years of
discipline to turn a mortal being into an immortal, glorious angel.
ANNIE KEARY.
April 27
_Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor_,--ZECH. viii. 16.
_For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity... we have had our conversation in the
world_.--2 COR. i. 12.
Appear I always what I am?
And am I what I am pretending?
Know I what way my course is bending?
And sound my word and thought the same?
ANON.
Am I acting in simplicity, from a germ of the Divine life within, or am
I shaping my path to obtain some immediate result of expediency? Am I
endeavoring to compass effects, amidst a tangled web of foreign influences
I cannot calculate; or am I seeking simply to do what is right, and leaving
the consequences to the good providence of God?
M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.
Let it not be in any man's power to say truly of thee that thou art not
simple, or that thou art not good; but let him be a liar whoever shall
think anything of this kind about thee; and this is altogether in thy
power. For who is he that shall hinder thee from being good and simple?
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
April 28
_The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand_.--PS.
cxxi. 5.
_Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend
them_.--PS. cxix. 165.
I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
C. WESLEY.
One great sign of the practical recognition of the "divine moment," and of
our finding God's habitation in it, is constant calmness and peace of mind.
Events and things come with the moment; but God comes with them too. So
that if He comes in the sunshine, we find rest and joy; and if He comes
in the storm, we know He is King of the storms, and our hearts are not
troubled. God Himself, though possessing a heart filled with the tenderest
feelings, is, nevertheless, an everlasting tranquillity; and when we enter
into His holy tabernacle, our souls necessarily enter into the tabernacle
of rest.
T. C. UPHAM.
My soul was not only brought into harmony with itself and with God, but
with God's providences. In the exercise of faith and love, I endured
and performed whatever came in God's providence, in submission, in
thankfulness, and silence.
MADAME GUYON.
April 29
_I will arise and go to my Father_.--LUKE xv. 18.
O my God, my Father! hear,
And help me to believe;
Weak and weary I draw near;
Thy child, O God, receive.
I so oft have gone astray;
To the perfect Guide I flee;
Thou wilt turn me not away,
Thy love is pledged to me.
HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.
O child, hast thou fallen? arise, and go, with childlike trust, to thy
Father, like the prodigal son, and humbly say, with heart and mouth,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee, and am no more
worthy to be called Thy son; make me as one of Thy hired servants." And
what will thy heavenly Father do but what that father did in the parable?
Assuredly He will not change His essence, which is love, for the sake of
thy misdoings. Is it not His own precious treasure, and a small thing with
Him to forgive thee thy trespasses, if thou believe in Him? for His hand is
not shortened that it cannot make thee fit to be saved.
JOHN TAULER.
April 30
_Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward_.--EX. xiv. 15.
_No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God_.--LUKE ix. 62.
Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee,
Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord,--
Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee,
Simply believing the truth of His word.
ANON.
The soul ceases to weary itself with planning and foreseeing, giving itself
up to God's Holy Spirit within, and to the teachings of His providence
without. He is not forever fretting as to his progress, or looking back to
see how far he is getting on; rather he goes steadily and quietly on, and
makes all the more progress because it is unconscious. So he never gets
troubled and discouraged; if he falls he humbles himself, but gets up at
once, and goes on with renewed earnestness.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
May 1
_I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my
mouth_.--PS. xxxiv. I.
_I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy
marvellous works_.--PS. ix. I.
Thrice blest will all our blessings be,
When we can look through them to Thee;
When each glad heart its tribute pays
Of love and gratitude and praise.
JANE COTTERILL.
That which befits us, embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is
cheerfulness, and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations.
Shall not the heart which has received so much, trust the Power by which
it lives? May it not quit other leadings, and listen to the Soul that has
guided it so gently, and taught it so much, secure that the future will be
worthy of the past?
R. W. EMERSON.
I have experienced that the habit of taking out of the hand of our Lord
every little blessing and brightness on our path, confirms us, in an
especial manner, in communion with His love.
M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.
May 2
_The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of
great price_.--I PETER iii. 4.
_To present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in His
sight_.--COL. i. 22.
Thy sinless mind in us reveal,
Thy spirit's plenitude impart!
Till all my spotless life shall tell
The abundance of a loving heart.
C. WESLEY.
Holiness appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm
nature. It seemed to me, it brought an inexpressible purity, brightness,
peacefulness, and ravishment to the soul; and that it made the soul like a
field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant flowers, that is all
pleasant, delightful, and undisturbed; enjoying a sweet calm, and the
gently vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christian appeared
like such a little white flower, as we see in the spring of the year, low
and humble on the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams
of the sun's glory; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture; diffusing
around a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of
other flowers round about, all in like manner opening their bosoms to drink
in the light of the sun.
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
May 3
_The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them
that trust in Him_.--NAHUM i. 7.
Leave God to order all thy ways,
And hope in Him, whate'er betide;
Thou 'It find Him in the evil days
Thy all-sufficient strength and guide;
Who trusts in God's unchanging love,
Builds on the rock that nought can move.
G. NEUMARK.
Our whole trouble in our lot in this world rises from the disagreement
of our mind therewith. Let the mind be brought to the lot, and the whole
tumult is instantly hushed; let it be kept in that disposition, and the man
shall stand at ease, in his affliction, like a rock unmoved with waters
beating upon it.
T. BOSTON.
How does our will become sanctified? By conforming itself unreservedly to
that of God. We will all that He wills, and will nothing that He does not
will; we attach our feeble will to that all-powerful will which performs
everything. Thus, nothing can ever come to pass against our will; for
nothing can happen save that which God wills, and we find in His good
pleasure an inexhaustible source of peace and consolation.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
May 4
_Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, out of weakness were made
strong_.--HEB xi. 33, 34.
She met the hosts of Sorrow with a look
That altered not beneath the frown they wore,
And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took,
Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more.
Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath,
And calmly broke in twain
The fiery shafts of pain,
And rent the nets of passion from her path.
By that victorious hand despair was slain;
With love she vanquished hate, and overcame
Evil with good, in her great Master's name.
W. C. BRYANT.
As to what may befall us outwardly, in this confused state of things, shall
we not trust our tender Father, and rest satisfied in His will? Shall
anything hurt us? Can tribulation, distress, persecution, famine,
nakedness, peril, or sword, come between the love of the Father to the
child, or the child's rest, content, and delight in His love? And doth not
the love, the rest, the peace, the joy felt, swallow up all the bitterness
and sorrow of the outward condition?
I. PENINGTON.
May 5
_If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how
canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou
trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of
Jordan_?--JER. xii. 5.
How couldst thou hang upon the cross,
To whom a weary hour is loss?
Or how the thorns and scourging brook,
Who shrinkest from a scornful look?
J. KEBLE.
A heart unloving among kindred has no love towards God's saints and angels.
If we have a cold heart towards a servant or a friend, why should we wonder
if we have no fervor towards God? If we are cold in our private prayers, we
should be earthly and dull in the most devout religious order; if we cannot
bear the vexations of a companion, how should we bear the contradiction of
sinners? if a little pain overcomes us, how could we endure a cross? if we
have no tender, cheerful, affectionate love to those with whom our daily
hours are spent, how should we feel the pulse and ardor of love to the
unknown and the evil, the ungrateful and repulsive?
H. E. MANNING.
May 6
_Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love_.--ROM. xii. 10.
_In her tongue is the law of kindness_.--PROV. xxxi. 26.
Since trifles make the sum of human things,
And half our misery from our foibles springs;
Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease,
And though but few can serve, yet all can please;
Oh, let the ungentle spirit learn from hence,
A small unkindness is a great offence.
HANNAH MORE.
All usefulness and all comfort may be prevented by an unkind, a sour,
crabbed temper of mind,--a mind that can bear with no difference of opinion
or temperament. A spirit of fault-finding; an unsatisfied temper; a
constant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or the
manner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied--your husband or your wife cannot
tell why--will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render
life anything but a blessing.
ALBERT BARNES.
You have not fulfilled every duty, unless you have fulfilled that of being
pleasant.
CHARLES BUXTON.
May 7
_He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth
the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names_.--PS. cxlvii.
3, 4.
Teach me your mood, O patient stars!
Who climb each night the ancient sky,
Leaving on space no shade, no scars,
No trace of age, no fear to die.
R. W. EMERSON.
I looked up to the heavens once more, and the quietness of the stars seemed
to reproach me. "We are safe up here," they seemed to say; "we shine,
fearless and confident, for the God who gave the primrose its rough leaves
to hide it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in the awful hollows
of space. We cannot fall out of His safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold! Who hath created these things--that bringeth out their host by
number? He calleth them all by names. By the greatness of His might, for
that He is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and
speakest, O Israel! my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed
over from my God?"
G. MACDONALD.
May 8
_This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in
it_.--PS. cxviii. 24.
_Why stand ye here all the day idle_?--MATT. xx. 6.
So here hath been dawning another blue day;
Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away?
Out of eternity this new day is born;
Into eternity at night will return.
T. CARLYLE.
Small cares, some deficiencies in the mere arrangement and ordering of our
lives, daily fret our hearts, and cross the clearness of our faculties; and
these entanglements hang around us, and leave us no free soul able to give
itself up, in power and gladness, to the true work of life. The
severest training and self-denial,--a superiority to the servitude of
indulgence,--are the indispensable conditions even of genial spirits, of
unclouded energies, of tempers free from morbidness,--much more of the
practised and vigorous mind, ready at every call, and thoroughly furnished
unto all good works.
J. H. THOM.
True, we can never be at peace till we have performed the highest duty of
all,--till we have arisen, and gone to our Father; but the performance
of smaller duties, yes, even of the smallest, will do more to give us
temporary repose, will act more as healthful anodynes, than the greatest
joys that can come to us from any other quarter.
G. MACDONALD.
May 9
_The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord_.--JOB i. 21.
What Thou hast given, Thou canst take,
And when Thou wilt new gifts can make.
All flows from Thee alone;
When Thou didst give it, it was Thine;
When Thou retook'st it, 't was not mine.
Thy will in all be done.
JOHN AUSTIN.
We are ready to praise when all shines fair; but when life is overcast,
when all things seem to be against us, when we are in fear for some
cherished happiness, or in the depths of sorrow, or in the solitude of a
life which has no visible support, or in a season of sickness, and with the
shadow of death approaching,--then to praise God; then to say, This fear,
loneliness, affliction, pain, and trembling awe are as sure tokens of love,
as life, health, joy, and the gifts of home: "The Lord gave, and the Lord
hath taken away;" on either side it is He, and all is love alike; "blessed
be the name of the Lord,"--this is the true sacrifice of praise. What can
come amiss to a soul which is so in accord with God? What can make so much
as one jarring tone in all its harmony? In all the changes of this fitful
life, it ever dwells in praise.
H. E. MANNING.
May 10
_The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust
in Him shall be desolate_.--PS. xxxiv. 22.
_Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him_.--JOB xiii. 15.
I praise Thee while my days go on;
I love Thee while my days go on:
Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost,
With emptied arms and treasure lost,
I thank Thee while my days go on.
E. B. BROWNING.
The sickness of the last week was fine medicine; pain disintegrated the
spirit, or became spiritual. I rose,--I felt that I had given to God more
perhaps than an angel could,--had promised Him in youth that to be a blot
on this fair world, at His command, would be acceptable. Constantly offer
myself to continue the obscurest 'and loneliest thing ever heard of, with
one proviso,--His agency. Yes, love Thee, and all Thou dost, while Thou
sheddest frost and darkness on every path of mine.
MARY MOODY EMERSON.
May 11
_Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive
evil_?--JOB ii. 10.
_Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy
word_.--PS. cxix. 65.
Whatsoe'er our lot may be,
Calmly in this thought we'll rest,--
Could we see as Thou dost see,
We should choose it as the best.
WM. GASKELL.
It is a proverbial saying, that every one makes his own destiny; and this
is usually interpreted, that every one, by his wise or unwise conduct,
prepares good or evil for himself: but we may also understand it, that
whatever it be that he receives from the hand of Providence, he may so
accommodate himself to it, that he will find his lot good for him, however
much may seem to others to be wanting.
WM. VON HUMBOLDT.
Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil; there is generous
battle-hope in place of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has become a
kind of good.
T. CARLYLE.
May 12
_Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:... ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life_.--REV. ii. 10.
Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid,
On Him who thee and all things made
Do thou all calmly rest;
Whate'er may come, where'er we go,
Our Father in the heavens must know
In all things what is best.
PAUL FLEMMING.
Guide me, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that in
all things that shall happen, I may have an evenness and tranquillity
of spirit; that my soul may be wholly resigned to Thy divinest will
and pleasure, never murmuring at Thy gentle chastisements and fatherly
correction. Amen.
JEREMY TAYLOR.
Thou art never at any time nearer to God than when under tribulation; which
He permits for the purification and beautifying of thy soul.
M. DE MOLINOS.
Prize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles; and let faith and patience
have their perfect work in them.
I. PENINGTON.
May 13
_I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou
shouldest keep them from the evil_.--JOHN xvii. 15.
In busy mart and crowded street,
No less than in the still retreat,
Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless,
With all a Father's tenderness.
I. WILLIAMS.
Only the individual conscience, and He who is greater than the conscience,
can tell where worldliness prevails. Each heart must answer for itself, and
at its own risk. That our souls are committed to our own keeping, at our
own peril, in a world so mixed as this, is the last reason we should
slumber over the charge, or betray the trust. If only that outlet to the
Infinite is kept open, the inner bond with eternal life preserved, while
not one movement of this world's business is interfered with, nor one
pulse-beat of its happiness repressed, with all natural associations dear
and cherished, with all human sympathies fresh and warm, we shall yet be
near to the kingdom of heaven, within the order of the Kosmos of God--in
the world, but not of the world--not taken out of it, but kept from its
evil.
J. H. THOM.
May 14
_And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God_?--MICAH vi. 8.
_Put on therefore... kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering_.--COL. iii. 12.
Plant in us an humble mind,
Patient, pitiful, and kind;
Meek and lowly let us be,
Full of goodness, full of Thee.
C. WESLEY.
There is no true and constant gentleness without humility; while we are so
fond of ourselves, we are easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded
that nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often
think of our own infirmities, and we shall become indulgent towards those
of others.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of
others, of what sort soever they be; for that thyself also hast many
failings which must be borne with by others. If thou canst not make thyself
such an one as thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have another in all
things to thy liking?
THOMAS À KEMPIS.
May 15
_My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest_.--EX. xxxiii.
14.
_Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at
Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore_.--PS. xvi. 11.
Thy presence fills my mind with peace,
Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile,
Bids cares and sad forebodings cease,
Makes all things smile.
CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.
How shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves wholly to Him. If you give
yourself by halves, you cannot find full rest; there will ever be a lurking
disquiet in that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints
have tasted this rest, and "counted themselves happy in that they endured."
A countless host of God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it under
the daily burden of a weary life,--dull, commonplace, painful, or desolate.
All that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once
fairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a fitting rule of life, and
a steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest
coming over you.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
May 16
_Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
might_.--EPH. vi. 10.
_No man can serve two masters_.--MATT. vi. 24.
Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach
In many a fearful place,
Where the poor timid heir of God
Lies blindly on his face;
Lies languishing for grace divine
That he shall never see
Till he go forward at Thy sign,
And trust himself to Thee.
A. L. WARING.
Reservations lie latent in the mind concerning some unhallowed sentiments
or habits in the present, some possibly impending temptations in the
future; and thus do we cheat ourselves of inward and outward joys together.
We give up many an indulgence for conscience' sake, but stop short at that
point of entire faithfulness wherein conscience could reward us. If we
would but give ourselves wholly to God,--give up, for the present and the
future, every act, and, above all, every thought and every feeling, to be
all purified to the uttermost, and rendered the best, noblest, holiest we
can conceive,--then would sacrifice bear with it a peace rendering itself,
I truly believe, far easier than before.
F. P. COBBE.
May 17
_Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also
ye do_.--I THESS. v. 11.
_Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself_.--MATT. xix. 19.
So others shall
Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand,
From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,
And God's grace fructify through thee to all.
The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,
And share its dewdrop with another near.
E. B. BROWNING.
What is meant by our neighbor we cannot doubt; it is every one with whom we
are brought into contact. First of all, he is literally our neighbor who
is next to us in our own family and household; husband to wife, wife to
husband, parent to child, brother to sister, master to servant, servant to
master. Then it is he who is close to us in our own neighborhood, in our
own town, in our own parish, in our own street. With these all true charity
begins. To love and be kind to these is the very beginning of all true
religion. But, besides these, as our Lord teaches, it is every one who
is thrown across our path by the changes and chances of life; he or she,
whosoever it be, whom we have any means of helping,--the unfortunate
stranger whom we may meet in travelling, the deserted friend whom no one
else cares to look after.
A. P. STANLEY.
May 18
_We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren_.--I JOHN iii. 14.
_He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love_.--I JOHN iv. 8.
Mutual love the token be,
Lord, that we belong to Thee;
Love, Thine image, love impart;
Stamp it on our face and heart;
Only love to us be given;
Lord, we ask no other heaven.
C WESLEY.
Oh, how many times we can most of us remember when we would gladly have
made any compromise with our consciences, would gladly have made the most
costly sacrifices to God, if He would only have excused us from this duty
of loving, of which our nature seemed utterly incapable. It is far easier
to feel kindly, to act kindly, toward those with whom we are seldom brought
into contact, whose tempers and prejudices do not rub against ours, whose
interests do not clash with ours, than to keep up an habitual, steady,
self-sacrificing love towards those whose weaknesses and faults are always
forcing themselves upon us, and are stirring up our own. A man may pass
good muster as a philanthropist who makes but a poor master to his
servants, or father to his children.
F. D. MAURICE.
May 19
_Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him_.--PS. xxxvii. 7.
_Trust in Him at all times_.--PS. lxii. 8.
Dost thou ask when comes His hour?
Then, when it shall aid thee best.
Trust His faithfulness and power,
Trust in Him, and quiet rest.
ANON.
I had found [communion with God] to consist, not only in the silencing of
the outward man, but in the silencing also of every thought, and in the
concentration of the soul and all its powers into a simple, quiet watching
and waiting for the food which its heavenly Father might see fit either
to give or to withhold. In no case could it be sent empty away; for, if
comfort, light, or joy were withheld, the act of humble waiting at the gate
of heavenly wisdom could not but work patience in it, and thus render it,
by humility and obedience, more "meet to be a partaker of the inheritance
of the saints in light," and also more blessed in itself.
M. A. KELTY.
"REST IN THE LORD; WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM." In Hebrew, "be silent to God,
and let Him mould thee." Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right
shape.
MARTIN LUTHER.
May 20
_To be spiritually minded is life and peace_.--ROM. viii. 6.
Stilled now be every anxious care;
See God's great goodness everywhere;
Leave all to Him in perfect rest:
He will do all things for the best.
FROM THE GERMAN.
We should all endeavor and labor for a calmer spirit, that we may the
better serve God in praying to Him and praising Him; and serve one another
in love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good; that we may make our
passage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the
wing. So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good ground, so much we
live, and are, as it were, in heaven.
R. SIBBES.
Possess yourself as much as you possibly can in peace; not by any effort,
but by letting all things fall to the ground which trouble or excite you.
This is no work, but is, as it were, a setting down a fluid to settle that
has become turbid through agitation.
MADAME GUYON.
May 21
_The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall
cover him all the day long_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 12.
Whate'er events betide,
Thy will they all perform;
Safe in Thy breast my head I hide,
Nor fear the coming storm.
H. F. LYTE.
I have seemed to see a need of everything God gives me, and want nothing
that He denies me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either
in it, or after it, I find that I could not be without it. Whether it
be taken from or not given me, sooner or later God quiets me in Himself
without it. I cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the
care and wisdom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you know, are, in a sense,
hedged up with thorns, and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I distrust
not my good God in the least, and live more quietly in the absence of all
by faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.
JOSEPH ELIOT, 1664.
May 22
_He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty_.--PS. xci. I.
They who on the Lord rely,
Safely dwell though danger's nigh;
Lo! His sheltering wings are spread
O'er each faithful servant's head.
When they wake, or when they sleep,
Angel guards their vigils keep;
Death and danger may be near,
Faith and love have nought to fear.
HARRIET AUBER.
"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling," is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the case of all
"who dwell in the secret place of the Most High." To them sorrows are not
"evils," sicknesses are not "plagues;" the shadow of the Almighty extending
far around those who abide under it, alters the character of all things
which come within its influence.
ANON.
It is faith's work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the
roughest strokes of God.
S. RUTHERFORD.
MAY 23
_Be content with such things as ye have_.--HEB. xiii. 5.
_I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content_.--PHIL.
iv. 11 ( R. V.).
No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope or fear;
But, grateful, take the good I find,
The best of now and here.
J. G. WHITTIER.
If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--
1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.
2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou
art not.
3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.
4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or
were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more
wisely than thou dost thyself.
5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The
heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will
provide."
E. B. PUSEY.
May 24
_Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby_.--HEB. xii. I1.
I cannot say,
Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day,
I joy in these;
But I can say
That I had rather walk this rugged way,
If Him it please.
S. G. BROWNING.
The particular annoyance which befell you this morning; the vexatious words
which met your ear and "grieved" your spirit; the disappointment which was
His appointment for to-day; the slight but hindering ailment; the presence
of some one who is "a grief of mind" to you,--whatever this day seemeth not
joyous, but grievous, is linked in "the good pleasure of His goodness" with
a corresponding afterward of "peaceable fruit," the very seed from which,
if you only do not choke it, this shall spring and ripen.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
May 25
_O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
not as I will, but as Thou wilt_.--MATT. xxvi. 39.
O Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will,--
I will lie still.
I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm,
And break the charm
Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast,
In perfect rest.
J. KEBLE.
Resignation to the will of God is the whole of piety; it includes in it all
that is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of
mind. Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be perfect, when
our will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as
our end, as being itself most just, and right, and good. And where is the
impossibility of such an affection to what is just and right and good, such
a loyalty of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail over
all sinister indirect desires of our own?
JOSEPH BUTLER.
There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of
God.
F. W. FABER.
Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, child, in everything and
everywhere; without a reserve, without a BUT, an IF, or a limit.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
May 26
_The Lord beareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against Him_.--EX. xvi.
8.
Without murmur, uncomplaining
In His hand,
Leave whatever things thou canst not
Understand.
K. R. HAGENBACH.
One great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting--never to
complain. Each complaint drags us down a degree, in our upward course.
If you would discern in whom God's spirit dwells, watch that person, and
notice whether you ever hear him murmur.
GOLD DUST.
When we wish things to be otherwise than they are, we lose sight of the
great practical parts of the life of godliness. We wish, and wish--when, if
we have done all that lies on us, we should fall quietly into the hands of
God. Such wishing cuts the very sinews of our privileges and consolations.
You are leaving me for a time; and you say that you wish you could leave me
better, or leave me with some assistance: but, if it is right for you to
go, it is right for me to meet what lies on me, without a wish that I had
less to meet, or were better able to meet it.
R. CECIL.
May 27
_He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in
much_.--LUKE xvi, 10.
_The Lord preserveth the faithful_.--PS. xxxi. 23
The trivial round, the common task,
Would furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves; a road
To bring us, daily, nearer God.
J. KEBLE.
Exactness in little duties is a wonderful source of cheerfulness.
F. W. FABER.
The unremitting retention of simple and high sentiments in obscure duties
is hardening the character to that temper which will work with honor, if
need be, in the tumult or on the scaffold.
R. W. EMERSON.
We are too fond of our own will. We want to be doing what we fancy mighty
things; but the great point is, to do small things, when called to them, in
a right spirit.
R. CECIL.
It is not on great occasions only that we are required to be faithful to
the will of God; occasions constantly occur, and we should be surprised to
perceive how much our spiritual advancement depends on small obediences.
MADAME SWETCHINE.
May 28
_Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all
patience and long-suffering with joyfulness_.--COL. I. 11.
God doth not need
Either man's works or His own gifts; who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state
Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.
J. MILTON.
We cannot always be doing a great work, but we can always be doing
something that belongs to our condition. To be silent, to suffer, to
pray when we cannot act, is acceptable to God. A disappointment, a
contradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and endured as
in His presence, is worth more than a long prayer; and we do not lose time
if we bear its loss with gentleness and patience, provided the loss was
inevitable, and was not caused by our own fault.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
May 29
_Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises_.--HEB. vi. 12.
Where now with pain thou treadest, trod
The whitest of the saints of God!
To show thee where their feet were set,
The light which led them shineth yet.
J. G. WHITTIER.
LET us learn from this communion of saints to live in hope. Those who are
now at rest were once like ourselves. They were once weak, faulty, sinful;
they had their burdens and hindrances, their slumbering and weariness,
their failures and their falls. But now they have overcome. Their life was
once homely and common-place. Their day ran out as ours. Morning and noon
and night came and went to them as to us. Their life, too, was as lonely
and sad as yours. Little fretful circumstances and frequent disturbing
changes wasted away their hours as yours. There is nothing in your life
that was not in theirs; there was nothing in theirs but may be also in your
own. They have overcome, each one, and one by one; each in his turn, when
the day came, and God called him to the trial. And so shall you likewise.
H. E. MANNING.
May 30
_And thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble
courage, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all
his nation_.--2 MAC. vi. 31.
_Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the
death in the high places of the field_.--JUDGES v. 18.
Though Love repine, and Reason chafe,
There came a voice without reply,--
'Tis man's perdition to be safe,
When for the truth he ought to die.
R. W. EMERSON.
Some say that the age of chivalry is past. The age of chivalry is never
past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth, or a man or
woman left to say, "I will redress that wrong, or spend my life in the
attempt." The age of chivalry is never past, so long as we have faith
enough to say, "God will help me to redress that wrong; or, if not me, He
will help those that come after me, for His eternal Will is to overcome
evil with good."
C. KINGSLEY.
Thus man is made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A
poor, tender, painful body, he can run into flame or bullets or pestilence,
with duty for his guide.
R. W. EMERSON.
May 31
_Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: ... let them also that
love Thy name be joyful in Thee_.--PS. v. 11.
_He maketh me to lie down in green pastures_.--PS. xxiii. 2.
I can hear these violets chorus
To the sky's benediction above;
And we all are together lying
On the bosom of Infinite Love.
Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature!
Oh, the light that is not of day!
Why seek it afar forever,
When it cannot be lifted away?
W. C. GANNETT.
What inexpressible joy for me, to look up through the apple-blossoms and
the fluttering leaves, and to see God's love there; to listen to the thrush
that has built his nest among them, and to feel God's love, who cares for
the birds, in every note that swells his little throat; to look beyond
to the bright blue depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of
blessing,--the roof of the house of my Father; that if clouds pass over
it, it is the unchangeable light they veil; that, even when the day itself
passes, I shall see that the night itself only unveils new worlds of light;
and to know that if I could unwrap fold after fold of God's universe, I
should only unfold more and more blessing, and see deeper and deeper into
the love which is at the heart of all.
ELIZABETH CHARLES.
June 1
_One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple_.--PS. xxvii. 4.
Thy beauty, O my Father! All is Thine;
But there is beauty in Thyself, from whence
The beauty Thou hast made doth ever flow
In streams of never-failing affluence.
Thou art the Temple! and though I am lame,--
Lame from my birth, and shall be till I die,--
I enter through the Gate called Beautiful,
And am alone with Thee, O Thou Most High!
J. W. CHADWICK.
Consider that all which appears beautiful outwardly, is solely derived from
the invisible Spirit which is the source of that external beauty, and
say joyfully, "Behold, these are streamlets from the uncreated Fountain;
behold, these are drops from the infinite Ocean of all good! Oh! how does
my inmost heart rejoice at the thought of that eternal, infinite Beauty,
which is the source and origin of all created beauty!"
L. SCUPOLI.
June 2
_We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of
the Lord_.--2 COR. iii. 18.
Then every tempting form of sin,
Shamed in Thy presence, disappears,
And all the glowing, raptured soul
The likeness it contemplates wears.
P. DODDRIDGE.
Then does a good man become the tabernacle of God, wherein the divine
Shechinah does rest, and which the divine glory fills, when the frame of
his mind and life is wholly according to that idea and pattern which he
receives from the mount. We best glorify Him when we grow most like to
Him: and we then act most for His glory, when a true spirit of sanctity,
justice, and meekness, runs through all our actions; when we so live in the
world as becomes those that converse with the great Mind and Wisdom of the
whole world, with that Almighty Spirit that made, supports, and governs all
things, with that Being from whence all good flows, and in which there is
no spot, stain, or shadow of evil; and so being captivated and overcome by
the sense of the Divine loveliness and goodness, endeavor to be like Him,
and conform ourselves, as much as may be, to Him.
DR. JOHN SMITH.
June 3
_The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him_.--PS.
lxiv. 10.
_Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he_.--PROV. xvi. 20.
The heart that trusts forever sings,
And feels as light as it had wings,
A well of peace within it springs,--
Come good or ill,
Whatever to-day, to-morrow brings,
It is His will.
I. WILLIAMS.
He will weave no longer a spotted life of shreds and patches, but he will
live with a divine unity. He will cease from what is base and frivolous
in his life, and be content with all places, and with any service he can
render. He will calmly front the morrow, in the negligency of that trust
which carries God with it, and so hath already the whole future in the
bottom of the heart.
R. W. EMERSON.
He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully
and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved, as in sleep." They must
work and watch, yet never be careful or anxious, but commit all to Him, and
live in serene tranquillity; with a quiet heart, as one who sleeps safely
and quietly.
MARTIN LUTHER.
June 4
_Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is
not in vain in the Lord_.--I COR. xv. 58.
Say not, 'Twas all in vain,
The anguish and the darkness and the strife;
Love thrown upon the waters comes again
In quenchless yearnings for a nobler life.
ANNA SHIPTON.
Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and
singly toward an object and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly
aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity,
truth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them,--that it
was a vain endeavor?
H. D. THOREAU.
Do right, and God's recompense to you will be the power of doing more
right. Give, and God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving more:
a blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God himself, whose Life is the
blessedness of giving. Love, and God will pay you with the capacity of more
love; for love is Heaven--love is God within you.
F. W. ROBERTSON.
June 5
_Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth_.--I SAM. iii. 9.
Though heralded with nought of fear,
Or outward sign or show:
Though only to the inward ear
It whispers soft and low;
Though dropping, as the manna fell,
Unseen, yet from above,
Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well,--
Thy Father's call of love.
J. G. WHITTIER.
This is one result of the attitude into which we are put by humility, by
disinterestedness, by purity, by calmness, that we have the opportunity,
the disengagement, the silence, in which we may watch what is the will of
God concerning us. If we think no more of ourselves than we ought to think,
if we seek not our own but others' welfare, if we are prepared to take all
things as God's dealings with us, then we may have a chance of catching
from time to time what God has to tell us. In the Mussulman devotions, one
constant gesture is to put the hands to the ears, as if to listen for the
messages from the other world. This is the attitude, the posture which our
minds assume, if we have a standing-place above and beyond the stir and
confusion and dissipation of this mortal world.
A. P. STANLEY.
June 6
_Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God_.--REV.
iii. 12.
_In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit_.--EPH. ii. 22.
None the place ordained refuseth,
They are one, and they are all,
Living stones, the Builder chooseth
For the courses of His wall.
JEAN INGELOW.
Slowly, through all the universe, that temple of God is being built.
Wherever, in any world, a soul, by free-willed obedience, catches the fire
of God's likeness, it is set into the growing walls, a living stone.
When, in your hard fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or in your terrible
temptation, you catch the purpose of your being, and give yourself to God,
and so give Him the chance to give Himself to you, your life, a living
stone, is taken up and set into that growing wall. Wherever souls are being
tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways;--there God is
hewing out the pillars for His temple. Oh, if the stone can only have some
vision of the temple of which it is to be a part forever, what patience
must fill it as it feels the blows of the hammer, and knows that success
for it is simply to let itself be wrought into what shape the Master wills.
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
June 7
_Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day_.--I THESS.
v. 5.
_Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in
heart_.--PS. xcvii. 11.
Serene will be our days and bright,
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security.
W. WORDSWORTH.
Nothing can produce so great a serenity of life, as a mind free from guilt,
and kept untainted, not only from actions, but purposes that are wicked.
By this means the soul will be not only unpolluted, but not disturbed; the
fountain will run clear and unsullied, and the streams that flow from it
will be just and honest deeds, ecstasies of satisfaction, a brisk energy of
spirit, which makes a man an enthusiast in his joy, and a tenacious memory,
sweeter than hope. For as shrubs which are cut down with the morning dew
upon them do for a long time after retain their fragrancy, so the good
actions of a wise man perfume his mind, and leave a rich scent behind them.
So that joy is, as it were, watered with these essences, and owes its
flourishing to them.
PLUTARCH.
June 8
_Who hath despised the day of small things_? ZECH. iv. 10.
Little things
On little wings
Bear little souls to heaven.
ANON.
An occasional effort even of an ordinary holiness may accomplish great acts
of sacrifice, or bear severe pressure of unwonted trial, specially if it be
the subject of observation. But constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and
the spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the hidden habit of the life,
give to it its true saintly beauty, and this is the result of care and
lowly love in little things. Perfection is attained most readily by
this constancy of religious faithfulness in all minor details of life,
consecrating the daily efforts of self-forgetting love.
T. T. CARTER.
Love's secret is to be always doing things for God, and not to mind because
they are such very little ones.
F. W. FABER.
There may be living and habitual conversation in heaven, under the aspect
of the most simple, ordinary life. Let us always remember that holiness
does not consist in doing uncommon things, but in doing everything with
purity of heart.
H. E. MANNING.
June 9
_He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his
spirit than he that taketh a city_.--PROV. xvi. 32.
Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul,
Of wrath and pride and care;
Send Thine own holy calm upon the soul,
And bid it settle there!
ANON.
Let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger,--that to be
moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they
are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly. For in the
same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in
the same degree also is it nearer to strength.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
It is no great matter to associate with the good and gentle, for this is
naturally pleasing to all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and
loveth those best that agree with him. But to be able to live peaceably
with hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go
contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most commendable and manly thing.
THOMAS À KEMPIS.
June 10
_Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His
servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the
name of the Lord, and stay upon his God_.--ISA. I. 10.
_The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness_.--PS. xviii. 28.
When we in darkness walk,
Nor feel the heavenly flame,
Then is the time to trust our God,
And rest upon His name.
A. M. TOPLADY.
He has an especial tenderness of love towards thee for that thou art in the
dark and hast no light, and His heart is glad when thou dost arise and say,
"I will go to my Father." For He sees thee through all the gloom through
which thou canst not see Him. Say to Him, "My God, I am very dull and low
and hard; but Thou art wise and high and tender, and Thou art my God. I am
Thy child. Forsake me not." Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in
quietness until light goes up in the darkness. Fold the arms of thy Faith,
I say, but not of thy Action: bethink thee of something that thou oughtest
to do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the
preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend; heed not thy feelings: do thy
work.
G. MACDONALD.
June 11
_In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
strength in my soul_.--PS. cxxxviii. 3.
It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou
Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see
Less sin; but more of pardoning love with Thee,
And all-sufficient grace. Enough! And now
All fluttering thought is stilled; I only rest,
And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
Yea, though thou canst not believe, yet be not dismayed thereat; only do
thou sink into, or at least pant after the hidden measure of life, which is
not in that which distresseth, disturbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts,
fears, troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and the like; no, no! but in
that which inclines to the patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the
waiting, to the silence before the Father.
I. PENINGTON.
We have only to be patient, to pray, and to do His will, according to our
present light and strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. The
plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine. So
does the heavenly principle within.
W. E. CHANNING.
June 12
_Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle which
man that is born upon the earth shall fight; that, if he be overcome, he
shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive
the thing that I say_.--2 ESDRAS vii. 57, 58.
One holy Church, one army strong,
One steadfast high intent,
One working band, one harvest-song,
One King omnipotent.
S. JOHNSON.
We listened to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and
strength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in
our little world. It was not the cold clear voice of one giving advice and
warning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below,
but the warm living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides,
and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another. And so,
wearily and little by little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was
brought home to the young boy, for the first time, the meaning of his life;
that it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered
by chance, but a battle-field ordained from of old, where there are no
spectators, but the youngest must take his side, and the stakes are life
and death.
THOMAS HUGHES.
June 13
_If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another_.--I JOHN i. 7.
_God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye
have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and
do minister_.--HEB. vi. 10.
Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoe'er estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts,
To keep and cultivate,
And a work of lowly love to do
For the Lord on whom I wait.
A. L. WARING.
We do not always perceive that even the writing of a note of
congratulation, the fabrication of something intended as an offering
of affection, our necessary intercourse with characters which have no
congeniality with our own, or hours apparently trifled away in the domestic
circle, may be made by us the performance of a most sacred and blessed
work; even the carrying out, after our feeble measure, of the design of God
for-the increase of happiness.
SARAH W. STEPHEN.
Definite work is not always that which is cut and squared for us, but that
which comes as a claim upon the conscience, whether it's nursing in a
hospital, or hemming a handkerchief.
ELIZABETH M. SEWELL.
June 14
_The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from
the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve_.--ISA. xiv. 3.
To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye,
I crave alone for peace and rest;
Submissive in Thy hand to lie,
And feel that it is best.
J. G. WHITTIER.
O Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land, who
beholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of
hope deferred, weary of self; in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable
tenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen.
CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI.
Grant to me above all things that can be desired, to rest in Thee, and in
Thee to have my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of the heart, Thou
its only rest; out of Thee all things are hard and restless. In this very
peace, that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and
rest. Amen.
THOMAS À KEMPIS.
Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it
rests in Thee.
ST. AUGUSTINE.
June 15
_God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore
will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea_.--PS. xlvi. 1,2.
Though waves and storms go o'er my head,
Though strength and health and friends be gone,
Though joys be withered all, and dead,
Though every comfort be withdrawn,
On this my steadfast soul relies,--
Father! Thy mercy never dies.
JOHANN A. ROTHE.
Your external circumstances may change, toil may take the place of rest,
sickness of health, trials may thicken within and without. Externally, you
are the prey of such circumstances; but if your heart is stayed on God, no
changes or chances can touch it, and all that may befall you will but draw
you closer to Him. Whatever the present moment may bring, your knowledge
that it is His will, and that your future heavenly life will be influenced
by it, will make all not only tolerable, but welcome to you, while no
vicissitudes can affect you greatly, knowing that He who holds you in His
powerful hand cannot change, but abideth forever.
JEAN NICOLAS GROU.
June 16
_Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen_.--EPH. iii. 20, 21.
We would not meagre gifts down-call
When Thou dost yearn to yield us all;
But for this life, this little hour,
Ask all Thy love and care and power.
J. INGELOW.
God so loveth us that He would make all things channels to us and
messengers of His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and He will give
thee His love. Still thyself, thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and
He will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and He will give thee Himself.
Truly, a secret hidden thing is the love of God, known only to them who
seek it, and to them also secret, for what man can have of it here is how
slight a foretaste of that endless ocean of His love!
E. B. PUSEY.
June 17
_Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow_.--MATT. vi. 28.
They do not toil:
Content with their allotted task
They do but grow; they do not ask
A richer lot, a higher sphere,
But in their loveliness appear,
And grow, and smile, and do their best,
And unto God they leave the rest.
MARIANNE FARNINGHAM.
Interpose no barrier to His mighty life-giving power, working in you all
the good pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly to His sweet
control. Put your growing into His hands as completely as you have put all
your other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He will. Do not concern
yourself about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always.
Accept each moment's dispensation as it comes to you from His dear hands,
as being the needed sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say a
continual "yes" to your Father's will.
H. W. SMITH.
Thine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry and labor, disturb thy peace,
and prevent Me from working in thee. Look at the little flowers, in the
serene summer days; they quietly open their petals, and the sun shines into
them with his gentle influences. So will I do for thee, if thou wilt yield
thyself to Me.
G. TERSTEEGEN,
June 18
_Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and
to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith_?--MATT. vi. 30.
_I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever_--PS. lii. 8.
Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past,
We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last;
Calmly we look before us,--we fear no future ill,
Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us still.
JANE BORTHWICK.
Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and
forecasting to the future; but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but
His.
H. E. MANNING.
I saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horses'
path and the wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had sealed its
fate, or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had
a thousand acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger
it incurred. It did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by
apprehending it.
HENRY D. THOREAU.
June 19
_The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy
soul_.--PS. cxxi. 7.
Under Thy wings, my God, I rest,
Under Thy shadow safely lie;
By Thy own strength in peace possessed,
While dreaded evils pass me by.
A. L. WARING.
A heart rejoicing in God delights in all His will, and is surely provided
with the most firm joy in all estates; for if nothing can come to pass
beside or against His will, then cannot that soul be vexed which delights
in Him and hath no will but His, but follows Him in all times, in all
estates; not only when He shines bright on them, but when they are clouded.
That flower which follows the sun doth so even in dark and cloudy days:
when it doth not shine forth, yet it follows the hidden course and motion
of it. So the soul that moves after God keeps that course when He hides His
face; is content, yea, even glad at His will in all estates or conditions
or events.
R. LEIGHTON.
Let God do with me what He will, anything He will; whatever it be, it will
be either heaven itself or some beginning of it.
WM. MOUNTFORD.
June 20
_Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in
Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these
calamities be overpast_.--PS. lvii. I.
My God! in whom are all the springs
Of boundless love and grace unknown,
Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings,
Till the dark cloud is overblown.
I. WATTS.
In time of trouble go not out of yourself to seek for aid; for the whole
benefit of trial consists in silence, patience, rest, and resignation. In
this condition divine strength is found for the hard warfare, because God
Himself fights for the soul.
M. DE MOLINOS.
In vain will you let your mind run out after help in times of trouble;
it is like putting to sea in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your
principles; and, if you find none that furnish you with somewhat of a stay
and prop, and which point you to quietness and silent submission, depend
upon it you have never yet learned Truth from the Spirit of Truth, whatever
notions thereof you may have picked up from this and the other description
of it.
M. A. KELTY.
June 21
_Thou calledst in trouble, and. I delivered thee_.--PS. lxxxi. 7.
_Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed_.--I CHRON.
xxii. 13.
Thou canst calm the troubled mind,
Thou its dread canst still;
Teach me to be all resigned
To my Father's will.
HEINRICH PUCHTA.
Though this patient, meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all
outward things and occurrences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own
inward state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our
own souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, humble resignation to
God, when your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack
yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than
when you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride,
or wrath, or disorderly passions of other people.
WM. LAW.
June 22
_There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able
to bear it_.--I COR. x. 13, 14.
Not so, not so, no load of woe
Need bring despairing frown;
For while we bear it, we can bear,
Past that, we lay it down.
SARAH WILLIAMS.
Everything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed
by nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If
then, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear
it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it.
But, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not
complain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however,
that thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it
depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking
that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 23
_Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within
me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my
countenance, and my God_.--PS. xlii. 11.
Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed,
Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast?
Turn thou to Him in every pain,
Whom never suppliant sought in vain;
Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day,
Thy hope, when joy has passed away.
H. F. LYTE.
Beware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as
you are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed
on the Lord, and say, "Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide,
my pilot;" and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed
the toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so
long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast,
and our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the
tempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be
disconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes
produced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest
child, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the
loving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
June 24
_Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight_.--MATT. xi. 26.
Let nothing make thee sad or fretful,
Or too regretful;
Be still;
What God hath ordered must be right,
Then find in it thine own delight,
My will.
P. FLEMMING.
If we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate our lot less by what it
is, than by what it is not; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind
to its possibilities; and, comparing it only with imaginary lives, shall
indulge in flattering dreams of what we should do, if we had but power; and
give, if we had but wealth; and be, if we had no temptations. We shall be
forever querulously pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses for
our unloving temper and unfruitful life; and fancying ourselves injured
beings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence that loves us, and
chafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves
unto God, and sincerely accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall count
up its contents, and disregard its omissions; and be it as feeble as a
cripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall find in it resources of good
surpassing our best economy, and sacred claims that may keep awake our
highest will.
J. MARTINEAU.
June 25
_My times are in Thy hand_.--PS. xxxi. 15.
_Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed_.--JER. li. 29.
I am so glad! It is such rest to know
That Thou hast ordered and appointed all,
And wilt yet order and appoint my lot.
For though so much I cannot understand,
And would not choose, has been, and yet may be,
Thou choosest, Thou performest, THOU, my Lord.
This is enough for me.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
"We mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose our own lot; we must wait to be
guided. We are led on, like the little children, by a way that we know not.
It is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the
sake of finding a greater blessing to our own souls; as if we could choose
for ourselves where we shall find the fulness of the Divine Presence,
instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in loving obedience."
GEORGE ELIOT.
Everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy
present condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 26
_And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that
your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if
ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your
trespasses_.--MARK xi. 25, 26.
'Tis not enough to weep my sins,
'Tis but one step to heaven:--
When I am kind to others,--then
I know myself forgiven.
F. W. FABER.
Every relation to mankind, of hate or scorn or neglect, is full of
vexation and torment. There is nothing to do with men but to love them;
to contemplate their virtues with admiration, their faults with pity and
forbearance, and their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the ingenuity of
your mind to devise some other thing, but you never can find it. To hate
your adversary will not help you; to kill him will not help you; nothing
within the compass of the universe can help you, but to love him. But let
that love flow out upon all around you, and what could harm you? How many a
knot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in
simple and confiding truth of heart! How many a solitary place would be
made glad if love were there; and how many a dark dwelling would be filled
with light!
ORVILLE DEWEY.
June 27
_The kingdom of God is within you_.--LUKE xvii. 21.
Oh, take this heart that I would give
Forever to be all Thine own;
I to myself no more would live,--
Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone.
G. TERSTEEGEN.
Herein is the work assigned to the individual soul, to have life in itself,
to make our sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of God
within ourselves, for a true and full reign of our Father's abounding
spirit,--thankful, unutterably thankful, if with the place and the
companionship assigned to us we are permitted to build an earthly
tabernacle of grace and goodness and holy love, a home like a temple; but,
should this be denied us, resolved for our own souls that God shall reign
there, for ourselves at least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or
impious distrust, break with our own wills, our filial connection with our
Father,--that whether joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity
and foulness of circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, whether in dear
fellowship or alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God may have in us
a realm where His will is law, and where obedience and submission spring,
not from calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from communion of
spirit, ever humble aspiration, and ever loving trust.
J. H. THOM.
June 28
_The Lord preserveth the simple_.--PS. cxvi. 6.
Thy home is with the humble, Lord!
The simple are Thy rest;
Thy lodging is in childlike hearts;
Thou makest there Thy nest.
F. W. FABER.
This deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet
cares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom; this is true
simplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence
produces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplic
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