{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_8534/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_8534","id":"gutenberg_8534","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8534","summary":null,"tags":["Calendars","Category: Poetry","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Devotional exercises"],"text":"Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon,\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team\n\n\n\n\nDAILY STRENGTH FOR DAILY NEEDS\n\nBy Mary Wilder Tileston\n\n\n\n_Selected by the Editor of_ \"Joy and Strength for the Pilgrim's Day,\"\n\"Quiet Hours,\" etc.\n\n\n\"As thy days, so shall thy strength be\"\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nThis little book of brief selections in prose and verse, with accompanying\ntexts of Scripture, is intended for a daily companion and counsellor. These\nwords of the goodly fellowship of wise and holy men of many times, it is\nhoped may help to strengthen the reader to perform the duties and to bear\nthe burdens of each day with cheerfulness and courage.\n\nMARY WILDER TILESTON.\n\n\n\nJanuary 1\n\n\n_They go from strength to strength_.--PS. lxxxiv. 7.\n\n_First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the\near_.--MARK. iv. 28.\n\n  Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,\n  As the swift seasons roll!\n  Leave thy low-vaulted past!\n  Let each new temple, nobler than the last,\n  Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,\n  Till thou at length art free,\n  Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!\n\nO. W. HOLMES.\n\nHigh hearts are never long without hearing some new call, some distant\nclarion of God, even in their dreams; and soon they are observed to break\nup the camp of ease, and start on some fresh march of faithful service.\nAnd, looking higher still, we find those who never wait till their moral\nwork accumulates, and who reward resolution with no rest; with whom,\ntherefore, the alternation is instantaneous and constant; who do the good\nonly to see the better, and see the better only to achieve it; who are too\nmeek for transport, too faithful for remorse, too earnest for repose; whose\nworship is action, and whose action ceaseless aspiration.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nJanuary 2\n\n\n_The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time\nforth, and even for evermore_.--PS. cxxi. 8.\n\n_Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations_.--PS. xc. 1.\n\n  With grateful hearts the past we own;\n  The future, all to us unknown,\n  We to Thy guardian care commit,\n  And peaceful leave before Thy feet.\n\nP. DODDRIDGE.\n\nWe are like to Him with whom there is no past or future, with whom a day is\nas a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, when we do our work\nin the great present, leaving both past and future to Him to whom they are\never present, and fearing nothing, because He is in our future as much as\nHe is in our past, as much as, and far more than we can feel Him to be, in\nour present. Partakers thus of the divine nature, resting in that perfect\nAll-in-all in whom our nature is eternal too, we walk without fear, full of\nhope and courage and strength to do His will, waiting for the endless good\nwhich He is always giving as fast as He can get us able to take it in.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nJanuary 3\n\n\n_As thy days, so shall thy strength be_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 25.\n\n_Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof_.--MATT. vi. 34.\n\n  Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear\n    The burden of to-morrow?\n  Sufficient for to-day, its care,\n    Its evil and its sorrow;\n  God imparteth by the way\n  Strength sufficient for the day.\n\nJ. E. SAXBY.\n\nHe that hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much in love with\nsorrow and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, and chooses to sit\ndown upon his little handful of thorns. Enjoy the blessings of this day, if\nGod sends them; and the evils of it bear patiently and sweetly: for this\nday only is ours, we are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet born to the\nmorrow. But if we look abroad, and bring into one day's thoughts the evil\nof many, certain and uncertain, what will be and what will never be, our\nload will be as intolerable as it is unreasonable.\n\nJEREMY TAYLOR.\n\n\n\nJanuary 4\n\n\n_If we sin, we are Thine, knowing Thy power: but--we will not sin, knowing\nthat we are counted Thine. For to know Thee is perfect righteousness: yea,\nto know Thy power is the root of immortality_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON xv. 2,\n3.\n\n  Oh, empty us of self, the world, and sin,\n  And then in all Thy fulness enter in;\n  Take full possession, Lord, and let each thought\n  Into obedience unto Thee be brought;\n  Thine is the power, and Thine the will, that we\n  Be wholly sanctified, O Lord, to Thee.\n\nC. E. J.\n\nTake steadily some one sin, which seems to stand out before thee, to root\nit out, by God's grace, and every fibre of it. Purpose strongly, by\nthe grace and strength of God, wholly to sacrifice this sin or sinful\ninclination to the love of God, to spare it not, until thou leave of it\nnone remaining, neither root nor branch.\n\nFix, by God's help, not only to root out this sin, but to set thyself to\ngain, by that same help, the opposite grace. If thou art tempted to be\nangry, try hard, by God's grace, to be _very_ meek; if to be proud, seek to\nbe _very_ humble.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJanuary 5\n\n\n_That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot,\nor wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without\nblemish_.--EPH. v. 27.\n\nYe also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.--I PETER ii. 5.\n\n  One holy Church of God appears\n    Through every age and race,\n  Unwasted by the lapse of years,\n  Unchanged by changing place.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nA temple there has been upon earth, a spiritual Temple, made up of living\nstones; a Temple, as I may say, composed of souls; a Temple with God for\nits light, and Christ for the high priest; with wings of angels for its\narches, with saints and teachers for its pillars, and with worshippers for\nits pavement. Wherever there is faith and love, this Temple is.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nTo whatever worlds He carries our souls when they shall pass out of\nthese imprisoning bodies, in those worlds these souls of ours shall find\nthemselves part of the same great Temple; for it belongs not to this earth\nalone. There can be no end of the universe where God is, to which that\ngrowing Temple does not reach,--the Temple of a creation to be wrought at\nlast into a perfect utterance of God by a perfect obedience to God.\n\nPHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\n\nJanuary 6\n\n\n_In all ages entering into holy souls, she [Wisdom] maketh them friends of\nGod, and prophets_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON vii. 27.\n\n  Meanwhile with every son and saint of Thine\n    Along the glorious line,\n  Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet\n    We 'll hold communion sweet,\n  Know them by look and voice, and thank them all\n    For helping us in thrall,\n  For words of hope, and bright examples given\n  To shew through moonless skies that there is light in heaven.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nIf we cannot live at once and alone with Him, we may at least live with\nthose who have lived with Him; and find, in our admiring love for their\npurity, their truth, their goodness, an intercession with His pity on our\nbehalf. To study the lives, to meditate the sorrows, to commune with the\nthoughts, of the great and holy men and women of this rich world, is a\nsacred discipline, which deserves at least to rank as the forecourt of the\ntemple of true worship, and may train the tastes, ere we pass the very\ngate, of heaven. We forfeit the chief source of dignity and sweetness in\nlife, next to the direct communion with God, if we do not seek converse\nwith the greater minds that have left their vestiges on the world.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\nDo not think it wasted time to submit yourself to any influence which may\nbring upon you any noble feeling.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nJanuary 7\n\n\n_The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to\nthe working of His mighty power_.--EPH. i. 19.\n\n  The lives which seem so poor, so low,\n    The hearts which are so cramped and dull,\n  The baffled hopes, the impulse slow,\n    Thou takest, touchest all, and lo!\n  They blossom to the beautiful.\n\nSUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nA root set in the finest soil, in the best climate, and blessed with all\nthat sun and air and rain can do for it, is not in so sure a way of its\ngrowth to perfection, as every man may be, whose spirit aspires after all\nthat which God is ready and infinitely desirous to give him. For the sun\nmeets not the springing bud that stretches towards him with half that\ncertainty, as God, the source of all good, communicates Himself to the soul\nthat longs to partake of Him.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nIf we stand in the openings of the present moment, with all the length and\nbreadth of our faculties unselfishly adjusted to what it reveals, we are in\nthe best condition to receive what God is always ready to communicate.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\n\n\nJanuary 8\n\n\n_As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men_.--GAL. vi.\n10.\n\n_Let brotherly love continue_.--HEB. xiii. 1.\n\n  I Ask Thee for a thoughtful love,\n    Through constant watching wise,\n  To meet the glad with joyful smiles,\n    And to wipe the weeping eyes,\n  And a heart at leisure from itself,\n    To soothe and sympathize.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nSurely none are so full of cares, or so poor in gifts, that to them also,\nwaiting patiently and trustfully on God for His daily commands, He will not\ngive direct ministry for Him, increasing according to their strength and\ntheir desire. There is so much to be set right in the world, there are so\nmany to be led and helped and comforted, that we must continually come in\ncontact with such in our daily life. Let us only take care, that, by the\nglance being turned inward, or strained onward, or lost in vacant reverie,\nwe do not miss our turn of service, and pass by those to whom we might have\nbeen sent on an errand straight from God.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\nLook up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and\nlend a hand.\n\nEDWARD E. HALE.\n\n\n\nJanuary 9\n\n\n_And in every work that be began in the service of the house of God, and in\nthe law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his\nheart, and prospered_.--2 CHRON. xxxi. 21.\n\n_What, shall we do, that we might work the works of God_?--JOHN vi. 28.\n\n  Give me within the work which calls to-day,\n    To see Thy finger gently beckoning on;\n  So struggle grows to freedom, work to play,\n    And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done.\n\nJ. F. CLARKE.\n\nGod is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be\nemployed; and that employment is truly \"our Father's business.\" He chooses\nwork for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it\nsimply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough,\nfor what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle\nourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are\ndoing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nJanuary 10\n\n\n_Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise\nThee_.--PS. lxiii. 3.\n\n_Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall\nlose his life shall preserve it_.--LUKE xvii. 33.\n\n  O Lord! my best desires fulfil,\n    And help me to resign\n  Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will,\n    And make Thy pleasure mine.\n\nWM. COWPER.\n\nWhat do our heavy hearts prove but that other things are sweeter to us\nthan His will, that we have not attained to the full mastery of our true\nfreedom, the full perception of its power, that our sonship is yet but\nfaintly realized, and its blessedness not yet proved and known? Our consent\nwould turn all our trials into obedience. By consenting we make them our\nown, and offer them with ourselves again to Him.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\nNothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God hath bound thy trouble\nupon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown\nthee. These cords thou canst not break; and therefore lie thou down gently,\nand suffer the hand of God to do what He please.\n\nJEREMY TAYLOR.\n\n\n\nJanuary 11\n\n\n_I will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy: for Thou hast considered my\ntrouble; Thou hast known my soul in adversities_.--PS. xxxi. 7.\n\n  Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned;\n  Each drop that fills my daily cup Thy hand\n  Prescribes, for ills none else can understand:\n    All, all is known to Thee.\n\nA. L. NEWTON.\n\nGod knows us through and through. Not the most secret thought, which we\nmost hide from ourselves, is hidden from Him. As then we come to know\nourselves through and through, we come to see ourselves more as God sees\nus, and then we catch some little glimpse of His designs with us, how each\nordering of His Providence, each check to our desires, each failure of our\nhopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in our own spiritual state,\nwhich others know not of, and which, till then, we knew not. Until we come\nto this knowledge, we must take all in faith, believing, though we know\nnot, the goodness of God towards us. As we know ourselves, we, thus far,\nknow God.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJanuary 12\n\n\n_Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable\nin Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer_.--PS. xix. 14.\n\n  The thoughts that in our hearts keep place,\n    Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng,\n  And steep in innocence and grace\n    The issue of each guarded tongue.\n\nT. H. GILL.\n\nThere is another kind of silence to be cultivated, besides that of\nthe tongue as regards others. I mean silence as regards one's\nself,--restraining the imagination, not permitting it to dwell overmuch\non what we have heard or said, not indulging in the phantasmagoria of\npicture-thoughts, whether of the past or future. Be sure that you have\nmade no small progress in the spiritual life, when you can control your\nimagination, so as to fix it on the duty and occupation actually existing,\nto the exclusion of the crowd of thoughts which are perpetually sweeping\nacross the mind. No doubt, you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising,\nbut you can prevent yourself from dwelling on them; you can put them aside,\nyou can check the self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly longings\nwhich feed them, and by the practice of such control of your thoughts you\nwill attain that spirit of inward silence which draws the soul into a close\nintercourse with God.\n\nJEAN N. GROU.\n\n\n\nJanuary 13\n\n\n_Speak not evil one of another, brethren_.--JAMES iv. 11.\n\n_Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking,\nbe put away from you, with all malice_.--EPH. iv. 31.\n\n  If aught good thou canst not say\n    Of thy brother, foe, or friend,\n  Take thou, then, the silent way,\n    Lest in word thou shouldst offend.\n\nANON.\n\nIf there is any person to whom you feel dislike, that is the person of whom\nyou ought never to speak.\n\nR. CECIL.\n\nTo recognize with delight all high and generous and beautiful actions; to\nfind a joy even in seeing the good qualities of your bitterest opponents,\nand to admire those qualities even in those with whom you have least\nsympathy, this is the only spirit which can heal the love of slander and of\ncalumny.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nJanuary 14\n\n\n_Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall\nappoint_.--2 SAM. xv. 15.\n\n  I love to think that God appoints\n    My portion day by day;\n  Events of life are in His hand,\n    And I would only say,\n  Appoint them in Thine own good time,\n    And in Thine own best way.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nIf we are really, and always, and equally ready to do whatsoever the King\nappoints, all the trials and vexations arising from any change in His\nappointments, great or small, simply do not exist. If He appoints me to\nwork there, shall I lament that I am not to work here? If He appoints me\nto wait in-doors to-day, am I to be annoyed because I am not to work\nout-of-doors? If I meant to write His messages this morning, shall I\ngrumble because He sends interrupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I\nam to speak them, or \"show kindness\" for His sake, or at least obey His\ncommand, \"Be courteous?\" If all my members are really at His disposal, why\nshould I be put out if to-day's appointment is some simple work for my\nhands or errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly more important\ndoing of head or tongue?\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nJanuary 15\n\n\n_For this is the will of God, even your sanctification_.--I THESS. iv. 3.\n\n  Between us and Thyself remove\n    Whatever hindrances may be,\n  That so our inmost heart may prove\n    A holy temple, meet for Thee.\n\nLATIN MSS. OF 15TH CENTURY.\n\nBear, in the presence of God, to know thyself. Then seek to know for what\nGod sent thee into the world; how thou hast fulfilled it; art thou yet what\nGod willed thee to be; what yet lacketh unto thee; what is God's will for\nthee _now_; what thing thou mayest _now_ do, by His grace, to obtain His\nfavor, and approve thyself unto Him. Say to Him, \"Teach me to do Thy will,\nfor Thou art my God,\" and He will say unto thy soul, \"Fear not; I am thy\nsalvation.\" He will speak peace unto thy soul; He will set thee in the way;\nHe will bear thee above things of sense, and praise of man, and things\nwhich perish in thy grasp, and give thee, if but afar off, some glimpse of\nHis own, unfading, unsetting, unperishing brightness and bliss and love.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJanuary 16\n\n\n_Now our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath\nloved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through\ngrace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and\nwork_.--2 THESS. ii. 16, 17.\n\n  When sorrow all our heart would ask,\n  We need not shun our daily task,\n    And hide ourselves for calm;\n  The herbs we seek to heal our woe\n  Familiar by our pathway grow,\n    Our common air is balm.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nOh, when we turn away from some duty or some fellow-creature, saying that\nour hearts are too sick and sore with some great yearning of our own, we\nmay often sever the line on which a divine message was coming to us. We\nshut out the man, and we shut out the angel who had sent him on to open the\ndoor. There is a plan working in our lives; and if we keep our hearts quiet\nand our eyes open, it all works together; and, if we don't, it all rights\ntogether, and goes on fighting till it comes right, somehow, somewhere.\n\nANNIE KEARY.\n\n\n\nJanuary 17\n\n\n_Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try\nyou, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch\nas ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings_.--I PETER iv. 12, 13.\n\n  We take with solemn thankfulness\n  Our burden up, nor ask it less,\n  And count it joy that even we\n  May suffer, serve, or wait for Thee,\n    Whose will be done!\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nReceive every inward and outward trouble, every disappointment, pain,\nuneasiness, temptation, darkness, and desolation, with both thy hands, as a\ntrue opportunity and blessed occasion of dying to self, and entering into\na fuller fellowship with thy self-denying, suffering Saviour. Look at no\ninward or outward trouble in any other view; reject every other thought\nabout it; and then every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed\nday of thy prosperity. That state is best, which exerciseth the highest\nfaith in, and fullest resignation to God.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nJanuary 18\n\n\n_Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given\nunto thee_.--DEUT. XXVI. 11.\n\n_Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks_.--I THESS. v. 16, 18.\n\n  Grave on thy heart each past \"red-letter day\"!\n  Forget not all the sunshine of the way\n  By which the Lord hath led thee; answered prayers,\n  And joys unasked, strange blessings, lifted cares,\n  Grand promise-echoes! Thus thy life shall be\n  One record of His love and faithfulness to thee.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nGratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to the particulars of\nour state, and to the multitude of God's gifts, taken one by one. It fills\nus with a consciousness that God loves and cares for us, even to the least\nevent and smallest need of life. It is a blessed thought, that from our\nchildhood God has been laying His fatherly hands upon us, and always in\nbenediction; that even the strokes of His hands are blessings, and among\nthe chiefest we have ever received. When this feeling is awakened, the\nheart beats with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its return of\npraise. It awakens an unceasing daily converse with our Father,--He\nspeaking to us by the descent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent of\nthanksgiving. And all our whole life is thereby drawn under the light of\nHis countenance, and is filled with a gladness, serenity, and peace which\nonly thankful hearts can know.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nJanuary 19\n\n\n_Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord_.--PS. cv. 3.\n\n_The joy of the Lord is your strength_.--NEH. viii. 10.\n\n  Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy,\n  Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy;\n  Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright,\n  My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light.\n\nGERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\n\nI do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when I have\nbeen sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and a white\ncloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with God in my soul\nand heaven in my eye... I rejoice in being exactly what I am,--a creature\ncapable of loving God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get\nup and look for a while out of the window, and gaze at the moon and stars,\nthe work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and\nthen sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it.\n\nA POOR METHODIST WOMAN, 18TH CENTURY.\n\n\n\nJanuary 20\n\n\n_The Lord taketh pleasure In His people: He will beautify the meek with\nsalvation_.--PS. cxlix. 4.\n\n  Long listening to Thy words,\n    My voice shall catch Thy tone,\n  And, locked in Thine, my hand shall grow\n    All loving like Thy own.\n\nB. T.\n\nIt is not in words explicable, with what divine lines and lights the\nexercise of godliness and charity will mould and gild the hardest and\ncoldest countenance, neither to what darkness their departure will consign\nthe loveliest. For there is not any virtue the exercise of which, even\nmomentarily, will not impress a new fairness upon the features; neither on\nthem only, but on the whole body the moral and intellectual faculties\nhave operation, for all the movements and gestures, however slight, are\ndifferent in their modes according to the mind that governs them--and on\nthe gentleness and decision of right feeling follows grace of actions, and,\nthrough continuance of this, grace of form.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\nThere is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish\nto scatter joy and not pain around us.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nJanuary 21\n\n\n_Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly\nfall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they\nshall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and\nthey shall walk and not faint_.--ISA. xl. 30, 31.\n\n  Lord, with what courage and delight\n    I do each thing,\n  When Thy least breath sustains my wing!\n    I shine and move\n    Like those above,\n    And, with much gladness\n    Quitting sadness,\n  Make me fair days of every night.\n\nH. VAUGHAN.\n\nMan, by living wholly in submission to the Divine Influence, becomes\nsurrounded with, and creates for himself, internal pleasures infinitely\ngreater than any he can otherwise attain to--a state of heavenly Beatitude.\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\nBy persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, beyond what I can\nexpress, increase the inward powers of the mind, and shall produce that\ncheerfulness and greatness of spirit as will fit us for all good purposes;\nand shall not have lost pleasure, but _changed_ it; the soul being then\nfilled with its own intrinsic pleasures.\n\nHENRY MORE.\n\n\n\nJanuary 22\n\n\n_Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord_.--HOSEA vi. 3.\n\n    And, as the path of duty is made plain,\n  May grace be given that I may walk therein,\n    Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain,\n  With backward glances and reluctant tread,\n  Making a merit of his coward dread,--\n    But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown,\n    Walking as one to pleasant service led;\n    Doing God's will as if it were my own,\n  Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone!\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nIt is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. So long as men dispute\nwhether or no a thing is their duty, they get never the nearer. Let them\nset ever so weakly about doing it, and the face of things alters. They find\nin themselves strength which they knew not of. Difficulties which it seemed\nto them they could not get over, disappear. For He accompanies it with the\ninfluences of His blessed Spirit, and each performance opens our minds for\nlarger influxes of His grace, and places them in communion with Him.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nThat which is called considering what is our duty in a particular case, is\nvery often nothing but endeavoring to explain it away.\n\nJOSEPH BUTLER.\n\n\n\nJanuary 23\n\n\n_If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul;\nthen shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday;\nand the Lord shall guide thee continually_.--ISA. lviii. 10, 11.\n\n  If thou hast Yesterday thy duty done,\n    And thereby cleared firm footing for To-day,\n  Whatever clouds make dark To-morrow's sun,\n    Thou shall not miss thy solitary way.\n\nJ. W. VON GOETHE.\n\nO Lord, who art our Guide even unto death, grant us, I pray Thee, grace to\nfollow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. In little daily duties to which Thou\ncallest us, bow down our wills to simple obedience, patience under pain or\nprovocation, strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility, kindness; in\ngreat acts of duty or perfection, if Thou shouldest call us to them, uplift\nus to self-sacrifice, heroic courage, laying down of life for Thy truth's\nsake, or for a brother. Amen.\n\nC. G. ROSSETTI.\n\n\n\nJanuary 24\n\n\n_I will bless the Lord, who bath given me counsel_.--PS. xvi. 7.\n\n_Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord_.--ROM. xii.\n11.\n\n  Mine be the reverent, listening love\n    That waits all day on Thee,\n  With the service of a watchful heart\n    Which no one else can see.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nNothing is small or great in God's sight; whatever He wills becomes great\nto us, however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice of conscience\ntells us that He requires anything of us, we have no right to measure its\nimportance. On the other hand, whatever He would not have us do, however\nimportant we may think it, is as nought to us.\n\nHow do you know what you may lose by neglecting this duty, which you think\nso trifling, or the blessing which its faithful performance may bring? Be\nsure that if you do your very best in that which is laid upon you daily,\nyou will not be left without sufficient help when some weightier occasion\narises. Give yourself to Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen to\nHis voice, and then go on bravely and cheerfully.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nJanuary 25\n\n\n_If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them_.--JOHN xiii. 17.\n\n_Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is\nsin_.--JAMES iv. 17.\n\n  We cannot kindle when we will\n    The fire that in the heart resides,\n  The spirit bloweth and is still,\n    In mystery our soul abides:\n  But tasks in hours of insight willed\n  Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.\n\nMATTHEW ARNOLD.\n\nHurt not your conscience with any known sin.\n\nS. RUTHERFORD.\n\nDeep-rooted customs, though wrong, are not easily altered; but it is the\nduty of all to be firm in that which they certainly know is right for them.\n\nJOHN WOOLMAN.\n\nHe often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he who\ndoes a certain thing.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\nEvery duty we omit obscures some truth we should have known.\n\nJOHN RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nJanuary 26\n\n\n_O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how\nunsearchable are His judgments, and His--ways past finding out_!--ROM. xi.\n33.\n\n_It doth not yet appear what we shall be_.--I JOHN iii. 2.\n\n  No star is ever lost we once have seen,\n  We always may be what we might have been.\n  Since Good, though only thought, has life and breath,\n  God's life--can always be redeemed from death;\n  And evil, in its nature, is decay,\n  And any hour can blot it all away;\n  The hopes that lost in some far distance seem,\n  May be the truer life, and this the dream.\n\nA. A. PROCTER.\n\nSt. Bernard has said: \"Man, if thou desirest a noble and holy life, and\nunceasingly prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant in this thy\ndesire, it will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only in the day\nor hour of thy death; and if God should not give it to thee then, thou\nshalt find it in Him in eternity: of this be assured.\" Therefore do not\nrelinquish your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, or though\nye may swerve from your aspirations, or even forget them for a time.... The\nlove and aspiration which once really existed live forever before God, and\nin Him ye shall find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it shall\nbe better for you than if you had never felt them.\n\nJ. TAULER.\n\n\n\nJanuary 27\n\n\n_For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name\nis Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a\ncontrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to\nrevive the heart of the contrite ones_.--ISA. lvii. 15.\n\n      Without an end or bound\n    Thy life lies all outspread in light;\n      Our lives feel Thy life all around,\n    Making our weakness strong, our darkness bright;\n  Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea,\n  But the calm gladness of a full eternity.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nO truth who art Eternity! And Love who art Truth! And Eternity who art\nLove! Thou art my God, to Thee do I sigh night and day. When I first knew\nThee, Thou liftedst me up, that I might see there was somewhat for me to\nsee, and that I was not yet such as to see. And Thou streaming forth Thy\nbeams of light upon me most strongly, didst beat back the weakness of my\nsight, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far\noff from Thee in the region of unlikeness.\n\nST. AUGUSTINE.\n\n\n\nJanuary 28\n\n\n_O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear\nHim_--PS. xxxiv. 9.\n\n_Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living\nthing_.--PS. cxlv. 16.\n\n  What Thou shalt to-day provide,\n    Let me as a child receive;\n  What to-morrow may betide,\n    Calmly to Thy wisdom leave.\n  'Tis enough that Thou wilt care;\n    Why should I the burden bear?\n\nJ. NEWTON.\n\nHave we found that anxiety about possible consequences increased the\nclearness of our judgment, made us wiser and braver in meeting the present,\nand arming ourselves for the future? If we had prayed for this day's bread,\nand left the next to itself, if we had not huddled our days together,\nnot allotting to each its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the\nfuture, and drawing upon the future for its own troubles, which must be\nmet when they come whether we have anticipated them or not, we should\nhave found a simplicity and honesty in our lives, a capacity for work, an\nenjoyment in it, to which we are now, for the most part, strangers.\n\nF. D. MAURICE.\n\n\n\nJanuary 29\n\n\n_I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will\nhelp thee_.--ISA. xli. 13.\n\n_Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand\nthem which put their trust in Thee_.--PS. xvii. 7.\n\n  Take Thy hand, and fears grow still;\n    Behold Thy face, and doubts remove;\n  Who would not yield his wavering will\n    To perfect Truth and boundless Love?\n\nS. JOHNSON.\n\nDo not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather\nlook to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will\ndeliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto,--do you but hold fast to\nHis dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when\nyou cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what\nmay happen to-morrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day,\nwill take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either he will shield you\nfrom suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at\npeace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nJanuary 30\n\n\n_If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of\nthe sea: even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold\nme_.--PS. cxxxix. 9, 10.\n\n  I cannot lose Thee! Still in Thee abiding,\n    The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam;\n  The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding,\n    And I must rest at last in Thee, my home.\n\nE. SCUDDER.\n\nHow can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful\nlooking at home, and abiding; within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore,\nlet a man be at home in his own heart, and cease from his restless chase of\nand search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he\nwill surely come to see what there is to do at home,--what God commands\nhim inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and\nthen let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his\nloving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or\naction, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him\nfollow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel His hand in all things,\nlet him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for God's sake, out\nof love, and still press forward.\n\nJ. TAULER.\n\n\n\nJanuary 31\n\n\n_In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths_.--PROV.\niii. 6.\n\n_He leadeth me_.--PS. xxiii. 2.\n\n  In \"pastures green\"? Not always; sometimes He\n  Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me\n  In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.\n\n  So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair\n  I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where\n  The shadows lie, what matter? He is there.\n\nHENRY H. BARRY.\n\nThe Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not\nquestion nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the\nbest pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or\nof earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green\nfor you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He\nsees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of\ntrouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still\nwaters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have\nall their blessed influences upon you.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nFebruary 1\n\n\n_Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one\ntoward another, according to Christ Jesus_.--ROM. xv. 5.\n\n_Let patience have her perfect work_.--JAMES i. 4.\n\n  Make me patient, kind, and gentle,\n    Day by day;\n  Teach me how to live more nearly\n    As I pray.\n\nSHARPE'S MAGAZINE.\n\nThe exercise of patience involves a continual practice of the presence of\nGod; for we may be come upon at any moment for an almost heroic display of\ngood temper, and it is a short road to unselfishness, for nothing is left\nto self; all that seems to belong most intimately to self, to be self's\nprivate property, such as time, home, and rest, are invaded by these\ncontinual trials of patience. The family is full of such opportunities.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nOnly as we know what it is to cherish love when sore at some unkindness, to\novermaster ourselves when under provocation, to preserve gentleness during\ntrial and unmerited wrong,--only then can we know in any degree the \"manner\nof spirit\" that was in Christ.\n\nT. T. CARTER.\n\n\n\nFebruary 2\n\n\n_Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the\nfeeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men_.--I THESS. v.\n14.\n\n  The little worries which we meet each day\n  May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way,\n  Or we may make them stepping-stones to be\n    Of grace, O Lord, to Thee.\n\nA. E. HAMILITON.\n\nWe must be continually sacrificing our own wills, as opportunity serves, to\nthe will of others; bearing, without notice, sights and sounds that annoy\nus; setting about this or that task, when we had far rather be doing\nsomething very different; persevering in it, often, when we are thoroughly\ntired of it; keeping company for duty's sake, when it would be a great joy\nto us to be by ourselves; besides all the trifling untoward accidents of\nlife; bodily pain and weakness long continued, and perplexing us often\nwhen it does not amount to illness; losing what we value, missing what\nwe desire; disappointment in other persons, wilfulness, unkindness,\ningratitude, folly, in cases where we least expect it.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\n\n\nFebruary 3\n\n\n_Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see\nif there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting_.--PS.\ncxxxix. 23, 24.\n\n  Save us from the evil tongue,\n  From the heart that thinketh wrong,\n  From the sins, whate'er they be,\n  That divide the soul from Thee.\n\nANON.\n\nSuch as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy\nmind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then with a continuous\nseries of such thoughts as these: for instance, that where a man can live,\nthere he can also live well. But he must live in a palace: well, then, he\ncan also live well in a palace.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\nWho is there that sets himself to the task of steadily watching his\nthoughts for the space of one hour, with the view of preserving his mind\nin a simple, humble, healthful condition, but will speedily discern in the\nmultiform, self-reflecting, self-admiring emotions, which, like locusts,\nare ready to \"eat up every green thing in his land,\" a state as much\nopposed to simplicity and humility as night is to day?\n\nM. A. KELTY.\n\n\n\nFebruary 4\n\n\n_If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to\nbridle the whole body_.--JAMES iii. 2\n\n_Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips_.--PS.\ncxli. 3.\n\n  What! never speak one evil word,\n    Or rash, or idle, or unkind!\n  Oh, how shall I, most gracious Lord,\n    This mark of true perfection find?\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nWhen we remember our temptations to give quick indulgence to disappointment\nor irritation or unsympathizing weariness, and how hard a thing it is\nfrom day to day to meet our fellow-men, our neighbors, or even our own\nhouseholds, in all moods, in all discordances between the world without\nus and the frames within, in all states of health, of solicitude,\nof preoccupation, and show no signs of impatience, ungentleness, or\nunobservant self-absorption,--with only kindly feeling finding expression,\nand ungenial feeling at least inwardly imprisoned;--we shall be ready to\nacknowledge that the man who has thus attained is master of himself, and in\nthe graciousness of his power is fashioned upon the style of a Perfect Man.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nFebruary 5\n\n\n_Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at\nall times_.--PS. cvi. 3.\n\n_Thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: because thou shalt forget thy\nmisery, and remember it as waters that pass away_.--JOB xi. 15, 16.\n\n  In the bitter waves of woe,\n    Beaten and tossed about\n  By the sullen winds that blow\n    From the desolate shores of doubt,\n  Where the anchors that faith has cast\n    Are dragging in the gale,\n  I am quietly holding fast\n    To the things that cannot fail.\n\nWASHINGTON GLADDEN.\n\nIn the darkest hour through which a human soul can pass, whatever else is\ndoubtful, this at least is certain. If there be no God and no future state,\nyet even then, it is better to be generous than selfish, better to be\nchaste than licentious, better to be true than false, better to be brave\nthan to be a coward. Blessed beyond all earthly blessedness is the man who,\nin the tempestuous darkness of the soul, has dared to hold fast to these\nvenerable landmarks. Thrice blessed is he, who, when all is drear and\ncheerless within and without, when his teachers terrify him, and his\nfriends shrink from him, has obstinately clung to moral good. Thrice\nblessed, because _his_ night shall pass into clear, bright day.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nFebruary 6\n\n\n_Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe_.--PROV. xxix. 25.\n\n_I will cry unto God most high; unto God, that performeth all things for\nme_.--PS. lvii. 2.\n\n  Only thy restless heart keep still,\n    And wait in cheerful hope; content\n  To take whate'er His gracious will,\n    His all-discerning love hath sent;\n  Nor doubt our inmost wants are known\n    To Him who chose us for His own.\n\nG. NEUMARK.\n\nGod has brought us into this time; He, and not ourselves or some dark\ndemon. If we are not fit to cope with that which He has prepared for us,\nwe should have been utterly unfit for any condition that we imagine for\nourselves. In this time we are to live and wrestle, and in no other. Let us\nhumbly, tremblingly, manfully look at it, and we shall not wish that the\nsun could go back its ten degrees, or that we could go back with it. If\neasy times are departed, it is that the difficult times may make us more\nin earnest; that they may teach us not to depend upon ourselves. If easy\nbelief is impossible, it is that we may learn what belief is, and in whom\nit is to be placed.\n\nF. D. MAURICE.\n\n\n\nFebruary 7\n\n\n_Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk\nye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto\nyou_.--JER. vii. 23.\n\n  And oft, when in my heart was heard\n  Thy timely mandate, I deferred\n  The task, in smoother walks to stray;\n  But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may.\n\nW. WORDSWORTH.\n\nPray Him to give you what Scripture calls \"an honest and good heart,\" or \"a\nperfect heart;\" and, without waiting, begin at once to obey Him with the\nbest heart you have. Any obedience is better than none. You have to seek\nHis face; obedience is the only way of seeing Him. All your duties are\nobediences. To do what He bids is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to\napproach Him. Every act of obedience is an approach--an approach to Him who\nis not far off, though He seems so, but close behind this visible screen of\nthings which hides Him from us.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nAs soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light\ngiven us to guide our own steps; as the foot-soldier, who hears nothing of\nthe councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears\nplainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey.\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\n\n\nFebruary 8\n\n\n_He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me\nin the paths of righteousness for His name's sake_.--PS. xxiii. 2, 3.\n\n  He leads me where the waters glide,\n    The waters soft and still,\n  And homeward He will gently guide\n    My wandering heart and will.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nOut of obedience and devotion arises an habitual faith, which makes Him,\nthough unseen, a part of all our life. He will guide us in a sure path,\nthough it be a rough one: though shadows hang upon it, yet He will be\nwith us. He will bring us home at last. Through much trial it may be,\nand weariness, in much fear and fainting of heart, in much sadness and\nloneliness, in griefs that the world never knows, and under burdens that\nthe nearest never suspect. Yet He will suffice for all. By His eye or by\nHis voice He will guide us, if we be docile and gentle; by His staff and\nby His rod, if we wander or are wilful: any how, and by all means, He will\nbring us to His rest.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nFebruary 9\n\n\n_I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou\nhast that is thine_.--MATT. xxv. 25.\n\n  Time was, I shrank from what was right,\n    From fear of what was wrong;\n  I would not brave the sacred fight,\n    Because the foe was strong.\n\n  But now I cast that finer sense\n    And sorer shame aside;\n  Such dread of sin was indolence,\n    Such aim at heaven was pride.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nIf he falls into some error, he does not fret over it, but rising up with a\nhumble spirit, he goes on his way anew rejoicing. Were he to fall a hundred\ntimes in the day, he would not despair,--he would rather cry out lovingly\nto God, appealing to His tender pity. The really devout man has a horror of\nevil, but he has a still greater love of that which is good; he is more\nset on doing what is right, than avoiding what is wrong. Generous,\nlarge-hearted, he is not afraid of danger in serving God, and would rather\nrun the risk of doing His will imperfectly than not strive to serve Him\nlest he fail in the attempt.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nFebruary 10\n\n\n_We have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have\nwaited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation_.--ISA. xxv.\n9.\n\n  Blest are the humble souls that wait\n    With sweet submission to His will;\n  Harmonious all their passions move,\n    And in the midst of storms are still.\n\nP. DODDRIDGE.\n\nDo not be discouraged at your faults; bear with yourself in correcting\nthem, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which\nexhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors. Accustom yourself\ngradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations. Speak, move,\nwork, in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be. Do\neverything without excitement, by the spirit of grace. As soon as you\nperceive your natural impetuosity gliding in, retire quietly within, where\nis the kingdom of God. Listen to the leadings of grace, then say and do\nnothing but what the Holy Spirit shall put in your heart. You will find\nthat you will become more tranquil, that your words will be fewer and more\neffectual, and that, with less effort, you will accomplish more good.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nFebruary 11\n\n\n_I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do_.--JOHN xvii. 4.\n\n_She hath done what she could_.--MARK xiv. 8.\n\n  He who God's will has borne and done,\n    And his own restless longings stilled,\n  What else he does, or has foregone,\n    His mission he has well fulfilled.\n\nFROM THE GERMAN.\n\nCheered by the presence of God, I will do at each moment, without anxiety,\naccording to the strength which He shall give me, the work that His\nProvidence assigns me. I will leave the rest without concern; it is not my\naffair. I ought to consider the duty to which I am called each day, as the\nwork that God has given me to do, and to apply myself to it in a manner\nworthy of His glory, that is to say, with exactness and in peace. I must\nneglect nothing; I must be violent about nothing.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nIt is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty, too, to\nleave undone what thou wouldst do.\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\n\n\nFebruary 12\n\n\n_Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits_.--PS. lxviii. 19.\n\n_Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly\nall things to enjoy_.--I TIM. vi. 17.\n\n  Source of my life's refreshing springs,\n    Whose presence in my heart sustains me,\n  Thy love ordains me pleasant things,\n    Thy mercy orders all that pains me.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nAnd to be true, and speak my soul, when I survey the occurrences of my\nlife, and call into account the finger of God, I can perceive nothing\nbut an abyss and mass of mercies, either in general to mankind, or in\nparticular to myself; and whether out of the prejudice of my affection,\nor an inverting and partial conceit of His mercies, I know not; but those\nwhich others term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfortunes, to me who\ninquire farther into them than their visible effects, they both appear,\nand in event have ever proved, the secret and dissembled favors of His\naffection.\n\nSIR T. BROWNE.\n\n\n\nFebruary 13\n\n\n_Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him_.--2 SAM. xv. 26.\n\n  To have, each day, the thing I wish,\n    Lord, that seems best to me;\n  But not to have the thing I wish,\n    Lord, that seems best to Thee.\n  Most truly, then, Thy will is done,\n    When mine, O Lord, is crossed;\n  It is good to see my plans o'erthrown,\n    My ways in Thine all lost.\n\nH. BONAR.\n\nO Lord, Thou knowest what is best for us; let this or that be done, as Thou\nshalt please. Give what Thou wilt, and how much Thou wilt, and when Thou\nwilt. Deal with me as Thou thinkest good. Set me where Thou wilt, and deal\nwith me in all things just as Thou wilt. Behold, I am Thy servant, prepared\nfor all things: for I desire not to live unto myself, but unto Thee; and\noh, that I could do it worthily and perfectly!\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\nDare to look up to God, and say, \"Make use of me for the future as Thou\nwilt. I am of the same mind; I am one with Thee. I refuse nothing which\nseems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt, clothe me in whatever\ndress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that I should be in a public or a private\ncondition, dwell here, or be banished, be poor or rich? Under all these\ncircumstances, I will testify unto Thee before men.\"\n\nEPICTETUS.\n\n\n\nFebruary 14\n\n\n_I would have you without carefulness_.--I COR. vii. 32.\n\n  O Lord, how happy should we be\n  If we could cast our care on Thee,\n    If we from self could rest;\n  And feel at heart that One above,\n  In perfect wisdom, perfect love,\n    Is working for the best.\n\nJ. ANSTICE.\n\nCast all thy care on God. See that all thy cares be such as thou canst cast\non God, and then hold none back. Never brood over thyself; never stop short\nin thyself; but cast thy whole self, even this very care which distresseth\nthee, upon God. Be not anxious about little things, if thou wouldst learn\nto trust God with thine all. Act upon faith in little things; commit thy\ndaily cares and anxieties to Him; and He will strengthen thy faith for any\ngreater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into God's hands, and so trust\nHim to take care of thee in all lesser things, as being His, for His own\nsake, whose thou art.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nFebruary 15\n\n\n_If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy\nneighbor as thyself, ye do well_.--JAMES ii. 8.\n\n  Come, children, let us go!\n    We travel hand in hand;\n  Each in his brother finds his joy\n    In this wild stranger land.\n  The strong be quick to raise\n    The weaker when they fall;\n  Let love and peace and patience bloom\n    In ready help for all.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nIt is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death\nhallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too,--as if it were\ncomparatively a light thing to fail in love and reverence to the brother\nwho has to climb the whole toilsome steep with us, and all our tears and\ntenderness were due to the one who is spared that hard journey.\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nWould we codify the laws that should reign in households, and whose daily\ntransgression annoys and mortifies us, and degrades our household life,--we\nmust learn to adorn every day with sacrifices. Good manners are made up\nof petty sacrifices. Temperance, courage, love, are made up of the same\njewels. Listen to every prompting of honor.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nFebruary 16\n\n\n_Serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind_.--I CHRON.\nxxviii. 9.\n\n  And if some things I do not ask,\n    In my cup of blessing be,\n  I would have my spirit filled the more\n    With grateful love to Thee,--\n  More careful,--not to serve Thee much,\n    But to please Thee perfectly.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nLittle things come daily, hourly, within our reach, and they are not less\ncalculated to set forward our growth in holiness, than are the greater\noccasions which occur but rarely. Moreover, fidelity in trifles, and an\nearnest seeking to please God in little matters, is a test of real devotion\nand love. Let your aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little\nthings, and to attain a spirit of childlike simplicity and dependence. In\nproportion as self-love and self-confidence are weakened, and our will\nbowed to that of God, so will hindrances disappear, the internal troubles\nand contests which harassed the soul vanish, and it will be filled with\npeace and tranquillity.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nFebruary 17\n\n\n_My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations\n[or \"trials\"], knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh\npatience_.--JAMES i. 2, 3.\n\n  For patience, when the rough winds blow!\n    For patience, when our hopes are fading,--\n  When visible things all backward go,\n    And nowhere seems the power of aiding!\n  God still enfolds thee with His viewless hand,\n  And leads thee surely to the Fatherland.\n\nN. L. FROTHINGHAM, _from the German_.\n\nWe have need of patience with ourselves and with others; with those below,\nand those above us, and with our own equals; with those who love us and\nthose who love us not; for the greatest things and for the least; against\nsudden inroads of trouble, and under our daily burdens; disappointments as\nto the weather, or the breaking of the heart; in the weariness of the body,\nor the wearing of the soul; in our own failure of duty, or others' failure\ntoward us; in every-day wants, or in the aching of sickness or the decay\nof age; in disappointment, bereavement, losses, injuries, reproaches; in\nheaviness of the heart; or its sickness amid delayed hopes. In all these\nthings, from childhood's little troubles to the martyr's sufferings,\npatience is the grace of God, whereby we endure evil for the love of God.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nFebruary 18\n\n\n_It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy\nstatutes_.--PS. cxix. 71.\n\n_But though He cause grief yet will He have compassion, according to the\nmultitude of His mercies_.--LAM. iii. 32.\n\n  And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above;\n  They do not come in anger, but in faithfulness and love;\n  They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could not yield,\n  And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose is fulfilled.\n\nANON.\n\nHeed not distressing thoughts when they rise ever so strongly in thee; nay,\nthough they have entered thee, fear them not, but be still awhile, not\nbelieving in the power which thou feelest they have over thee, and it will\nfall on a sudden. It is good for thy spirit, and greatly to thy advantage,\nto be much and variously exercised by the Lord. Thou dost not know what the\nLord hath already done, and what He is yet doing for thee therein.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\nWhy should I start at the plough of my Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my\nsoul? I know He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop.\n\nS. RUTHERFORD.\n\n\n\nFebruary 19\n\n\n_My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His\nwork_.--JOHN iv. 34.\n\n      I am glad to think\n  I am not bound to make the world go right;\n  But only to discover and to do,\n  With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.\n      I will trust in Him,\n  That He can hold His own; and I will take\n  His will, above the work He sendeth me,\n  To be my chiefest good.\n\nJ. INGELOW.\n\nDon't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be reckoned\nof infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were it but the more\nperfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting-away of your clothes and\ntrinkets, the arranging of your papers,--\"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to\ndo, _do it_ with all thy might,\" and all thy worth and constancy. Much\nmore, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have\nbrothers, sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie\nupon you, on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing needful, to\npay _them_ more and more honestly and nobly what you owe. What matter\nhow miserable one is, if one can do that? That is the sure and steady\ndisconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries one has in this world.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nFebruary 20\n\n\n_Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather,\nthat no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's\nway_.--ROM. xiv. 13.\n\n_Them that were entering in, ye hindered_.--LUKE xi. 52.\n\n  My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day,\n  And I said pettish words, and did not keep\n  Long-suffering patience well, and now how deep\n  My trouble for this sin! in vain I weep\n  For foolish words I never can unsay.\n\nH. S. SUTTON.\n\nA vexation arises, and our expressions of impatience hinder others from\ntaking it patiently. Disappointment, ailment, or even weather depresses\nus; and our look or tone of depression hinders others from maintaining\na cheerful and thankful spirit. We say an unkind thing, and another is\nhindered in learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. We\nsay a provoking thing, and our sister or brother is hindered in that day's\neffort to be meek. How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act! For\nwrong feeling is more infectious than wrong doing; especially the\nvarious phases of ill temper,--gloominess, touchiness, discontent,\nirritability,--do we not know how catching these are?\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nFebruary 21\n\n\n_If ye then, being evil, know bow to give good gifts unto your children,\nbow much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them\nthat ask Him_?--MATT. vii. 11.\n\n  For His great love has compassed\n    Our nature, and our need\n  We know not; but He knoweth,\n    And He will bless indeed.\n  Therefore, O heavenly Father,\n    Give what is best to me;\n  And take the wants unanswered,\n    As offerings made to Thee.\n\nANON.\n\nWhatsoever we ask which is not for our good, He will keep it back from us.\nAnd surely in this there is no less of love than in the granting what we\ndesire as we ought. Will not the same love which prompts you to give a\ngood, prompt you to keep back an evil, thing? If, in our blindness, not\nknowing what to ask, we pray for things which would turn in our hands to\nsorrow and death, will not our Father, out of His very love, deny us?\nHow awful would be our lot, if our wishes should straightway pass into\nrealities; if we were endowed with a power to bring about all that we\ndesire; if the inclinations of our will were followed by fulfilment of our\nhasty wishes, and sudden longings were always granted. One day we shall\nbless Him, not more for what He has granted than for what He has denied.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nFebruary 22\n\n\n_Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with\nthanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God_.--PHIL. iv. 6.\n\n      We tell Thee of our care,\n  Of the sore burden, pressing day by day,\n  And in the light and pity of Thy face,\n      The burden melts away.\n\n      We breathe our secret wish,\n  The importunate longing which no man may see;\n  We ask it humbly, or, more restful still,\n      We leave it all to Thee.\n\nSUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nThat prayer which does not succeed in moderating our wish, in changing\nthe passionate desire into still submission, the anxious, tumultuous\nexpectation into silent surrender, is no true prayer, and proves that we\nhave not the spirit of true prayer. That life is most holy in which there\nis least of petition and desire, and most of waiting upon God; that in\nwhich petition most often passes into thanksgiving. Pray till prayer makes\nyou forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it in God's will. The\nDivine wisdom has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the\ngood things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn to do without them;\nnot as a means whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become\nstrong to meet it.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nFebruary 23\n\n\n_Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight_.--I CHRON. xix. 13.\n\n_Let Thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee_.--PS.\nXXXIII. 22.\n\n      I cannot feel\n  That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal\n      The shining sun;\n      But then, I know\n  He lives and loves; and say, since it is so,\n      Thy will be done.\n\nS. G. BROWNING.\n\nNo felt evil or defect becomes divine until it is inevitable; and only when\nresistence to it is exhausted and hope has fled, does surrender cease to\nbe premature. The hardness of our task lies _here_; that we have to strive\nagainst the grievous things of life, while hope remains, as if they were\nevil; and then, when the stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand of\nGod, and doubt not they are good. But to the loving, trusting heart, all\nthings are possible; and even this instant change, from overstrained will\nto sorrowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete surrender is\nrealized without convulsion.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nFebruary 24\n\n\n_These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the\nworld ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the\nworld_.--JOHN xvi. 33.\n\n  O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace,\n    Who shedd'st Thy breathing quiet all around,\n  In me command that pain and conflict cease,\n    And turn to music every jarring sound.\n\nJ. STERLING.\n\nAccustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice. Abide in peace in the\npresence of God, who sees all these evils more clearly than you do, and who\npermits them. Be content with doing with calmness the little which depends\nupon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were not.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nIt is rare when injustice, or slights patiently borne, do not leave the\nheart at the close of the day filled with marvellous joy and peace.\n\nGOLD DUST.\n\n\n\nFebruary 25\n\n\n_But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed\nthee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by\nthy name; thou art mine_.--ISA. xliii. I.\n\n  Thou art as much His care as if beside\n    Nor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth;\n  Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide,\n    To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nGod beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. \"He calls thee by thy\nname.\" He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all\nthy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy\nstrength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy\nday of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He\ninterests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the\nrisings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears\nthee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love\nthyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more\nthan He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou\nwilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\n\n\nFebruary 26\n\n\n_The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon\nHim in truth_.--PS. cxlv. 18.\n\n_I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my\nfears_.--PS. xxxiv. 4.\n\n  Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!\n    So shall each murmuring thought be gone;\n  And grief and fear and care shall fly,\n    As clouds before the mid-day sun.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nTake courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into\nmaterial for spiritual progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching\nyou, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions.\nHe sends you help, and blesses your affliction. This thought should enable\nyou to bear your troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who only\nallows you to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart continually to\nGod, seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of your consolation be your\nhappiness in being His. All vexations and annoyances will be comparatively\nunimportant while you know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a\nRefuge. May God be ever in your heart.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nFebruary 27\n\n\n_Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and\nverily thou shalt be fed_.--PS. xxxvii. 3.\n\n  Build a little fence of trust\n    Around to-day;\n  Fill the space with loving work,\n    And therein stay;\n  Look not through the sheltering bars\n    Upon to-morrow,\n  God will help thee bear what comes,\n    Of joy or sorrow.\n\nMARY FRANVES BUTTS.\n\nLet us bow our souls and say, \"Behold the handmaid of the Lord!\" Let us\nlift up our hearts and ask, \"Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?\" Then\nlight from the opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, revealing the\ngrains of gold, where yesterday all seemed dust; a hand shall sustain us\nand our daily burden, so that, smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say,\n\"_This is easy, this is light;_\" every \"lion in the way,\" as we come up\nto it, shall be seen chained, and leave open the gates of the Palace\nBeautiful; and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as we are,\nministries shall be assigned, and through our hands blessings shall be\nconveyed in which the spirits of just men made perfect might delight.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\n\n\nFebruary 28\n\n\n_Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that\nloveth is born of God, and knoweth God_.--I JOHN iv. 7.\n\n  So to the calmly gathered thought\n  The innermost of life is taught,\n  The mystery dimly understood,\n  That love of God is love of good;\n  That to be saved is only this,--\n  Salvation from our selfishness.\n\nJ. G. Whittler.\n\nThe Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness,\nbecause it is the truth and reality of God in the soul; and therefore is\nin the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on\nevery occasion. Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It is this\nGod of Love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness,\nwhich is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For all wants\nare satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, no life is any longer a\nburden, every day is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes a help\nto you, because everything you see or do is all done in the sweet, gentle\nelement of Love.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nFebruary 29\n\n\n_Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with\nhealing in his wings_.--MAL. iv. 2.\n\n_O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me_.--PS. xliii. 3.\n\n  Open our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness,\n    That we may see that glorious world of Thine!\n  It shines for us in vain, while drooping sadness\n    Enfolds us here like mist; come, Power benign,\n      Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile,\n      Our wintry course do Thou beguile,\n  Nor by the wayside ruins let us mourn,\n  Who have th' eternal towers for our appointed bourn.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nBecause all those scattered rays of beauty and loveliness which we behold\nspread up and down over all the world, are only the emanations of that\ninexhausted light which is above; therefore should we love them all in\nthat, and climb up always by those sunbeams unto the eternal Father of\nlights: we should look upon Him, and take from Him the pattern of our\nlives, and always eying Him, should, as Hierocles speaks, \"polish and shape\nour souls into the clearest resemblance of Him;\" and in all our behavior\nin this world (that great temple of His) deport ourselves decently and\nreverently, with that humility, meekness, and modesty that becomes His\nhouse.\n\nDR. JOHN SMITH.\n\n\n\nMarch 1\n\n\n_Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;\nnor yet for your body, what ye shall put on_.--MATT. vi. 25.\n\n  One there lives whose guardian eye\n  Guides our earthly destiny;\n  One there lives, who, Lord of all,\n  Keeps His children lest they fall;\n  Pass we, then, in love and praise,\n  Trusting Him through all our days,\n  Free from doubt and faithless sorrow,--\n  God provideth for the morrow.\n\nR. HEBER.\n\nIt has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It\nis when to-morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day that the weight\nis more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you\nfind yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing,\nnot God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n_Cast thy burdens upon the Lord_,--hand it over, heave it upon Him,--_and\nHe shall sustain thee_; shall bear both, if thou trust Him with both, both\nthee and thy burden: _He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved_.\n\nROBERT LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nMarch 2\n\n\n_But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God\nis well pleased_.--HEB. xiii. 16.\n\n_For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should\nlove one another_.--I JOHN iii. 11.\n\n  Be useful where thou livest, that they may\n  Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still.\n  ...Find out men's wants and will,\n  And meet them there. All worldly joys go less\n  To the one joy of doing kindnesses.\n\nG. HERBERT.\n\nLet the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course\nhe can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words,\nsympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's\nsensitiveness,--these cost very little, but they are priceless in their\nvalue. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to\nhour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\nSmall kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually\npractised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character\nthan the display of great talents and accomplishments.\n\nM. A. KELTY.\n\n\n\nMarch 3\n\n\n_I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments_.--PS. cxix. 60.\n\n_Ye know not what shall be on the morrow_.--JAMES iv. 14.\n\n      Never delay\n  To do the duty which the hour brings,\n  Whether it be in great or smaller things;\n      For who doth know\n  What he shall do the coming day?\n\nANON.\n\nIt is quite impossible that an idle, floating spirit can ever look up with\nclear eye to God; spreading its miserable anarchy before the symmetry of\nthe creative Mind; in the midst of a disorderly being, that has neither\ncentre nor circumference, kneeling beneath the glorious sky, that\neverywhere has both; and for a life that is _all_ failure, turning to the\nLord of the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, that \"not one\nfaileth.\" The heavens, with their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no\nsadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the slattern in their prayers.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nMarch 4\n\n\n_But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall\nno torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and\ntheir departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter\ndestruction: but they are in peace_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON iii. 1-3.\n\n  But souls that of His own good life partake,\n  He loves as His own self; dear as His eye\n  They are to Him: He 'll never them forsake:\n  When they shall die, then God Himself shall die;\n  They live, they live in blest eternity.\n\nHENRY MORE.\n\nThough every good man is not so logically subtile as to be able by fit\nmediums to demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in a higher\nlight: his soul, being purged and enlightened by true sanctity, is\nmore capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in\nconjunction with God. It knows that God will never forsake His own life\nwhich He hath quickened in it; He will never deny those ardent desires of\na blissful fruition of Himself, which the lively sense of His own goodness\nhath excited within it: those breathings and gaspings after an eternal\nparticipation of Him are but the energy of His own breath within us; if He\nhad had any mind to destroy it, He would never have shown it such things as\nHe hath done.\n\nDR. JOHN SMITH.\n\n\n\nMarch 5\n\n\n_And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is\npure_.--I JOHN iii. 3.\n\n  Now, Lord, what wait I for?\n    On Thee alone\n  My hope is all rested,--\n    Lord, seal me Thine own!\n  Only Thine own to be,\n  Only to live to Thee.\n        Thine, with each day begun,\n        Thine, with each set of sun,\n        Thine, till my work is done.\n\nANNA WARNER.\n\nNow, believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. At some time in\nour life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life\nfinds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our\nbest. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or\ndoctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs\nto glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, or mother. Here is God,--God\nstanding silently at the door all day long,--God whispering to the soul,\nthat to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short\nof that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.\n\nROBERT COLLYER.\n\n\n\nMarch 6\n\n\n_The shadow of a great rock in a weary land_.--ISA. xxxii. 2.\n\n_In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence\nshall be your strength_.--ISA. xxx. 15.\n\n  O Shadow in a sultry land!\n    We gather to Thy breast,\n  Whose love, enfolding like the night,\n    Brings quietude and rest,\n  Glimpse of the fairer life to be,\n    In foretaste here possessed.\n\nC. M. PACKARD.\n\nStrive to see God in all things without exception, and-acquiesce in His\nwill with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to\nHim by a mere upward glance, or by the overflowing of your heart towards\nHim. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do\nnot lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole\nworld seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in\nHis bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling\nsimply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that\nyou have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and\nsimply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself\nwith a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nMarch 7\n\n\n_There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh\nall in all_.--I COR. xii. 6.\n\n_I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I\nthe Lord do all these things_.--ISA. xlv. 7.\n\n  \"All is of God that is, and is to be;\n  And God is good.\" Let this suffice us still,\n  Resting in childlike trust upon His will,\n  Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nThis, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to\nus great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind,\nbody, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless\nnature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by\nthe all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it\nbefalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through\nman's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in every the least\ncircumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to\nus without God's permission, it would be something out of God's control.\nGod's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God\nHimself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and\nlove.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nMarch 8\n\n\n_Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be\nashamed_.--2 TIM. ii. 15.\n\n_And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap if\nwe faint not_.--GAL. vi. 9.\n\n  The task Thy wisdom hath assigned,\n    Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil;\n  In all my works Thy presence find,\n    And prove Thine acceptable will.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\n\"What is my next duty? What is the thing that lies nearest to me?\" \"That\nbelongs to your every-day history. No one can answer that question but\nyourself. Your next duty is just to determine what your next duty is. Is\nthere nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you know you ought not to do?\nYou would know your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and were not\nambitious of great things.\" \"Ah, then,\" responded she, \"I suppose it is\nsomething very commonplace, which will make life more dreary than ever.\nThat cannot help me.\" \"It will, if it be as dreary as reading the\nnewspapers to an old deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something more.\nYour duty will begin to comfort you at once, but will at length open the\nunknown fountain of life in your heart.\"\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nMarch 9\n\n\n_Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine\nhands unto_.--DEUT. xii. 18.\n\n_Be ye thankful_.--COL. iii. 15.\n\n  Thou that hast given so much to me,\n  Give one thing more, a grateful heart.\n  Not thankful when it pleaseth me,\n  As if thy blessings had spare days;\n  But such a heart, whose pulse may be\n                             Thy praise.\n\nG. HERBERT.\n\nIf any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all\nperfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and\npraise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that\nwhatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for\nit, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you\ncould not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals\nwith a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nMarch 10\n\n\n_When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the\nrivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,\nthou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee_.--ISA.\nxliii. 2.\n\n_I am with thee to deliver thee_.--JER. i. 8.\n\n  When through the deep waters I call thee to go,\n  The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;\n  For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,\n  And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.\n\nANON.\n\nTurn it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to suffer what is appointed\nthee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in all our\nsorrows and troubles, and God would lay His shoulder under our burdens,\nand help us to bear them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we submitted\nourselves to God, no suffering would be unbearable.\n\nJ. TAULER.\n\nLearn to be as the angel, who could descend among the miseries of Bethesda\nwithout losing his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. Gain healing\nfrom troubled waters. Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a\ncertain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life. By the\nblessing of God this will prepare you for it; it will make you thoughtful\nand resigned without interfering with your cheerfulness.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\n\n\nMarch 11\n\n\n_Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never\nsuffer the righteous to be moved_.--PS. lv. 22.\n\n  Now our wants and burdens leaving\n    To His care who cares for all,\n  Cease we fearing, cease we grieving,\n    At His touch our burdens fall.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nThe circumstances of her life she could not alter, but she took them to the\nLord, and handed them over into His management; and then she believed that\nHe took it, and she left all the responsibility and the worry and anxiety\nwith Him. As often as the anxieties returned she took them back; and the\nresult was that, although the circumstances remained unchanged, her soul\nwas kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. And the secret she found so\neffectual in her outward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in\nher inward ones, which were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. She\nabandoned her whole self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that\nshe had; and, believing that He took that which she had committed to Him,\nshe ceased to fret and worry, and her life became all sunshine in the\ngladness of belonging to Him. H. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nMarch 12\n\n\n_The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon\nthee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon\nthee, and give thee peace_.--NUM. vi. 24-26.\n\n  O Love, how cheering is Thy ray!\n    All pain before Thy presence flies;\n  Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away,\n    Where'er Thy healing beams arise.\n  O Father, nothing may I see,\n  Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nThere is a faith in God, and a clear perception of His will and designs,\nand providence, and glory, which gives to its possessor a confidence and\npatience and sweet composure, under every varied and troubling aspect of\nevents, such as no man can realize who has not felt its influences in his\nown heart. There is a communion with God, in which the soul feels the\npresence of the unseen One, in the profound depths of its being, with a\nvivid distinctness and a holy reverence, such as no words can describe.\nThere is a state of union with God, I do not say often reached, yet it has\nbeen attained in this world, in which all the past and present and future\nseem reconciled, and eternity is won and enjoyed; and God and man, earth\nand heaven, with all their mysteries, are apprehended in truth as they lie\nin the mind of the Infinite.\n\nSAMUEL D. ROBBINS.\n\n\n\nMarch 13\n\n\n_He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit_.--JOHN xv.\n5.\n\n_Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us_.--PS. xc. 17.\n\n  As some rare perfume in a vase of clay\n    Pervades it with a fragrance not its own,\n  So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,\n    All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.\n\nH. B. STOWE.\n\nSome glances of real beauty may be seen in their faces, who dwell in true\nmeekness. There is a harmony in the sound of that voice to which Divine\nlove gives utterance, and some appearance of right order in their temper\nand conduct whose passions are regulated.\n\nJOHN WOOLMAN.\n\nI believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell in any heart, without an\nexternal testimony in manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach the\nwitness within the heart of the beholder, and bear an unmistakable, though\nsilent, evidence to the eternal principle from which it emanates.\n\nM. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\n\n\n\nMarch 14\n\n\n_I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear\nunto me, and hear my speech_.--PS. xvii. 6.\n\n_Ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us_.--PS.\nlxii. 8.\n\n  Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest,\n  Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast;\n  Spread before God that wish, that care,\n  And change anxiety to prayer.\n\nJANE CREWDSON.\n\nTrouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble\nand perplexity.\n\nP. MELANCTHON.\n\nWhatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy Father; put over the matter\ninto His hand, and so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing\ncare that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer\nanything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it,\nand acquaint Him with it; yea, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for\nmatter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy duty,\nand dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and\nthyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nMarch 15\n\n\n_Hear me, O Lord. for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according\nto the multitude of Thy tender mercies_.--PS. lxix. 16.\n\n_Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to\nThy word unto Thy servant_.--PS. cxix. 76.\n\n  Love divine has seen and counted\n    Every tear it caused to fall;\n  And the storm which Love appointed\n    Was its choicest gift of all.\n\nANON.\n\nO that thou couldst dwell in the knowledge and sense of this! even, that\nthe Lord beholds thy sufferings with an eye of pity; and is able, not only\nto uphold thee under them, but also to do thee good by them. Therefore,\ngrieve not at thy lot, be not discontented, look not out at the hardness of\nthy condition; but, when the storm and matters of vexation are sharp, look\nup to Him who can give meekness and patience, can lift up thy head over\nall, and cause thy life to grow, and be a gainer by all. If the Lord God\nhelp thee proportionably to thy condition of affliction and distress, thou\nwilt have no cause to complain, but to bless His name.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\nMarch 16\n\n\n_Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the\nglory of God_.--I COR. x. 31.\n\n_With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men_.--EPH. vi.\n7.\n\n  A Servant, with this clause,\n    Makes drudgery divine:\n  Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws,\n    Makes that and th' action fine.\n\nG. HERBERT.\n\nSurely the truth must be, that whatsoever in our daily life is lawful and\nright for us to be engaged in, is in itself a part of our obedience to\nGod; a part, that is, of our very religion. Whensoever we hear people\ncomplaining of obstructions and hindrances put by the duties of life in the\nway of devoting themselves to God, we may be sure they are under some false\nview or other. They do not look upon their daily work as the task God has\nset them, and as obedience due to Him. We may go farther; and say, not only\nthat the duties of life, be they never so toilsome and distracting, are no\nobstructions to a life of any degree of inward holiness; but that they are\neven direct means, when rightly used, to promote our sanctification.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nMarch 17\n\n\n_Where hast thou gleaned to-day_?--RUTH ii. 19.\n\n  What have I learnt where'er I've been,\n  From all I've heard, from all I've seen?\n  What know I more that's worth the knowing?\n  What have I done that's worth the doing?\n  What have I sought that I should shun?\n  What duties have I left undone?\n\nPYTHAGORAS.\n\nAll of this world will soon have passed away. But God will remain, and\nthou, whatever thou hast become, good or bad. Thy deeds now are the\nseed-corn of eternity. Each single act, in each several day, good or bad,\nis a portion of that seed. Each day adds some line, making thee more or\nless like Him, more or less capable of His love.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nThere is something very solemn in the thought that that part of our work\nwhich we have left undone may first be revealed to us at the end of a life\nfilled up, as we had fondly hoped, with useful and necessary employments.\n\nSARAH W. STEPHEN.\n\n\n\nMarch 18\n\n\n_Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as\nbrethren, be pitiful, be courteous_.--I PETER iii. 8.\n\n  Make us of one heart and mind;\n  Courteous, pitiful, and kind;\n  Lowly, meek, in thought and word,\n  Altogether like our Lord.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nA little thought will show you how vastly your own happiness depends on the\nway other people bear themselves toward you. The looks and tones at your\nbreakfast-table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the\nfaithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the\nstreet, the way your cook and housemaid do their work, the letters you\nget, the friends or foes you meet,--these things make up very much of the\npleasure or misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and remember that\njust so much are you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other people's\ndays. And this is the half of the matter which you can control. Whether\nany particular day shall bring to you more of happiness or of suffering is\nlargely beyond your power to determine. Whether each day of your life shall\ngive happiness or suffering rests with yourself.\n\nGEORGE S. MERRIAM.\n\n\nMarch 19\n\n\n_Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our\nSaviour in all things_.--TITUS ii. 10.\n\n  If on our daily course our mind\n  Be set to hallow all we find,\n  New treasures still, of countless price,\n  God will provide for sacrifice.\n\nJ. KEBLE\n\nIf content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil, be duties to\nGod, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our\nlife. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending\nevery day.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nHe who is faithful over a few things is a lord of cities. It does not\nmatter whether you preach in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, so\nyou be faithful. The faithfulness is all.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\nI would have you invoke God often through the day, asking Him to kindle a\nlove for your vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, \"'Lord, what\nwouldst Thou have me to do?' Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the lowest\nministries of Thy house? too happy if I may but serve Thee anyhow.\" And\nwhen any special thing is repugnant to you, ask \"Wouldst Thou have me do\nit? Then, unworthy though I be, I will do it gladly.\"\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nMarch 20\n\n\n_Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou\nserve_.--MATT. iv. 10.\n\n_Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the\nwhole heart_.--PS. cxix. 2.\n\n  The comfort of a mind at rest\n  From every care Thou hast not blest;\n  A heart from all the world set free,\n  To worship and to wait on Thee.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nResign every forbidden joy; restrain every wish that is not referred to His\nwill; banish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the will of God;\nseek Him alone, and you will find peace.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\"I've been a great deal happier since I have given up thinking about what\nis easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own\nwill. Our life is determined for us; and it makes the mind very free when\nwe give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and\ndoing what is given us to do.\"\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\n\n\nMarch 21\n\n\n_Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these\nthings_.--MATT. vi. 32.\n\n  All as God wills, who wisely heeds\n    To give or to withhold;\n  And knoweth more of all my needs\n    Than all my prayers have told.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nLord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I\nneed; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give\nto Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask\neither for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee; I\nopen my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do\naccording to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up;\nI adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself\nin sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to\naccomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nMarch 22\n\n\n_He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and\nlittle_.--ECCLESIASTICUS xix. I.\n\n  One finger's-breadth at hand will mar\n  A world of light in heaven afar,\n  A mote eclipse a glorious star,\n      An eyelid hide the sky.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nA single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some\nobscure corner of our consciousness,--a sin _which we do not intend to\nrenounce_,--is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of\naction not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and\nloving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,--any of these are\nimpassable obstacles. If we know of a kind act which we might, but do not\nintend to, perform,--if we be aware that our moral health requires the\nabandonment of some pleasure which yet we do not intend to abandon, here is\ncause enough for the loss of all spiritual power.\n\nF. P. COBBE.\n\nIt is astonishing how soon the whole conscience begins to unravel, if a\nsingle stitch drops; one little sin indulged makes a hole you could put\nyour head through.\n\nCHARLES BUXTON.\n\n\n\nMarch 23\n\n\n_Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest_.--3 JOHN 5.\n\n_And this also we wish, even your perfection_.--2 COR. xiii. 9.\n\n  In all the little things of life,\n    Thyself, Lord, may I see;\n  In little and in great alike\n    Reveal Thy love to me.\n\n  So shall my undivided life\n    To Thee, my God, be given;\n  And all this earthly course below\n    Be one dear path to heaven.\n\nH. BONAR.\n\nIn order to mould thee into entire conformity to His will, He must have\nthee pliable in His hands, and this pliability is more quickly reached\nby yielding in the little things than even by the greater. Thy one great\ndesire is to follow Him fully; canst thou not say then a continual \"yes\" to\nall His sweet commands, whether small or great, and trust Him to lead thee\nby the shortest road to thy fullest blessedness?\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\nWith meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of\nyour condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise\nthat do the business.\n\nHENRY MORE.\n\n\n\nMarch 24\n\n\n_I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest\nme dwell in safety_.--PS. iv. 8.\n\n_He giveth His beloved sleep_.--PS. cxxvii. 2.\n\n  He guides our feet, He guards our way,\n  His morning smiles bless all the day;\n  He spreads the evening veil, and keeps\n  The silent hours while Israel sleeps.\n\nI. WATTS.\n\nWe sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His\nprovidence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; no more\nrestless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the\nplace we are in; for it is God who has put us there, and who holds us in\nHis arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nOne evening when Luther saw a little bird perched on a tree, to roost there\nfor the night, he said, \"This little bird has had its supper, and now it\nis getting ready to go to sleep here, quite secure and content, never\ntroubling itself what its food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow.\nLike David, it 'abides under the shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its\nlittle twig content, and lets God take care.\"\n\nMARTIN LUTHER.\n\n\n\nMarch 25\n\n\n_I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His\npeople_.--PS. lxxxv. 8.\n\n  There is a voice, \"a still, small voice\" of love,\n    Heard from above;\n  But not amidst the din of earthly sounds,\n    Which here confounds;\n  By those withdrawn apart it best is heard,\n  And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.\n\nANONYMOUS.\n\nHe speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is\neverything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to\ndrown His voice. \"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.\" It is\na secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still,\nsmall voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill\nour ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its\nexcitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or\nshow, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\nMarch 26\n\n\n_Are they not all ministering spirits_?--HEB. i. 14\n\n      May I reach\n  That purest heaven, be to other souls\n  The cup of strength in some great agony,\n  Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,\n  Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,\n  And in diffusion ever more intense!\n  So shall I join the choir invisible\n  Whose music is the gladness of the world.\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nCertainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to\nwhom we owe the most. Among the common people whom we know, it is not\nnecessarily those who are busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever\non the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the\nstars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and\nfaithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest\ncalm and courage. It seems to me that there is reassurance here for many of\nus who seem to have no chance for active usefulness. We can do nothing for\nour fellow-men. But still it is good to know that we can be something for\nthem; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the\nhumblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the\nworld being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by\nthe very existence of that goodness.\n\nPHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\n\nMarch 27\n\n\n_If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in\nus_.--I JOHN iv. 12.\n\n_And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And\nhereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given\nus_.--I JOHN iii. 24.\n\n  Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love\n  Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin;\n  Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire,\n  And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.\n\nH. B. STOWE.\n\nThe Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It\ncannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of\nLove, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a\nspirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It\ncannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same\ntime be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be\nsympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot\ndelight in the rectitude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual\nelements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nMarch 28\n\n\n_Giving thanks always for all things unto God_.--EPH. v. 20.\n\n  For blessings of the fruitful season,\n    For work and rest, for friends and home,\n  For the great gifts of thought and reason,--\n    To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.\n\n  Yes, and for weeping and for wailing,\n    For bitter hail and blighting frost,\n  For high hopes on the low earth trailing,\n    For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.\n\nE. SCUDDER.\n\nNotwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and\nweariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the\ninward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout\nthanksgiving to the great Author of my being. For more and more am\nI unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called \"a\nthanksgiving for mercies,\"--for any benefits or blessings that are\npeculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of this,\nI would have it to be gratitude for _all_ that belongs to my life and\nbeing,--for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and\ndisappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because\nI believe that all is meant for good.\n\nORVILLE DEWEY.\n\n\n\nMarch 29\n\n\n_There shall no evil befall thee_.--PS. xci. 10.\n\n_Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear\nof evil_.--PROV. i. 33.\n\n  I ask not, \"Take away this weight of care;\"\n  No, for that love I pray that all can bear,\n    And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall\n  Must needs be good, and for my profit prove,\n  Since from my Father's heart most rich in love,\n    And from His bounteous hands it cometh all.\n\nC. J. P. SPITTA.\n\nBe like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but\nit stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I,\nbecause this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has\nhappened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the\npresent, nor fearing the future. Will then this which has happened prevent\nthee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure against\ninconsiderate opinions and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occasion\nwhich leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a\nmisfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nMarch 30\n\n\n_Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to\nglory_.--PS. lxxiii. 24.\n\n_There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God_.--HEB. iv. 9.\n\n  Guide us through life; and when at last\n    We enter into rest,\n  Thy tender arms around us cast,\n    And fold us to Thy breast.\n\nH. F. LYTE.\n\nGo forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer the trials of existence,\nbelieving in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will support you\nin duty, and duty firmly done will strengthen faith; till at last, when all\nis over here, and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades upon\nyour dying ear, and you hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound\nof the ocean of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining on its\nwaters still and fair in their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song\nof conquest, and in its retrospect of the life which has ended, and its\nforward glance upon the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration of the\nHebrew king, \"Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my\nlife, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\"\n\nSTOPFORD A. BROOKE.\n\n\n\nMarch 31\n\n\n_Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts\nof the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy\ntabernacle shall be in peace_.--JOB v. 23, 24.\n\n  Love had he found in huts where poor men lie;\n  His daily teachers had been woods and rills,\n  The silence that is in the starry sky,\n  The sleep that is among the lonely hills.\n\n  W. Wordsworth.\n\nThat spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which seems to come forth to\nsuch from every dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, and\nhalf-embedded stone, on which the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the\npoor and hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. If thou fill thy brain\nwith Boston and New York, with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate\nthy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, thou shall find no radiance\nof wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nAs a countenance is made beautiful by the soul's shining through it, so the\nworld is beautiful by the shining through it of a God.\n\nFRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI.\n\n\n\nApril 1\n\n\n_For Thou Invest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou\nhast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst\nhated it. But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of\nsouls_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON xi. 24, 26.\n\n  He prayeth well who loveth well\n    Both man and bird and beast;\n  He prayeth best who loveth best\n    All things both great and small;\n  For the dear God who loveth us,\n    He made and loveth all.\n\nS. T. COLERIDGE.\n\nTo know that Love alone was the beginning of nature and creature, that\nnothing but Love encompasses the whole universe of things, that the\ngoverning Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all,\nis nothing but omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infinity of wisdom,\nto save every misguided creature from the miserable works of its own hands,\nand make happiness and glory the perpetual inheritance of all the creation,\nis a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every intelligent creature\nthat is sensible of it.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nApril 2\n\n\n_Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God\ndwelleth in you_?--I COR. iii. 16.\n\n  Father! replenish with Thy grace\n    This longing heart of mine;\n  Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place,\n    Thy sacred inmost shrine!\n\nJOHANN SCHEFFLER.\n\nNot man's manifold labors, but his manifold cares, hinder the presence of\nGod. Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine own feverish vanities,\nand busy thoughts, and cares; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the\nlight of His countenance will stream down upon thee. He will make a secret\ncell in thine heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou find\nHim. And if thou hast found Him there, all around shall reflect Him, all\nshall speak to Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly thou mayest be\ndoing the work of thy calling; inwardly if thou commend thy work to God,\nthou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nApril 3\n\n\n_As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do_.--DEUT.\nxviii. 14.\n\n  Lord, for the erring thought\n  Not into evil wrought;\n  Lord, for the wicked will\n  Betrayed and baffled still;\n  For the heart from itself kept,\n  Our Thanksgiving accept.\n\nW. D. HOWELLS.\n\nWhat an amazing, what a blessed disproportion between the evil we do, and\nthe evil we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on the very verge\nof doing! If my soul has grown tares, when it was full of the seeds of\nnightshade, how happy ought I to be! And that the tares have not wholly\nstrangled the wheat, what a wonder it is! We ought to thank God daily for\nthe sins we have not committed.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nWe give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual\nmercies _positive_; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies\nnegative! We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered us _not_ to do,\n_not_ to be.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nYou are surprised at your imperfections--why? I should infer from that,\nthat your self-knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be astonished\nthat you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous faults, and thank\nGod for His upholding grace.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nApril 4\n\n\n_Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few\nthings, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of\nthy Lord_.--MATT. xxv. 23.\n\n  O father! help us to resign\n    Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee;\n  Then even lowliest work of Thine\n    Most noble, blest, and sweet will be.\n\nH. M. KIMBALL.\n\nNothing is too little to be ordered by our Father; nothing too little in\nwhich to see His hand; nothing, which touches our souls, too little to\naccept from Him; nothing too little to be done to Him.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nA soul occupied with great ideas best performs small duties; the divinest\nviews of life penetrate most clearly into the meanest emergencies; so far\nfrom petty principles being best proportioned to petty trials, a heavenly\nspirit taking up its abode with us can alone sustain well the daily toils,\nand tranquilly pass the humiliations of our condition.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\nWhoso neglects a thing which he suspects he ought to do, because it seems\nto him too small a thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, but\ntoo great for him, that he doeth it not.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nApril 5\n\n\n_Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not\nbowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him_.--I KINGS xix.\n18.\n\nHe went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in\nhis heart,--the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has\nconquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet\nlearnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still\nsmall voice asked, \"What doest thou here, Elijah?\" that however we may\nfancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is\nnowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly\ncorrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.\n\nTHOMAS HUGHES.\n\nSo, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all. Seven thousand at\nleast in Israel had been braced and encouraged by his example, and silently\nblessed him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In God's world, for\nthose who are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly done, no word\nearnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in vain.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nApril 6\n\n\n_In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my\nsoul_.--PS. xciv. 19.\n\n_Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed_.--2 COR. iv.\n8, 9.\n\n  Discouraged in the work of life,\n    Disheartened by its load,\n  Shamed by its failures or its fears,\n    I sink beside the road;--\n  But let me only think of Thee,\n  And then new heart springs up in me.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nDiscouragement is an inclination to give up all attempts after the devout\nlife, in consequence of the difficulties by which it is beset, and our\nalready numerous failures in it. We lose heart; and partly in ill-temper,\npartly in real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we first grow\nquerulous and peevish with God, and then relax in our efforts to mortify\nourselves and to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, and will\nlead us into numberless venial sins the first half-hour we give way to it.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nNever let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious\nof our faults that we are the most wicked; on the contrary, we are less so.\nWe see by a brighter light; and let us remember, for our consolation, that\nwe never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nApril 7\n\n\n_That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of\nGod_.--ROM. xii. 2.\n\n  Thou knowest what is best;\n    And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know?\n  In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest;\n    Beneath that will my humble head shall bow.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\nTo those who are His, all things are not only easy to be borne, but even to\nbe gladly chosen. Their will is united to that will which moves heaven and\nearth, which gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of the world. It\nis a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that know so little\nmust needs speak little. To be at the centre of that motion, where is\neverlasting rest; to be sheltered in the peace of God; even now to dwell in\nheaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. \"Thou shalt\nkeep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.\"\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\nStudy to follow His will in all, to have no will but His. This is thy duty,\nand thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt\nand vex thyself; but by complying all is gained--sweet peace. It is the\nvery secret, the mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His will,\nto be disposed of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nApril 8\n\n\n_The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want_.--PS. xxiii. 1.\n\n_They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing_.--PS. xxxiv. 10.\n\n  God, who the universe doth hold\n    In his fold,\n  Is my shepherd kind and heedful,\n  Is my shepherd, and doth keep\n    Me, his sheep,\n  Still supplied with all things needful.\n\n  F. Davison.\n\n_Who_ is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a\nwonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty\nCreator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it\nwere a very little thing,--HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself\nwith the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care\nand keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought,\nyou would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how\ncould it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?\n\nH. W. Smith.\n\n\n\nApril 9\n\n\n_Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation_.--MATT. xxvi. 41.\n\n  I want a sober mind,\n    A self-renouncing will,\n  That tramples down and casts behind\n    The baits of pleasing ill;\n  A spirit still prepared,\n    And armed with jealous care,\n  Forever standing on its guard,\n    And watching unto prayer.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nWhen you say, \"Lead us not into temptation,\" you must in good earnest mean\nto avoid in your daily conduct those temptations which you have already\nsuffered from. When you say, \"Deliver us from evil,\" you must mean to\nstruggle against that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious of, and\nwhich you pray to be forgiven. To watch and pray are surely in our power,\nand by these means we are certain of getting strength. You feel your\nweakness; you fear to be overcome by temptation; then keep out of the way\nof it. This is watching. Avoid society which is likely to mislead you; flee\nfrom the very shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; better be a little\ntoo strict than a little too easy,--it is the safer side. Abstain from\nreading books which are dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they\narise.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\n\n\nApril 10\n\n\n_Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing\nGod. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto\nmen_.--COL. iii. 22, 23.\n\n  Teach me, my God and King,\n    In all things Thee to see,\n  And what I do in anything,\n    To do it as for Thee.\n\nG. HERBERT.\n\nThere is no action so slight nor so mean but it may be done to a great\npurpose, and ennobled thereby; nor is any purpose so great but that\nslight actions may help it, and may be so done as to help it much, most\nespecially, that chief of all purposes--the pleasing of God.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\nEvery duty, even the least duty, involves the whole principle of obedience.\nAnd little duties make the will _dutiful_, that is, supple and prompt to\nobey. Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty is full of\nprobation and of discipline; it trains the will, heart, and conscience.\nWe need not to be prophets or apostles. The commonest life may be full\nof perfection. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of\nheaven.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nApril 11\n\n\n_Wherefore, beloved... be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace,\nwithout spot, and blameless_,--2 PETER iii. 14.\n\n  His conscience knows no secret stings,\n    While grace and joy combine\n  To form a life whose holy springs\n    Are hidden and divine.\n\nI. WATTS\n\nEven the smallest discontent of conscience may render turbid the whole\ntemper of the mind; but only produce the effort that restores its peace,\nand over the whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread;\ndoubt and irritability pass as clouds away; the withered sympathies of\nearth and home open their leaves and live; and through the clearest blue\nthe deep is seen of the heaven where God resides.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\nThe state of mind which is described as meekness, or quietness of spirit,\nis characterized in a high degree by inward harmony. There is not, as\nformerly, that inward jarring of thought contending with thought, and\nconscience asserting rights which it could not maintain.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\n\n\nApril 12\n\n\n_Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God\nof love and peace shall be with you_.--2 COR. xiii. 11.\n\n_He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom\nhe hath not seen_?--I JOHN iv. 20.\n\n  Lord! subdue our selfish will;\n    Each to each our tempers suit,\n  By Thy modulating skill,\n    Heart to heart, as lute to lute.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nIt requires far more of the constraining love of Christ to love our cousins\nand neighbors as members of the heavenly family, than to feel the heart\nwarm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole\nChurch is one thing; to love--that is, to delight in the graces and veil\nthe defects--of the person who misunderstood me and opposed my plans\nyesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sensitive feelings,\nor whose natural faults are precisely those from which my natural character\nmost revolts, is quite another.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\n\n\nApril 13\n\n\n_In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved\nus_.--ROM. viii. 37.\n\n  Thus my soul before her God\n    Lieth still, nor speaketh more,\n  Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong,\n    That once smote her to the core;\n  Like a silent ocean, bright\n  With her God's great praise and light.\n\nJ. J. WINCKLER.\n\nMy mind is forever closed against embarrassment and perplexity, against\nuncertainty, doubt, and anxiety; my heart against grief and desire. Calm\nand unmoved, I look down on all things, for I know that I cannot explain a\nsingle event, nor comprehend its connection with that which alone concerns\nme. In His world all things prosper; this satisfies me, and in this belief\nI stand fast as a rock. My breast is steeled against annoyance on account\nof personal offences and vexations, or exultation in personal merit; for my\nwhole personality has disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose of my\nbeing.\n\nJ. G. FICHTE.\n\n\nApril 14\n\n\n_All thing are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or\nlife, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye\nare Christ's; and Christ is God's_.--I COR. iii. 21, 22, 23.\n\n_As having nothing, and yet possessing all things_,--2 COR. vi. 10.\n\n  Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,\n  As more of heaven in each we see:\n  Some softening gleam of love and prayer\n  Shall dawn on every cross and care.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nOut of love and hatred, out of earnings, and borrowings, and lendings, and\nlosses; out of sickness and pain, out of wooing and worshipping; out of\ntravelling, and voting, and watching, and caring; out of disgrace and\ncontempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws. Let him not\nslur his lesson; let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor exactly,\nbravely, and cheerfully, to solve the problem of that life which is set\nbefore _him_. And this, by punctual action, and not by promises or dreams.\nBelieving, as in God, in the presence and favor of the grandest influences,\nlet him deserve that favor, and learn how to receive and use it, by\nfidelity also to the lower observances.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nApril 15\n\n\n_We know that all things work together for good to them that love\nGod_.--ROM. viii. 28.\n\n_As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good_.--GEN.\n1. 20.\n\n  Ill that He blesses is our good,\n    And unblest good is ill;\n    And all is right that seems most wrong,\n  If it be His sweet Will.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nTo those who know themselves, all things work together for good, and all\nthings seem to be, as they are to them, good. The goods which God gives\nseem \"very good,\" and God Himself in them, because they know that they\ndeserve them not. The evils which God allows and overrules seem also \"very\ngood,\" because they see in them His loving hand, put forth to heal them of\nwhat shuts out God from the soul. They love God intensely, in that He is so\ngood to them in each, and every, the least good, because it is more than\nthey deserve: how much more in the greatest! They love God for every, and\neach, the very greatest of what seem evils, knowing them to be, from His\nlove, real goods. For He by whom \"all the hairs of our head are numbered,\"\nand who \"knoweth whereof we are made,\" directs everything which befalls us\nin life, in perfect wisdom and love, to the well-being of our souls.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\nApril 16\n\n\n_The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole\nspirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. Faithful is He that\ncalleth you, who also will do it_.--I THESS. v. 23, 24.\n\n  Be still, my soul!--the Lord is on thy side;\n    Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain;\n  Leave to thy God to order and provide,--\n    In every change He faithful will remain.\n\nHYMNS FROM THE LAND OF LUTHER.\n\nIt was no relief from temporal evils that the Apostle promised. No; the\nmercy of God might send them to the stake, or the lions; it was still His\nmercy, if it but kept them \"unspotted from the world.\" It might expose\nthem to insult, calumny, and wrong; they received it still as mercy, if it\n\"established them in every good word and work.\" O brethren! how many of\n_you_ are content with _such_ faithfulness as this on the part of your\nheavenly Father? Is this, indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers?\n\nWM. ARCHER BUTLER.\n\nThe highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken\nsunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.\n\nA. W. THOROLD.\n\n\n\nApril 17\n\n\n_Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust_.--PS. xl. 4.\n\n_That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life_.--I TIM. ii. 2.\n\n  Just to let thy Father do\n    What He will;\n  Just to know that He is true,\n    And be still;\n  Just to trust Him, this is all!\n    Then the day will surely be\n  Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall,\n    Bright and blessed, calm and free.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nEvery morning compose your soul for a tranquil day, and all through it be\ncareful often to recall your resolution, and bring yourself back to it, so\nto say. If something discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled; but\nhaving discovered the fact, humble yourself gently before God, and try to\nbring your mind into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, \"Well, I have made\na false step; now I must go more carefully and watchfully.\" Do this each\ntime, however frequently you fall. When you are at peace use it profitably,\nmaking constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the most\ntrifling things. Above all, do not be discouraged; be patient; wait; strive\nto attain a calm, gentle spirit.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nApril 18\n\n\n_What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God,\nto walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God\nwith all thy heart and with all thy soul_?--DEUT. x. 12.\n\n  What asks our Father of His children save\n    Justice and mercy and humility,\n    A reasonable service of good deeds,\n    Pure living, tenderness to human needs,\n  Reverence, and trust, and prayer for light to see\n    The Master's footprints in our daily ways?\n      No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife,\n      But the calm beauty of an ordered life\n  Whose every breathing is unworded praise.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nGive up yourself to God without reserve; in singleness of heart meeting\neverything that every day brings forth, as something that comes from God,\nand is to be received and gone through by you, in such an heavenly use\nof it, as you would suppose the holy Jesus would have done in such\noccurrences. This is an attainable degree of perfection.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nWe ought to measure our actual lot, and to fulfil it; to be with all our\nstrength that which our lot requires and allows. What is beyond it, is no\ncalling of ours. How much peace, quiet, confidence, and strength, would\npeople attain, if they would go by this plain rule.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nApril 19\n\n\n_The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him_.--EZRA viii.\n22.\n\n_Into Thy hand I commit my spirit_.--PS. xxxi. 5.\n\n  Thou layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart,\n    And sayest, \"Be still!\"\n  The silence and shadow are only a part\n    Of Thy sweet will;\n  Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art\n    I fear no ill.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nBe still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and\nthen thou wilt feel the principle of God, to turn thy mind to the Lord God,\nfrom whom life comes; whereby thou mayest receive His strength, and power\nto allay all blustering storms and tempests. That is it which works up into\npatience, into innocency, into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness,\ninto quietness, up to God with His power. Therefore be still awhile from\nthy own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be\nstayed in the principle of God in thee, that it may raise thy mind up to\nGod, and stay it upon God; and thou wilt find strength from Him, and find\nHim to be a God at hand, a present help in the time of trouble and need.\n\nGEORGE FOX.\n\n\n\nApril 20\n\n\n_I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my\ncry_.--PS. xl. 1.\n\n_Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience,\nhope,_--ROM. v. 3, 4.\n\n  Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow,\n    And Thou hast made each step an onward one;\n  And we will ever trust each unknown morrow,--\n    Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.\n\nS. JOHNSON.\n\nIt is possible, when the future is dim, when our depressed faculties can\nform no bright ideas of the perfection and happiness of a better world,--it\nis possible still to cling to the conviction of God's merciful purpose\ntowards His creatures, of His parental goodness even in suffering; still\nto feel that the path of duty, though trodden with a heavy heart, leads\nto peace; still to be true to conscience; still to do our work, to resist\ntemptation, to be useful, though with diminished energy, to give up our\nwills when we cannot rejoice under God's mysterious providence. In this\npatient, though uncheered obedience, we become prepared for light. The soul\ngathers force.\n\nWM. E. CHANNING.\n\n\n\nApril 21\n\n\n_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is\nperfect_.--MATT. v. 48.\n\n_As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied,\nwhen I awake, with Thy likeness_.--PS. xvii. 15.\n\n  The righteousness he marks in Thee\n    His will to right doth win;\n  Delighting in Thy purity,\n    He deeply drinks it in.\n\nT. H. GILL.\n\nTo love God is to love His character. For instance, God is Purity. And\nto be pure in thought and look, to turn away from unhallowed books and\nconversation, to abhor the moments in which we have not been pure, is\nto love God. God is Love; and to love men till private attachments have\nexpanded into a philanthropy which embraces all,--at last even the evil and\nenemies with compassion,--that is to love God. God is Truth. To be true,\nto hate every form of falsehood, to live a brave, true, real life,--that is\nto love God. God is Infinite; and to love the boundless, reaching on from\ngrace to grace, adding charity to faith, and rising upwards ever to see the\nIdeal still above us, and to die with it unattained, aiming insatiably to\nbe perfect even as the Father is perfect,--that is to love God.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nApril 22\n\n\n_Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet\nbelieving, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory_.--I PETER i.\n8.\n\n  If our love were but more simple,\n    We should take Him at His word;\n  And our lives would be all sunshine\n    In the sweetness of our Lord.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nWhat would it be to love absolutely a Being absolutely lovely,--to be able\nto give our whole existence, every thought, every act, every desire, to\nthat adored One,--to know that He accepts it all, and loves us in return as\nGod alone can love? This happiness grows forever. The larger our natures\nbecome, the wider our scope of thought, the stronger our will, the more\nfervent our affections, the deeper must be the rapture of such God-granted\nprayer. Every sacrifice _resolved on_ opens wide the gate; every sacrifice\n_accomplished_ is a step towards the paradise within. Soon it will be no\ntransitory glimpse, no rapture of a day, to be followed by clouds and\ncoldness. Let us but labor, and pray, and wait, and the intervals of human\nfrailty shall grow shorter and less dark, the days of our delight in God\nlonger and brighter, till at last life shall be nought but His love, our\neyes shall never grow dim, His smile never turn away.\n\nF. B. COBBE.\n\n\n\nApril 23\n\n\n_These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges:\nthere they dwelt with the king for his work_.--I CHRON. iv. 23.\n\n  A lowlier task on them is laid,\n    With love to make the labor light;\n  And there their beauty they must shed\n    On quiet homes, and lost to sight.\n  Changed are their visions high and fair,\n  Yet, calm and still, they labor there.\n\nHYMNS OF THE AGES.\n\nAnywhere and everywhere we may dwell \"with the King for His work.\" We may\nbe in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a literal\ncountry life, with little enough to be seen of the \"goings\" of the\nKing around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all\ndirections; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of\npottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who placed us \"there\" will\ncome and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or He would soon do\naway with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way\nmay not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, that is\njust exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it\nis, for the present, \"His work.\"\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nApril 24\n\n\n_Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ_.--GAL. vi.\n2.\n\n  Is thy cruse of comfort wasting?\n    Rise and share it with another,\n  And through all the years of famine,\n    It shall serve thee and thy brother.\n  Is thy burden hard and heavy?\n    Do thy steps drag heavily?\n  Help to bear thy brother's burden;\n    God will bear both it and thee.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\nHowever perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of truth,\none refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something for some\none besides yourself. When your own burden is heaviest, you can always\nlighten a little some other burden. At the times when you cannot see God,\nthere is still open to you this sacred possibility, to _show_ God; for it\nis the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine reality\ncomes home to men, whether they name it or not. Let this thought, then,\nstay with you: there may be times when you cannot find help, but there is\nno time when you cannot give help.\n\nGEORGE S. MERRIAM.\n\n\n\nApril 25\n\n\n_Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of\nhis mother: my soul is even as a weaned child_.--PS. cxxxi. 2.\n\n  Quiet, Lord, my froward heart,\n  Make me teachable and mild,\n  Upright, simple, free from art,\n  Make me as a weaned child;\n  From distrust and envy free,\n  Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee.\n\nJ. NEWTON.\n\nOh! look not after great things: small breathings, small desires after\nthe Lord, if true and pure, are sweet beginnings of life. Take heed\nof despising \"the day of small things,\" by looking after some great\nvisitation, proportionable to thy distress, according to thy eye. Nay, thou\nmust become a child; thou must lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou\nmust wait for life to be measured out by the Father, and be content with\nwhat proportion, and at what time, He shall please to measure.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\"When Israel was a child, then I loved him\" (Hosea xi. 1). Aim to be ever\nthis little child, contented with what the Father gives of pleasure or of\nplay; and when restrained from pleasure or from play, and led for a season\ninto the chamber of sorrow, rest quiet on His bosom, and be patient, and\nsmile, as one who is nestled in a sweet and secure asylum.\n\nANON.\n\n\n\nApril 26\n\n\n_If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for\nit_.--ROM. viii. 25.\n\n_One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one\nday_.--2 PETER iii. 8.\n\n  Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait\n    To work the thousandth part\n  Of Thy vast plan, for us create\n    With zeal a patient heart.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nI believe that if we could only see beforehand what it is that our heavenly\nFather means us to be,--the _soul_ beauty and perfection and glory, the\nglorious and lovely spiritual body that this soul is to dwell in through\nall eternity,--if we could have a glimpse of _this_, we should not grudge\nall the trouble and pains He is taking with us now, to bring us up to that\nideal, which is His thought of us. We know that it is God's way to work\nslowly, so we must not be surprised if He takes a great many years of\ndiscipline to turn a mortal being into an immortal, glorious angel.\n\nANNIE KEARY.\n\n\n\nApril 27\n\n\n_Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor_,--ZECH. viii. 16.\n\n_For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in\nsimplicity and godly sincerity... we have had our conversation in the\nworld_.--2 COR. i. 12.\n\n  Appear I always what I am?\n    And am I what I am pretending?\n    Know I what way my course is bending?\n  And sound my word and thought the same?\n\nANON.\n\nAm I acting in simplicity, from a germ of the Divine life within, or am\nI shaping my path to obtain some immediate result of expediency? Am I\nendeavoring to compass effects, amidst a tangled web of foreign influences\nI cannot calculate; or am I seeking simply to do what is right, and leaving\nthe consequences to the good providence of God?\n\nM. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\n\nLet it not be in any man's power to say truly of thee that thou art not\nsimple, or that thou art not good; but let him be a liar whoever shall\nthink anything of this kind about thee; and this is altogether in thy\npower. For who is he that shall hinder thee from being good and simple?\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nApril 28\n\n\n_The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand_.--PS.\ncxxi. 5.\n\n_Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend\nthem_.--PS. cxix. 165.\n\n  I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,\n    My griefs expire, my troubles cease;\n  Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,\n    Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nOne great sign of the practical recognition of the \"divine moment,\" and of\nour finding God's habitation in it, is constant calmness and peace of mind.\nEvents and things come with the moment; but God comes with them too. So\nthat if He comes in the sunshine, we find rest and joy; and if He comes\nin the storm, we know He is King of the storms, and our hearts are not\ntroubled. God Himself, though possessing a heart filled with the tenderest\nfeelings, is, nevertheless, an everlasting tranquillity; and when we enter\ninto His holy tabernacle, our souls necessarily enter into the tabernacle\nof rest.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\nMy soul was not only brought into harmony with itself and with God, but\nwith God's providences. In the exercise of faith and love, I endured\nand performed whatever came in God's providence, in submission, in\nthankfulness, and silence.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nApril 29\n\n\n_I will arise and go to my Father_.--LUKE xv. 18.\n\n  O my God, my Father! hear,\n    And help me to believe;\n  Weak and weary I draw near;\n    Thy child, O God, receive.\n  I so oft have gone astray;\n    To the perfect Guide I flee;\n  Thou wilt turn me not away,\n    Thy love is pledged to me.\n\nHYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.\n\nO child, hast thou fallen? arise, and go, with childlike trust, to thy\nFather, like the prodigal son, and humbly say, with heart and mouth,\n\"Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee, and am no more\nworthy to be called Thy son; make me as one of Thy hired servants.\" And\nwhat will thy heavenly Father do but what that father did in the parable?\nAssuredly He will not change His essence, which is love, for the sake of\nthy misdoings. Is it not His own precious treasure, and a small thing with\nHim to forgive thee thy trespasses, if thou believe in Him? for His hand is\nnot shortened that it cannot make thee fit to be saved.\n\nJOHN TAULER.\n\n\n\nApril 30\n\n\n_Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward_.--EX. xiv. 15.\n\n_No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for\nthe kingdom of God_.--LUKE ix. 62.\n\n  Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee,\n    Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord,--\n  Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee,\n    Simply believing the truth of His word.\n\nANON.\n\nThe soul ceases to weary itself with planning and foreseeing, giving itself\nup to God's Holy Spirit within, and to the teachings of His providence\nwithout. He is not forever fretting as to his progress, or looking back to\nsee how far he is getting on; rather he goes steadily and quietly on, and\nmakes all the more progress because it is unconscious. So he never gets\ntroubled and discouraged; if he falls he humbles himself, but gets up at\nonce, and goes on with renewed earnestness.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nMay 1\n\n\n_I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my\nmouth_.--PS. xxxiv. I.\n\n_I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy\nmarvellous works_.--PS. ix. I.\n\n  Thrice blest will all our blessings be,\n  When we can look through them to Thee;\n  When each glad heart its tribute pays\n  Of love and gratitude and praise.\n\nJANE COTTERILL.\n\nThat which befits us, embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is\ncheerfulness, and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations.\nShall not the heart which has received so much, trust the Power by which\nit lives? May it not quit other leadings, and listen to the Soul that has\nguided it so gently, and taught it so much, secure that the future will be\nworthy of the past?\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nI have experienced that the habit of taking out of the hand of our Lord\nevery little blessing and brightness on our path, confirms us, in an\nespecial manner, in communion with His love.\n\nM. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\n\n\n\nMay 2\n\n\n_The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of\ngreat price_.--I PETER iii. 4.\n\n_To present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in His\nsight_.--COL. i. 22.\n\n  Thy sinless mind in us reveal,\n    Thy spirit's plenitude impart!\n  Till all my spotless life shall tell\n    The abundance of a loving heart.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nHoliness appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm\nnature. It seemed to me, it brought an inexpressible purity, brightness,\npeacefulness, and ravishment to the soul; and that it made the soul like a\nfield or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant flowers, that is all\npleasant, delightful, and undisturbed; enjoying a sweet calm, and the\ngently vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christian appeared\nlike such a little white flower, as we see in the spring of the year, low\nand humble on the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams\nof the sun's glory; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture; diffusing\naround a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of\nother flowers round about, all in like manner opening their bosoms to drink\nin the light of the sun.\n\nJONATHAN EDWARDS.\n\n\n\nMay 3\n\n\n_The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them\nthat trust in Him_.--NAHUM i. 7.\n\n  Leave God to order all thy ways,\n    And hope in Him, whate'er betide;\n  Thou 'It find Him in the evil days\n    Thy all-sufficient strength and guide;\n  Who trusts in God's unchanging love,\n  Builds on the rock that nought can move.\n\nG. NEUMARK.\n\nOur whole trouble in our lot in this world rises from the disagreement\nof our mind therewith. Let the mind be brought to the lot, and the whole\ntumult is instantly hushed; let it be kept in that disposition, and the man\nshall stand at ease, in his affliction, like a rock unmoved with waters\nbeating upon it.\n\nT. BOSTON.\n\nHow does our will become sanctified? By conforming itself unreservedly to\nthat of God. We will all that He wills, and will nothing that He does not\nwill; we attach our feeble will to that all-powerful will which performs\neverything. Thus, nothing can ever come to pass against our will; for\nnothing can happen save that which God wills, and we find in His good\npleasure an inexhaustible source of peace and consolation.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nMay 4\n\n\n_Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained\npromises, stopped the mouths of lions, out of weakness were made\nstrong_.--HEB xi. 33, 34.\n\n  She met the hosts of Sorrow with a look\n  That altered not beneath the frown they wore,\n  And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took,\n  Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more.\n  Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath,\n    And calmly broke in twain\n    The fiery shafts of pain,\n  And rent the nets of passion from her path.\n  By that victorious hand despair was slain;\n  With love she vanquished hate, and overcame\n  Evil with good, in her great Master's name.\n\nW. C. BRYANT.\n\nAs to what may befall us outwardly, in this confused state of things, shall\nwe not trust our tender Father, and rest satisfied in His will? Shall\nanything hurt us? Can tribulation, distress, persecution, famine,\nnakedness, peril, or sword, come between the love of the Father to the\nchild, or the child's rest, content, and delight in His love? And doth not\nthe love, the rest, the peace, the joy felt, swallow up all the bitterness\nand sorrow of the outward condition?\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nMay 5\n\n\n_If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how\ncanst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou\ntrustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of\nJordan_?--JER. xii. 5.\n\n  How couldst thou hang upon the cross,\n  To whom a weary hour is loss?\n  Or how the thorns and scourging brook,\n  Who shrinkest from a scornful look?\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nA heart unloving among kindred has no love towards God's saints and angels.\nIf we have a cold heart towards a servant or a friend, why should we wonder\nif we have no fervor towards God? If we are cold in our private prayers, we\nshould be earthly and dull in the most devout religious order; if we cannot\nbear the vexations of a companion, how should we bear the contradiction of\nsinners? if a little pain overcomes us, how could we endure a cross? if we\nhave no tender, cheerful, affectionate love to those with whom our daily\nhours are spent, how should we feel the pulse and ardor of love to the\nunknown and the evil, the ungrateful and repulsive?\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nMay 6\n\n\n_Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love_.--ROM. xii. 10.\n\n_In her tongue is the law of kindness_.--PROV. xxxi. 26.\n\n  Since trifles make the sum of human things,\n  And half our misery from our foibles springs;\n  Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease,\n  And though but few can serve, yet all can please;\n  Oh, let the ungentle spirit learn from hence,\n  A small unkindness is a great offence.\n\nHANNAH MORE.\n\nAll usefulness and all comfort may be prevented by an unkind, a sour,\ncrabbed temper of mind,--a mind that can bear with no difference of opinion\nor temperament. A spirit of fault-finding; an unsatisfied temper; a\nconstant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or the\nmanner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied--your husband or your wife cannot\ntell why--will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render\nlife anything but a blessing.\n\nALBERT BARNES.\n\nYou have not fulfilled every duty, unless you have fulfilled that of being\npleasant.\n\nCHARLES BUXTON.\n\n\n\nMay 7\n\n\n_He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth\nthe number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names_.--PS. cxlvii.\n3, 4.\n\n  Teach me your mood, O patient stars!\n    Who climb each night the ancient sky,\n  Leaving on space no shade, no scars,\n    No trace of age, no fear to die.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nI looked up to the heavens once more, and the quietness of the stars seemed\nto reproach me. \"We are safe up here,\" they seemed to say; \"we shine,\nfearless and confident, for the God who gave the primrose its rough leaves\nto hide it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in the awful hollows\nof space. We cannot fall out of His safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and\nbehold! Who hath created these things--that bringeth out their host by\nnumber? He calleth them all by names. By the greatness of His might, for\nthat He is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and\nspeakest, O Israel! my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed\nover from my God?\"\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nMay 8\n\n\n_This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in\nit_.--PS. cxviii. 24.\n\n_Why stand ye here all the day idle_?--MATT. xx. 6.\n\n  So here hath been dawning another blue day;\n  Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away?\n  Out of eternity this new day is born;\n  Into eternity at night will return.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\nSmall cares, some deficiencies in the mere arrangement and ordering of our\nlives, daily fret our hearts, and cross the clearness of our faculties; and\nthese entanglements hang around us, and leave us no free soul able to give\nitself up, in power and gladness, to the true work of life. The\nseverest training and self-denial,--a superiority to the servitude of\nindulgence,--are the indispensable conditions even of genial spirits, of\nunclouded energies, of tempers free from morbidness,--much more of the\npractised and vigorous mind, ready at every call, and thoroughly furnished\nunto all good works.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\nTrue, we can never be at peace till we have performed the highest duty of\nall,--till we have arisen, and gone to our Father; but the performance\nof smaller duties, yes, even of the smallest, will do more to give us\ntemporary repose, will act more as healthful anodynes, than the greatest\njoys that can come to us from any other quarter.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\n\nMay 9\n\n\n_The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the\nLord_.--JOB i. 21.\n\n  What Thou hast given, Thou canst take,\n  And when Thou wilt new gifts can make.\n    All flows from Thee alone;\n  When Thou didst give it, it was Thine;\n  When Thou retook'st it, 't was not mine.\n    Thy will in all be done.\n\nJOHN AUSTIN.\n\nWe are ready to praise when all shines fair; but when life is overcast,\nwhen all things seem to be against us, when we are in fear for some\ncherished happiness, or in the depths of sorrow, or in the solitude of a\nlife which has no visible support, or in a season of sickness, and with the\nshadow of death approaching,--then to praise God; then to say, This fear,\nloneliness, affliction, pain, and trembling awe are as sure tokens of love,\nas life, health, joy, and the gifts of home: \"The Lord gave, and the Lord\nhath taken away;\" on either side it is He, and all is love alike; \"blessed\nbe the name of the Lord,\"--this is the true sacrifice of praise. What can\ncome amiss to a soul which is so in accord with God? What can make so much\nas one jarring tone in all its harmony? In all the changes of this fitful\nlife, it ever dwells in praise.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nMay 10\n\n\n_The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust\nin Him shall be desolate_.--PS. xxxiv. 22.\n\n_Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him_.--JOB xiii. 15.\n\n  I praise Thee while my days go on;\n  I love Thee while my days go on:\n  Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost,\n  With emptied arms and treasure lost,\n  I thank Thee while my days go on.\n\nE. B. BROWNING.\n\nThe sickness of the last week was fine medicine; pain disintegrated the\nspirit, or became spiritual. I rose,--I felt that I had given to God more\nperhaps than an angel could,--had promised Him in youth that to be a blot\non this fair world, at His command, would be acceptable. Constantly offer\nmyself to continue the obscurest 'and loneliest thing ever heard of, with\none proviso,--His agency. Yes, love Thee, and all Thou dost, while Thou\nsheddest frost and darkness on every path of mine.\n\nMARY MOODY EMERSON.\n\n\n\nMay 11\n\n\n_Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive\nevil_?--JOB ii. 10.\n\n_Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy\nword_.--PS. cxix. 65.\n\n  Whatsoe'er our lot may be,\n    Calmly in this thought we'll rest,--\n  Could we see as Thou dost see,\n    We should choose it as the best.\n\nWM. GASKELL.\n\nIt is a proverbial saying, that every one makes his own destiny; and this\nis usually interpreted, that every one, by his wise or unwise conduct,\nprepares good or evil for himself: but we may also understand it, that\nwhatever it be that he receives from the hand of Providence, he may so\naccommodate himself to it, that he will find his lot good for him, however\nmuch may seem to others to be wanting.\n\nWM. VON HUMBOLDT.\n\nEvil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil; there is generous\nbattle-hope in place of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has become a\nkind of good.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nMay 12\n\n\n_Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:... ye shall have\ntribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a\ncrown of life_.--REV. ii. 10.\n\n  Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid,\n  On Him who thee and all things made\n    Do thou all calmly rest;\n  Whate'er may come, where'er we go,\n  Our Father in the heavens must know\n    In all things what is best.\n\nPAUL FLEMMING.\n\nGuide me, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that in\nall things that shall happen, I may have an evenness and tranquillity\nof spirit; that my soul may be wholly resigned to Thy divinest will\nand pleasure, never murmuring at Thy gentle chastisements and fatherly\ncorrection. Amen.\n\nJEREMY TAYLOR.\n\nThou art never at any time nearer to God than when under tribulation; which\nHe permits for the purification and beautifying of thy soul.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\nPrize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles; and let faith and patience\nhave their perfect work in them.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nMay 13\n\n\n_I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou\nshouldest keep them from the evil_.--JOHN xvii. 15.\n\n  In busy mart and crowded street,\n  No less than in the still retreat,\n  Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless,\n  With all a Father's tenderness.\n\nI. WILLIAMS.\n\nOnly the individual conscience, and He who is greater than the conscience,\ncan tell where worldliness prevails. Each heart must answer for itself, and\nat its own risk. That our souls are committed to our own keeping, at our\nown peril, in a world so mixed as this, is the last reason we should\nslumber over the charge, or betray the trust. If only that outlet to the\nInfinite is kept open, the inner bond with eternal life preserved, while\nnot one movement of this world's business is interfered with, nor one\npulse-beat of its happiness repressed, with all natural associations dear\nand cherished, with all human sympathies fresh and warm, we shall yet be\nnear to the kingdom of heaven, within the order of the Kosmos of God--in\nthe world, but not of the world--not taken out of it, but kept from its\nevil.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nMay 14\n\n\n_And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love\nmercy, and to walk humbly with thy God_?--MICAH vi. 8.\n\n_Put on therefore... kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,\nlong-suffering_.--COL. iii. 12.\n\n  Plant in us an humble mind,\n  Patient, pitiful, and kind;\n  Meek and lowly let us be,\n  Full of goodness, full of Thee.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nThere is no true and constant gentleness without humility; while we are so\nfond of ourselves, we are easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded\nthat nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often\nthink of our own infirmities, and we shall become indulgent towards those\nof others.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nEndeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of\nothers, of what sort soever they be; for that thyself also hast many\nfailings which must be borne with by others. If thou canst not make thyself\nsuch an one as thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have another in all\nthings to thy liking?\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\n\n\nMay 15\n\n\n_My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest_.--EX. xxxiii.\n14.\n\n_Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at\nThy right hand there are pleasures for evermore_.--PS. xvi. 11.\n\n  Thy presence fills my mind with peace,\n    Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile,\n  Bids cares and sad forebodings cease,\n    Makes all things smile.\n\nCHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.\n\nHow shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves wholly to Him. If you give\nyourself by halves, you cannot find full rest; there will ever be a lurking\ndisquiet in that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints\nhave tasted this rest, and \"counted themselves happy in that they endured.\"\nA countless host of God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it under\nthe daily burden of a weary life,--dull, commonplace, painful, or desolate.\nAll that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once\nfairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a fitting rule of life, and\na steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest\ncoming over you.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nMay 16\n\n\n_Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His\nmight_.--EPH. vi. 10.\n\n_No man can serve two masters_.--MATT. vi. 24.\n\n  Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach\n    In many a fearful place,\n  Where the poor timid heir of God\n    Lies blindly on his face;\n  Lies languishing for grace divine\n    That he shall never see\n  Till he go forward at Thy sign,\n    And trust himself to Thee.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nReservations lie latent in the mind concerning some unhallowed sentiments\nor habits in the present, some possibly impending temptations in the\nfuture; and thus do we cheat ourselves of inward and outward joys together.\nWe give up many an indulgence for conscience' sake, but stop short at that\npoint of entire faithfulness wherein conscience could reward us. If we\nwould but give ourselves wholly to God,--give up, for the present and the\nfuture, every act, and, above all, every thought and every feeling, to be\nall purified to the uttermost, and rendered the best, noblest, holiest we\ncan conceive,--then would sacrifice bear with it a peace rendering itself,\nI truly believe, far easier than before.\n\nF. P. COBBE.\n\n\n\nMay 17\n\n\n_Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also\nye do_.--I THESS. v. 11.\n\n_Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself_.--MATT. xix. 19.\n\n    So others shall\n  Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand,\n  From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,\n  And God's grace fructify through thee to all.\n  The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,\n  And share its dewdrop with another near.\n\nE. B. BROWNING.\n\nWhat is meant by our neighbor we cannot doubt; it is every one with whom we\nare brought into contact. First of all, he is literally our neighbor who\nis next to us in our own family and household; husband to wife, wife to\nhusband, parent to child, brother to sister, master to servant, servant to\nmaster. Then it is he who is close to us in our own neighborhood, in our\nown town, in our own parish, in our own street. With these all true charity\nbegins. To love and be kind to these is the very beginning of all true\nreligion. But, besides these, as our Lord teaches, it is every one who\nis thrown across our path by the changes and chances of life; he or she,\nwhosoever it be, whom we have any means of helping,--the unfortunate\nstranger whom we may meet in travelling, the deserted friend whom no one\nelse cares to look after.\n\nA. P. STANLEY.\n\n\n\nMay 18\n\n\n_We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the\nbrethren_.--I JOHN iii. 14.\n\n_He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love_.--I JOHN iv. 8.\n\n  Mutual love the token be,\n  Lord, that we belong to Thee;\n  Love, Thine image, love impart;\n  Stamp it on our face and heart;\n  Only love to us be given;\n  Lord, we ask no other heaven.\n\nC WESLEY.\n\nOh, how many times we can most of us remember when we would gladly have\nmade any compromise with our consciences, would gladly have made the most\ncostly sacrifices to God, if He would only have excused us from this duty\nof loving, of which our nature seemed utterly incapable. It is far easier\nto feel kindly, to act kindly, toward those with whom we are seldom brought\ninto contact, whose tempers and prejudices do not rub against ours, whose\ninterests do not clash with ours, than to keep up an habitual, steady,\nself-sacrificing love towards those whose weaknesses and faults are always\nforcing themselves upon us, and are stirring up our own. A man may pass\ngood muster as a philanthropist who makes but a poor master to his\nservants, or father to his children.\n\nF. D. MAURICE.\n\n\n\nMay 19\n\n\n_Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him_.--PS. xxxvii. 7.\n\n_Trust in Him at all times_.--PS. lxii. 8.\n\n  Dost thou ask when comes His hour?\n    Then, when it shall aid thee best.\n  Trust His faithfulness and power,\n    Trust in Him, and quiet rest.\n\nANON.\n\nI had found [communion with God] to consist, not only in the silencing of\nthe outward man, but in the silencing also of every thought, and in the\nconcentration of the soul and all its powers into a simple, quiet watching\nand waiting for the food which its heavenly Father might see fit either\nto give or to withhold. In no case could it be sent empty away; for, if\ncomfort, light, or joy were withheld, the act of humble waiting at the gate\nof heavenly wisdom could not but work patience in it, and thus render it,\nby humility and obedience, more \"meet to be a partaker of the inheritance\nof the saints in light,\" and also more blessed in itself.\n\nM. A. KELTY.\n\n\"REST IN THE LORD; WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM.\" In Hebrew, \"be silent to God,\nand let Him mould thee.\" Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right\nshape.\n\nMARTIN LUTHER.\n\n\n\nMay 20\n\n\n_To be spiritually minded is life and peace_.--ROM. viii. 6.\n\n  Stilled now be every anxious care;\n  See God's great goodness everywhere;\n  Leave all to Him in perfect rest:\n  He will do all things for the best.\n\nFROM THE GERMAN.\n\nWe should all endeavor and labor for a calmer spirit, that we may the\nbetter serve God in praying to Him and praising Him; and serve one another\nin love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good; that we may make our\npassage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the\nwing. So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good ground, so much we\nlive, and are, as it were, in heaven.\n\nR. SIBBES.\n\nPossess yourself as much as you possibly can in peace; not by any effort,\nbut by letting all things fall to the ground which trouble or excite you.\nThis is no work, but is, as it were, a setting down a fluid to settle that\nhas become turbid through agitation.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nMay 21\n\n\n_The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall\ncover him all the day long_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 12.\n\n  Whate'er events betide,\n    Thy will they all perform;\n  Safe in Thy breast my head I hide,\n    Nor fear the coming storm.\n\nH. F. LYTE.\n\nI have seemed to see a need of everything God gives me, and want nothing\nthat He denies me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either\nin it, or after it, I find that I could not be without it. Whether it\nbe taken from or not given me, sooner or later God quiets me in Himself\nwithout it. I cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the\ncare and wisdom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you know, are, in a sense,\nhedged up with thorns, and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I distrust\nnot my good God in the least, and live more quietly in the absence of all\nby faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.\n\nJOSEPH ELIOT, 1664.\n\n\n\nMay 22\n\n\n_He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under\nthe shadow of the Almighty_.--PS. xci. I.\n\n  They who on the Lord rely,\n  Safely dwell though danger's nigh;\n  Lo! His sheltering wings are spread\n  O'er each faithful servant's head.\n  When they wake, or when they sleep,\n  Angel guards their vigils keep;\n  Death and danger may be near,\n  Faith and love have nought to fear.\n\nHARRIET AUBER.\n\n\"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy\ndwelling,\" is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the case of all\n\"who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.\" To them sorrows are not\n\"evils,\" sicknesses are not \"plagues;\" the shadow of the Almighty extending\nfar around those who abide under it, alters the character of all things\nwhich come within its influence.\n\nANON.\n\nIt is faith's work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the\nroughest strokes of God.\n\nS. RUTHERFORD.\n\n\n\nMAY 23\n\n\n_Be content with such things as ye have_.--HEB. xiii. 5.\n\n_I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content_.--PHIL.\niv. 11 ( R. V.).\n\n  No longer forward nor behind\n    I look in hope or fear;\n  But, grateful, take the good I find,\n    The best of now and here.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nIf we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--\n\n1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.\n\n2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou\nart not.\n\n3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.\n\n4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or\nwere, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more\nwisely than thou dost thyself.\n\n5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The\nheaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. \"The Lord will\nprovide.\"\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nMay 24\n\n\n_Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:\nnevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness\nunto them which are exercised thereby_.--HEB. xii. I1.\n\n      I cannot say,\n  Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day,\n      I joy in these;\n      But I can say\n  That I had rather walk this rugged way,\n      If Him it please.\n\nS. G. BROWNING.\n\nThe particular annoyance which befell you this morning; the vexatious words\nwhich met your ear and \"grieved\" your spirit; the disappointment which was\nHis appointment for to-day; the slight but hindering ailment; the presence\nof some one who is \"a grief of mind\" to you,--whatever this day seemeth not\njoyous, but grievous, is linked in \"the good pleasure of His goodness\" with\na corresponding afterward of \"peaceable fruit,\" the very seed from which,\nif you only do not choke it, this shall spring and ripen.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nMay 25\n\n\n_O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless\nnot as I will, but as Thou wilt_.--MATT. xxvi. 39.\n\n  O Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will,--\n    I will lie still.\n  I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm,\n    And break the charm\n  Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast,\n    In perfect rest.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nResignation to the will of God is the whole of piety; it includes in it all\nthat is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of\nmind. Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be perfect, when\nour will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as\nour end, as being itself most just, and right, and good. And where is the\nimpossibility of such an affection to what is just and right and good, such\na loyalty of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail over\nall sinister indirect desires of our own?\n\nJOSEPH BUTLER.\n\nThere are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of\nGod.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nLord, Thy will be done in father, mother, child, in everything and\neverywhere; without a reserve, without a BUT, an IF, or a limit.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nMay 26\n\n\n_The Lord beareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against Him_.--EX. xvi.\n8.\n\n  Without murmur, uncomplaining\n    In His hand,\n  Leave whatever things thou canst not\n    Understand.\n\nK. R. HAGENBACH.\n\nOne great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting--never to\ncomplain. Each complaint drags us down a degree, in our upward course.\nIf you would discern in whom God's spirit dwells, watch that person, and\nnotice whether you ever hear him murmur.\n\nGOLD DUST.\n\nWhen we wish things to be otherwise than they are, we lose sight of the\ngreat practical parts of the life of godliness. We wish, and wish--when, if\nwe have done all that lies on us, we should fall quietly into the hands of\nGod. Such wishing cuts the very sinews of our privileges and consolations.\nYou are leaving me for a time; and you say that you wish you could leave me\nbetter, or leave me with some assistance: but, if it is right for you to\ngo, it is right for me to meet what lies on me, without a wish that I had\nless to meet, or were better able to meet it.\n\nR. CECIL.\n\n\n\nMay 27\n\n\n_He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in\nmuch_.--LUKE xvi, 10.\n\n_The Lord preserveth the faithful_.--PS. xxxi. 23\n\n  The trivial round, the common task,\n  Would furnish all we ought to ask;\n  Room to deny ourselves; a road\n  To bring us, daily, nearer God.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nExactness in little duties is a wonderful source of cheerfulness.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nThe unremitting retention of simple and high sentiments in obscure duties\nis hardening the character to that temper which will work with honor, if\nneed be, in the tumult or on the scaffold.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nWe are too fond of our own will. We want to be doing what we fancy mighty\nthings; but the great point is, to do small things, when called to them, in\na right spirit.\n\nR. CECIL.\n\nIt is not on great occasions only that we are required to be faithful to\nthe will of God; occasions constantly occur, and we should be surprised to\nperceive how much our spiritual advancement depends on small obediences.\n\nMADAME SWETCHINE.\n\n\n\nMay 28\n\n\n_Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all\npatience and long-suffering with joyfulness_.--COL. I. 11.\n\n      God doth not need\n  Either man's works or His own gifts; who best\n  Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state\n  Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed,\n  And post o'er land and ocean without rest;\n  They also serve who only stand and wait.\n\nJ. MILTON.\n\nWe cannot always be doing a great work, but we can always be doing\nsomething that belongs to our condition. To be silent, to suffer, to\npray when we cannot act, is acceptable to God. A disappointment, a\ncontradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and endured as\nin His presence, is worth more than a long prayer; and we do not lose time\nif we bear its loss with gentleness and patience, provided the loss was\ninevitable, and was not caused by our own fault.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nMay 29\n\n\n_Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience\ninherit the promises_.--HEB. vi. 12.\n\n  Where now with pain thou treadest, trod\n  The whitest of the saints of God!\n  To show thee where their feet were set,\n  The light which led them shineth yet.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nLET us learn from this communion of saints to live in hope. Those who are\nnow at rest were once like ourselves. They were once weak, faulty, sinful;\nthey had their burdens and hindrances, their slumbering and weariness,\ntheir failures and their falls. But now they have overcome. Their life was\nonce homely and common-place. Their day ran out as ours. Morning and noon\nand night came and went to them as to us. Their life, too, was as lonely\nand sad as yours. Little fretful circumstances and frequent disturbing\nchanges wasted away their hours as yours. There is nothing in your life\nthat was not in theirs; there was nothing in theirs but may be also in your\nown. They have overcome, each one, and one by one; each in his turn, when\nthe day came, and God called him to the trial. And so shall you likewise.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nMay 30\n\n\n_And thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble\ncourage, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all\nhis nation_.--2 MAC. vi. 31.\n\n_Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the\ndeath in the high places of the field_.--JUDGES v. 18.\n\n  Though Love repine, and Reason chafe,\n    There came a voice without reply,--\n  'Tis man's perdition to be safe,\n    When for the truth he ought to die.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nSome say that the age of chivalry is past. The age of chivalry is never\npast, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth, or a man or\nwoman left to say, \"I will redress that wrong, or spend my life in the\nattempt.\" The age of chivalry is never past, so long as we have faith\nenough to say, \"God will help me to redress that wrong; or, if not me, He\nwill help those that come after me, for His eternal Will is to overcome\nevil with good.\"\n\nC. KINGSLEY.\n\nThus man is made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A\npoor, tender, painful body, he can run into flame or bullets or pestilence,\nwith duty for his guide.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nMay 31\n\n\n_Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: ... let them also that\nlove Thy name be joyful in Thee_.--PS. v. 11.\n\n_He maketh me to lie down in green pastures_.--PS. xxiii. 2.\n\n  I can hear these violets chorus\n    To the sky's benediction above;\n  And we all are together lying\n    On the bosom of Infinite Love.\n\n  Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature!\n    Oh, the light that is not of day!\n  Why seek it afar forever,\n    When it cannot be lifted away?\n\nW. C. GANNETT.\n\nWhat inexpressible joy for me, to look up through the apple-blossoms and\nthe fluttering leaves, and to see God's love there; to listen to the thrush\nthat has built his nest among them, and to feel God's love, who cares for\nthe birds, in every note that swells his little throat; to look beyond\nto the bright blue depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of\nblessing,--the roof of the house of my Father; that if clouds pass over\nit, it is the unchangeable light they veil; that, even when the day itself\npasses, I shall see that the night itself only unveils new worlds of light;\nand to know that if I could unwrap fold after fold of God's universe, I\nshould only unfold more and more blessing, and see deeper and deeper into\nthe love which is at the heart of all.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\n\n\nJune 1\n\n\n_One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may\ndwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the\nbeauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple_.--PS. xxvii. 4.\n\n  Thy beauty, O my Father! All is Thine;\n    But there is beauty in Thyself, from whence\n  The beauty Thou hast made doth ever flow\n    In streams of never-failing affluence.\n\n  Thou art the Temple! and though I am lame,--\n    Lame from my birth, and shall be till I die,--\n  I enter through the Gate called Beautiful,\n    And am alone with Thee, O Thou Most High!\n\nJ. W. CHADWICK.\n\nConsider that all which appears beautiful outwardly, is solely derived from\nthe invisible Spirit which is the source of that external beauty, and\nsay joyfully, \"Behold, these are streamlets from the uncreated Fountain;\nbehold, these are drops from the infinite Ocean of all good! Oh! how does\nmy inmost heart rejoice at the thought of that eternal, infinite Beauty,\nwhich is the source and origin of all created beauty!\"\n\nL. SCUPOLI.\n\n\n\nJune 2\n\n\n_We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are\nchanged into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of\nthe Lord_.--2 COR. iii. 18.\n\n  Then every tempting form of sin,\n    Shamed in Thy presence, disappears,\n  And all the glowing, raptured soul\n    The likeness it contemplates wears.\n\nP. DODDRIDGE.\n\nThen does a good man become the tabernacle of God, wherein the divine\nShechinah does rest, and which the divine glory fills, when the frame of\nhis mind and life is wholly according to that idea and pattern which he\nreceives from the mount. We best glorify Him when we grow most like to\nHim: and we then act most for His glory, when a true spirit of sanctity,\njustice, and meekness, runs through all our actions; when we so live in the\nworld as becomes those that converse with the great Mind and Wisdom of the\nwhole world, with that Almighty Spirit that made, supports, and governs all\nthings, with that Being from whence all good flows, and in which there is\nno spot, stain, or shadow of evil; and so being captivated and overcome by\nthe sense of the Divine loveliness and goodness, endeavor to be like Him,\nand conform ourselves, as much as may be, to Him.\n\nDR. JOHN SMITH.\n\n\n\nJune 3\n\n\n_The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him_.--PS.\nlxiv. 10.\n\n_Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he_.--PROV. xvi. 20.\n\n  The heart that trusts forever sings,\n  And feels as light as it had wings,\n  A well of peace within it springs,--\n    Come good or ill,\n  Whatever to-day, to-morrow brings,\n    It is His will.\n\nI. WILLIAMS.\n\nHe will weave no longer a spotted life of shreds and patches, but he will\nlive with a divine unity. He will cease from what is base and frivolous\nin his life, and be content with all places, and with any service he can\nrender. He will calmly front the morrow, in the negligency of that trust\nwhich carries God with it, and so hath already the whole future in the\nbottom of the heart.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nHe who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully\nand with a great heart. \"For He giveth His beloved, as in sleep.\" They must\nwork and watch, yet never be careful or anxious, but commit all to Him, and\nlive in serene tranquillity; with a quiet heart, as one who sleeps safely\nand quietly.\n\nMARTIN LUTHER.\n\n\n\nJune 4\n\n\n_Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always\nabounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is\nnot in vain in the Lord_.--I COR. xv. 58.\n\n  Say not, 'Twas all in vain,\n    The anguish and the darkness and the strife;\n  Love thrown upon the waters comes again\n    In quenchless yearnings for a nobler life.\n\nANNA SHIPTON.\n\nDid you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and\nsingly toward an object and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly\naspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity,\ntruth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them,--that it\nwas a vain endeavor?\n\nH. D. THOREAU.\n\nDo right, and God's recompense to you will be the power of doing more\nright. Give, and God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving more:\na blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God himself, whose Life is the\nblessedness of giving. Love, and God will pay you with the capacity of more\nlove; for love is Heaven--love is God within you.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nJune 5\n\n\n_Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth_.--I SAM. iii. 9.\n\n  Though heralded with nought of fear,\n    Or outward sign or show:\n  Though only to the inward ear\n    It whispers soft and low;\n  Though dropping, as the manna fell,\n    Unseen, yet from above,\n  Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well,--\n    Thy Father's call of love.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nThis is one result of the attitude into which we are put by humility, by\ndisinterestedness, by purity, by calmness, that we have the opportunity,\nthe disengagement, the silence, in which we may watch what is the will of\nGod concerning us. If we think no more of ourselves than we ought to think,\nif we seek not our own but others' welfare, if we are prepared to take all\nthings as God's dealings with us, then we may have a chance of catching\nfrom time to time what God has to tell us. In the Mussulman devotions, one\nconstant gesture is to put the hands to the ears, as if to listen for the\nmessages from the other world. This is the attitude, the posture which our\nminds assume, if we have a standing-place above and beyond the stir and\nconfusion and dissipation of this mortal world.\n\nA. P. STANLEY.\n\n\n\nJune 6\n\n\n_Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God_.--REV.\niii. 12.\n\n_In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the\nSpirit_.--EPH. ii. 22.\n\n  None the place ordained refuseth,\n    They are one, and they are all,\n  Living stones, the Builder chooseth\n    For the courses of His wall.\n\nJEAN INGELOW.\n\nSlowly, through all the universe, that temple of God is being built.\nWherever, in any world, a soul, by free-willed obedience, catches the fire\nof God's likeness, it is set into the growing walls, a living stone.\nWhen, in your hard fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or in your terrible\ntemptation, you catch the purpose of your being, and give yourself to God,\nand so give Him the chance to give Himself to you, your life, a living\nstone, is taken up and set into that growing wall. Wherever souls are being\ntried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways;--there God is\nhewing out the pillars for His temple. Oh, if the stone can only have some\nvision of the temple of which it is to be a part forever, what patience\nmust fill it as it feels the blows of the hammer, and knows that success\nfor it is simply to let itself be wrought into what shape the Master wills.\n\nPHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\n\nJune 7\n\n\n_Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day_.--I THESS.\nv. 5.\n\n_Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in\nheart_.--PS. xcvii. 11.\n\n  Serene will be our days and bright,\n    And happy will our nature be,\n  When love is an unerring light,\n    And joy its own security.\n\nW. WORDSWORTH.\n\nNothing can produce so great a serenity of life, as a mind free from guilt,\nand kept untainted, not only from actions, but purposes that are wicked.\nBy this means the soul will be not only unpolluted, but not disturbed; the\nfountain will run clear and unsullied, and the streams that flow from it\nwill be just and honest deeds, ecstasies of satisfaction, a brisk energy of\nspirit, which makes a man an enthusiast in his joy, and a tenacious memory,\nsweeter than hope. For as shrubs which are cut down with the morning dew\nupon them do for a long time after retain their fragrancy, so the good\nactions of a wise man perfume his mind, and leave a rich scent behind them.\nSo that joy is, as it were, watered with these essences, and owes its\nflourishing to them.\n\nPLUTARCH.\n\n\n\nJune 8\n\n\n_Who hath despised the day of small things_? ZECH. iv. 10.\n\n    Little things\n    On little wings\n  Bear little souls to heaven.\n\nANON.\n\nAn occasional effort even of an ordinary holiness may accomplish great acts\nof sacrifice, or bear severe pressure of unwonted trial, specially if it be\nthe subject of observation. But constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and\nthe spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the hidden habit of the life,\ngive to it its true saintly beauty, and this is the result of care and\nlowly love in little things. Perfection is attained most readily by\nthis constancy of religious faithfulness in all minor details of life,\nconsecrating the daily efforts of self-forgetting love.\n\nT. T. CARTER.\n\nLove's secret is to be always doing things for God, and not to mind because\nthey are such very little ones.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nThere may be living and habitual conversation in heaven, under the aspect\nof the most simple, ordinary life. Let us always remember that holiness\ndoes not consist in doing uncommon things, but in doing everything with\npurity of heart.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nJune 9\n\n\n_He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his\nspirit than he that taketh a city_.--PROV. xvi. 32.\n\n  Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul,\n    Of wrath and pride and care;\n  Send Thine own holy calm upon the soul,\n    And bid it settle there!\n\nANON.\n\nLet this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger,--that to be\nmoved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they\nare more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly. For in the\nsame degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in\nthe same degree also is it nearer to strength.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\nIt is no great matter to associate with the good and gentle, for this is\nnaturally pleasing to all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and\nloveth those best that agree with him. But to be able to live peaceably\nwith hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go\ncontrary to us, is a great grace, and a most commendable and manly thing.\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\n\n\nJune 10\n\n\n_Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His\nservant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the\nname of the Lord, and stay upon his God_.--ISA. I. 10.\n\n_The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness_.--PS. xviii. 28.\n\n  When we in darkness walk,\n    Nor feel the heavenly flame,\n  Then is the time to trust our God,\n    And rest upon His name.\n\nA. M. TOPLADY.\n\nHe has an especial tenderness of love towards thee for that thou art in the\ndark and hast no light, and His heart is glad when thou dost arise and say,\n\"I will go to my Father.\" For He sees thee through all the gloom through\nwhich thou canst not see Him. Say to Him, \"My God, I am very dull and low\nand hard; but Thou art wise and high and tender, and Thou art my God. I am\nThy child. Forsake me not.\" Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in\nquietness until light goes up in the darkness. Fold the arms of thy Faith,\nI say, but not of thy Action: bethink thee of something that thou oughtest\nto do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the\npreparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend; heed not thy feelings: do thy\nwork.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nJune 11\n\n\n_In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with\nstrength in my soul_.--PS. cxxxviii. 3.\n\n  It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou\n  Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see\n  Less sin; but more of pardoning love with Thee,\n    And all-sufficient grace. Enough! And now\n  All fluttering thought is stilled; I only rest,\n  And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nYea, though thou canst not believe, yet be not dismayed thereat; only do\nthou sink into, or at least pant after the hidden measure of life, which is\nnot in that which distresseth, disturbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts,\nfears, troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and the like; no, no! but in\nthat which inclines to the patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the\nwaiting, to the silence before the Father.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\nWe have only to be patient, to pray, and to do His will, according to our\npresent light and strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. The\nplant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine. So\ndoes the heavenly principle within.\n\nW. E. CHANNING.\n\n\n\nJune 12\n\n\n_Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle which\nman that is born upon the earth shall fight; that, if he be overcome, he\nshall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive\nthe thing that I say_.--2 ESDRAS vii. 57, 58.\n\n  One holy Church, one army strong,\n    One steadfast high intent,\n  One working band, one harvest-song,\n    One King omnipotent.\n\nS. JOHNSON.\n\nWe listened to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and\nstrength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in\nour little world. It was not the cold clear voice of one giving advice and\nwarning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below,\nbut the warm living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides,\nand calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another. And so,\nwearily and little by little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was\nbrought home to the young boy, for the first time, the meaning of his life;\nthat it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered\nby chance, but a battle-field ordained from of old, where there are no\nspectators, but the youngest must take his side, and the stakes are life\nand death.\n\nTHOMAS HUGHES.\n\n\n\nJune 13\n\n\n_If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with\nanother_.--I JOHN i. 7.\n\n_God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye\nhave showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and\ndo minister_.--HEB. vi. 10.\n\n  Wherever in the world I am,\n    In whatsoe'er estate,\n  I have a fellowship with hearts,\n    To keep and cultivate,\n  And a work of lowly love to do\n    For the Lord on whom I wait.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nWe do not always perceive that even the writing of a note of\ncongratulation, the fabrication of something intended as an offering\nof affection, our necessary intercourse with characters which have no\ncongeniality with our own, or hours apparently trifled away in the domestic\ncircle, may be made by us the performance of a most sacred and blessed\nwork; even the carrying out, after our feeble measure, of the design of God\nfor-the increase of happiness.\n\nSARAH W. STEPHEN.\n\nDefinite work is not always that which is cut and squared for us, but that\nwhich comes as a claim upon the conscience, whether it's nursing in a\nhospital, or hemming a handkerchief.\n\nELIZABETH M. SEWELL.\n\n\n\nJune 14\n\n\n_The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from\nthe hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve_.--ISA. xiv. 3.\n\n  To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye,\n  I crave alone for peace and rest;\n  Submissive in Thy hand to lie,\n    And feel that it is best.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nO Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land, who\nbeholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of\nhope deferred, weary of self; in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable\ntenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen.\n\nCHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI.\n\nGrant to me above all things that can be desired, to rest in Thee, and in\nThee to have my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of the heart, Thou\nits only rest; out of Thee all things are hard and restless. In this very\npeace, that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and\nrest. Amen.\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\nThou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it\nrests in Thee.\n\nST. AUGUSTINE.\n\n\n\nJune 15\n\n\n_God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore\nwill not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be\ncarried into the midst of the sea_.--PS. xlvi. 1,2.\n\n  Though waves and storms go o'er my head,\n    Though strength and health and friends be gone,\n  Though joys be withered all, and dead,\n    Though every comfort be withdrawn,\n  On this my steadfast soul relies,--\n    Father! Thy mercy never dies.\n\nJOHANN A. ROTHE.\n\nYour external circumstances may change, toil may take the place of rest,\nsickness of health, trials may thicken within and without. Externally, you\nare the prey of such circumstances; but if your heart is stayed on God, no\nchanges or chances can touch it, and all that may befall you will but draw\nyou closer to Him. Whatever the present moment may bring, your knowledge\nthat it is His will, and that your future heavenly life will be influenced\nby it, will make all not only tolerable, but welcome to you, while no\nvicissitudes can affect you greatly, knowing that He who holds you in His\npowerful hand cannot change, but abideth forever.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nJune 16\n\n\n_Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask\nor think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory\nin the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.\nAmen_.--EPH. iii. 20, 21.\n\n  We would not meagre gifts down-call\n  When Thou dost yearn to yield us all;\n  But for this life, this little hour,\n  Ask all Thy love and care and power.\n\nJ. INGELOW.\n\nGod so loveth us that He would make all things channels to us and\nmessengers of His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and He will give\nthee His love. Still thyself, thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and\nHe will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and He will give thee Himself.\nTruly, a secret hidden thing is the love of God, known only to them who\nseek it, and to them also secret, for what man can have of it here is how\nslight a foretaste of that endless ocean of His love!\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJune 17\n\n\n_Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow_.--MATT. vi. 28.\n\n    They do not toil:\n  Content with their allotted task\n  They do but grow; they do not ask\n  A richer lot, a higher sphere,\n  But in their loveliness appear,\n  And grow, and smile, and do their best,\n  And unto God they leave the rest.\n\nMARIANNE FARNINGHAM.\n\nInterpose no barrier to His mighty life-giving power, working in you all\nthe good pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly to His sweet\ncontrol. Put your growing into His hands as completely as you have put all\nyour other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He will. Do not concern\nyourself about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always.\nAccept each moment's dispensation as it comes to you from His dear hands,\nas being the needed sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say a\ncontinual \"yes\" to your Father's will.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\nThine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry and labor, disturb thy peace,\nand prevent Me from working in thee. Look at the little flowers, in the\nserene summer days; they quietly open their petals, and the sun shines into\nthem with his gentle influences. So will I do for thee, if thou wilt yield\nthyself to Me.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN,\n\n\n\nJune 18\n\n\n_Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and\nto-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of\nlittle faith_?--MATT. vi. 30.\n\n_I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever_--PS. lii. 8.\n\n  Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past,\n  We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last;\n  Calmly we look before us,--we fear no future ill,\n  Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us still.\n\nJANE BORTHWICK.\n\nNeither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and\nforecasting to the future; but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but\nHis.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\nI saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horses'\npath and the wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had sealed its\nfate, or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had\na thousand acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger\nit incurred. It did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by\napprehending it.\n\nHENRY D. THOREAU.\n\n\n\nJune 19\n\n\n_The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy\nsoul_.--PS. cxxi. 7.\n\n  Under Thy wings, my God, I rest,\n    Under Thy shadow safely lie;\n  By Thy own strength in peace possessed,\n    While dreaded evils pass me by.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nA heart rejoicing in God delights in all His will, and is surely provided\nwith the most firm joy in all estates; for if nothing can come to pass\nbeside or against His will, then cannot that soul be vexed which delights\nin Him and hath no will but His, but follows Him in all times, in all\nestates; not only when He shines bright on them, but when they are clouded.\nThat flower which follows the sun doth so even in dark and cloudy days:\nwhen it doth not shine forth, yet it follows the hidden course and motion\nof it. So the soul that moves after God keeps that course when He hides His\nface; is content, yea, even glad at His will in all estates or conditions\nor events.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\nLet God do with me what He will, anything He will; whatever it be, it will\nbe either heaven itself or some beginning of it.\n\nWM. MOUNTFORD.\n\n\n\nJune 20\n\n\n_Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in\nThee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these\ncalamities be overpast_.--PS. lvii. I.\n\n  My God! in whom are all the springs\n    Of boundless love and grace unknown,\n  Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings,\n    Till the dark cloud is overblown.\n\nI. WATTS.\n\nIn time of trouble go not out of yourself to seek for aid; for the whole\nbenefit of trial consists in silence, patience, rest, and resignation. In\nthis condition divine strength is found for the hard warfare, because God\nHimself fights for the soul.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\nIn vain will you let your mind run out after help in times of trouble;\nit is like putting to sea in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your\nprinciples; and, if you find none that furnish you with somewhat of a stay\nand prop, and which point you to quietness and silent submission, depend\nupon it you have never yet learned Truth from the Spirit of Truth, whatever\nnotions thereof you may have picked up from this and the other description\nof it.\n\nM. A. KELTY.\n\n\n\nJune 21\n\n\n_Thou calledst in trouble, and. I delivered thee_.--PS. lxxxi. 7.\n\n_Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed_.--I CHRON.\nxxii. 13.\n\n  Thou canst calm the troubled mind,\n    Thou its dread canst still;\n  Teach me to be all resigned\n    To my Father's will.\n\nHEINRICH PUCHTA.\n\nThough this patient, meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all\noutward things and occurrences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own\ninward state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our\nown souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, humble resignation to\nGod, when your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack\nyourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than\nwhen you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride,\nor wrath, or disorderly passions of other people.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nJune 22\n\n\n_There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God\nis faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;\nbut will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able\nto bear it_.--I COR. x. 13, 14.\n\n  Not so, not so, no load of woe\n    Need bring despairing frown;\n  For while we bear it, we can bear,\n    Past that, we lay it down.\n\nSARAH WILLIAMS.\n\nEverything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed\nby nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If\nthen, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear\nit, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it.\nBut, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not\ncomplain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however,\nthat thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it\ndepends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking\nthat it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nJune 23\n\n\n_Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within\nme? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my\ncountenance, and my God_.--PS. xlii. 11.\n\n  Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed,\n  Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast?\n  Turn thou to Him in every pain,\n  Whom never suppliant sought in vain;\n  Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day,\n  Thy hope, when joy has passed away.\n\nH. F. LYTE.\n\nBeware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as\nyou are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed\non the Lord, and say, \"Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide,\nmy pilot;\" and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed\nthe toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so\nlong as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast,\nand our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the\ntempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be\ndisconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes\nproduced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest\nchild, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the\nloving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nJune 24\n\n\n_Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight_.--MATT. xi. 26.\n\n  Let nothing make thee sad or fretful,\n    Or too regretful;\n      Be still;\n  What God hath ordered must be right,\n  Then find in it thine own delight,\n      My will.\n\nP. FLEMMING.\n\nIf we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate our lot less by what it\nis, than by what it is not; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind\nto its possibilities; and, comparing it only with imaginary lives, shall\nindulge in flattering dreams of what we should do, if we had but power; and\ngive, if we had but wealth; and be, if we had no temptations. We shall be\nforever querulously pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses for\nour unloving temper and unfruitful life; and fancying ourselves injured\nbeings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence that loves us, and\nchafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves\nunto God, and sincerely accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall count\nup its contents, and disregard its omissions; and be it as feeble as a\ncripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall find in it resources of good\nsurpassing our best economy, and sacred claims that may keep awake our\nhighest will.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nJune 25\n\n\n_My times are in Thy hand_.--PS. xxxi. 15.\n\n_Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed_.--JER. li. 29.\n\n  I am so glad! It is such rest to know\n  That Thou hast ordered and appointed all,\n  And wilt yet order and appoint my lot.\n  For though so much I cannot understand,\n  And would not choose, has been, and yet may be,\n  Thou choosest, Thou performest, THOU, my Lord.\n  This is enough for me.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\"We mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose our own lot; we must wait to be\nguided. We are led on, like the little children, by a way that we know not.\nIt is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the\nsake of finding a greater blessing to our own souls; as if we could choose\nfor ourselves where we shall find the fulness of the Divine Presence,\ninstead of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in loving obedience.\"\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nEverywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy\npresent condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nJune 26\n\n\n_And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that\nyour Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if\nye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your\ntrespasses_.--MARK xi. 25, 26.\n\n  'Tis not enough to weep my sins,\n    'Tis but one step to heaven:--\n   When I am kind to others,--then\n     I know myself forgiven.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nEvery relation to mankind, of hate or scorn or neglect, is full of\nvexation and torment. There is nothing to do with men but to love them;\nto contemplate their virtues with admiration, their faults with pity and\nforbearance, and their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the ingenuity of\nyour mind to devise some other thing, but you never can find it. To hate\nyour adversary will not help you; to kill him will not help you; nothing\nwithin the compass of the universe can help you, but to love him. But let\nthat love flow out upon all around you, and what could harm you? How many a\nknot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in\nsimple and confiding truth of heart! How many a solitary place would be\nmade glad if love were there; and how many a dark dwelling would be filled\nwith light!\n\nORVILLE DEWEY.\n\n\n\nJune 27\n\n\n_The kingdom of God is within you_.--LUKE xvii. 21.\n\n  Oh, take this heart that I would give\n    Forever to be all Thine own;\n  I to myself no more would live,--\n    Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nHerein is the work assigned to the individual soul, to have life in itself,\nto make our sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of God\nwithin ourselves, for a true and full reign of our Father's abounding\nspirit,--thankful, unutterably thankful, if with the place and the\ncompanionship assigned to us we are permitted to build an earthly\ntabernacle of grace and goodness and holy love, a home like a temple; but,\nshould this be denied us, resolved for our own souls that God shall reign\nthere, for ourselves at least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or\nimpious distrust, break with our own wills, our filial connection with our\nFather,--that whether joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity\nand foulness of circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, whether in dear\nfellowship or alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God may have in us\na realm where His will is law, and where obedience and submission spring,\nnot from calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from communion of\nspirit, ever humble aspiration, and ever loving trust.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nJune 28\n\n\n_The Lord preserveth the simple_.--PS. cxvi. 6.\n\n  Thy home is with the humble, Lord!\n    The simple are Thy rest;\n  Thy lodging is in childlike hearts;\n    Thou makest there Thy nest.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nThis deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet\ncares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom; this is true\nsimplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence\nproduces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. The soul\nwhich knows no self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly candid; it\ngoes straight forward without hindrance; its path opens daily more and\nmore to \"perfect day,\" in proportion as its self-renunciation and its\nself-forgetfulness increase; and its peace, amid whatever troubles beset\nit, will be as boundless as the depths of the sea.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nJune 29\n\n\n_Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth\nit off_.--I KINGS xx. 11.\n\n_Put on the whole armor of God_.--EPH. vi. 11.\n\n  Was I not girded for the battle-field?\n  Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword?\n  Behold the fragments of my broken shield,\n  And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord!\n\nANON.\n\nOh, be at least able to say in that day,--Lord, I am no hero. I have been\ncareless, cowardly, sometimes all but mutinous. Punishment I have deserved,\nI deny it not. But a traitor I have never been; a deserter I have never\nbeen. I have tried to fight on Thy side in Thy battle against evil. I have\ntried to do the duty which lay nearest me; and to leave whatever Thou didst\ncommit to my charge a little better than I found it. I have not been good,\nbut I have at least tried to be good. Take the will for the deed, good\nLord. Strike not my unworthy name off the roll-call of the noble and\nvictorious army, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and\nlet me, too, be found written in the Book of Life; even though I stand the\nlowest and last upon its list. Amen.\n\nC. KINGSLEY.\n\n\n\nJune 30\n\n\n_And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of\nrighteousness, quietness and assurance forever_.--ISA. xxxii. 17.\n\n  The heart that ministers for Thee\n    In Thy own work will rest;\n  And the subject spirit of a child\n    Can serve Thy children best.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nIt matters not where or what we are, so we be His servants. They are\nhappy who have a wide field and great strength to fulfil His missions of\ncompassion; and they, too, are blessed who, in sheltered homes and narrow\nways of duty, wait upon Him in lowly services of love. Wise or simple,\ngifted or slender in knowledge, in the world's gaze or in hidden paths,\nhigh or low, encompassed by affections and joys of home, or lonely and\ncontent in God alone, what matters, so that they bear the seal of the\nliving God? Blessed company, unknown to each other, unknowing even\nthemselves!\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nJuly 1\n\n\n_In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord_.--EX. xvi. 7.\n\n_Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope_.--ROM. xii. 11, 12.\n\n  Every day is a fresh beginning,\n    Every morn is the world made new.\n  You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,\n  Here is a beautiful hope for you;\n    A hope for me and a hope for you.\n\nSUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nBe patient with every one, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be\ndisturbed because of your imperfections, and always rise up bravely from\na fall. I am glad that you make a daily new beginning; there is no better\nmeans of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning\nafresh, and never to think that we have done enough.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\nBecause perseverance is so difficult, even when supported by the grace of\nGod, thence is the value of new beginnings. For new beginnings are the life\nof perseverance.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJuly 2\n\n\n_Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence\ntoward God, and toward men_.--ACTS xxiv. 16.\n\n_I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will\nguide thee with mine eye_.--PS. xxxii. 8.\n\n  Oh, keep thy conscience sensitive;\n    No inward token miss;\n  And go where grace entices thee;--\n  Perfection lies in this.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nWe need only obey. There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening\nwe shall hear the right word.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nThe heights of Christian perfection can only be reached by faithfully each\nmoment following the Guide who is to lead you there, and He reveals your\nway to you one step at a time, in the little things of your daily lives,\nasking only on your part that you yield yourselves up to His guidance. If\nthen, in anything you feel doubtful or troubled, be sure that it is the\nvoice of your Lord, and surrender it at once to His bidding, rejoicing with\na great joy that He has begun thus to lead and guide you.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nJuly 3\n\n\n_He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities_.--PS. cxxx. 8.\n\n  Be it according to Thy word;\n    Redeem me from all sin;\n  My heart would now receive Thee, Lord,\n    Come in, my Lord, come in!\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nWhen you wake, or as soon as you are dressed, offer up your whole self to\nGod, soul and body, thoughts and purposes and desires, to be for that day\nwhat He wills. Think of the occasions of the sin likely to befall you,\nand go, as a child, to your Father which is in heaven, and tell Him\nin childlike, simple words, your trials--in some such simple words as\nthese--\"Thou knowest, good Lord, that I am tempted to--[_then name the\ntemptations to it, and the ways in which you sin, as well as you know\nthem_]. But, good Lord, for love of Thee, I would this day keep wholly from\nall [_naming the sin_] and be very [naming the opposite grace]. I will not,\nby Thy grace, do one [N.] act, or speak one [N.] word, or give one [N.]\nlook, or harbor one [N.] thought in my soul. If Thou allow any of these\ntemptations to come upon me this day, I desire to think, speak, and do only\nwhat Thou willest. Lord, without Thee I can do nothing; with Thee I can do\nall.\"\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJuly 4\n\n\n_Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord,\nand was confounded? or did any abide in His fear, and was forsaken? or whom\ndid He ever despise, that called upon Him_?--ECCLESIASTICUS ii. 10.\n\n_Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies, and Thy loving-kindnesses; for they\nhave been ever of old_.--PS. xxv. 6.\n\n    My Father! see\n  I trust the faithfulness displayed of old,\n  I trust the love that never can grow cold--\n    I trust in Thee.\n\nCHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.\n\nBe not so much discouraged in the sight of what is yet to be done, as\ncomforted in His good-will towards thee. 'Tis true, He hath chastened\nthee with rods and sore afflictions; but did He ever take away His\nloving-kindness from thee? or did His faithfulness ever fail in the sorest,\nblackest, thickest, darkest night that ever befell thee?\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\nWE call Him the \"_God of our fathers_;\" and we feel that there is some\nstability at centre, while we can tell our cares to One listening at our\nright hand, by whom theirs are remembered and removed.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nJuly 5\n\n\n_He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the east wind_.--ISA. xxvii. 8.\n\n_A bruised reed shall He not break_.--ISA. xlii. 3.\n\n  All my life I still have found,\n    And I will forget it never;\n  Every sorrow hath its bound,\n    And no cross endures forever.\n  All things else have but their day,\n  God's love only lasts for aye.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nWe never have more than we can bear. The present hour we are always able to\nendure. As our day, so is our strength. If the trials of many years were\ngathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity to our\nlittle strength, He sends first one, then another, then removes both,\nand lays on a third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely\nmeasured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not\nenough look at our trials in this continuous and successive view. Each one\nis sent to teach us something, and altogether they have a lesson which is\nbeyond the power of any to teach alone.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nJuly 6\n\n\n_I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand,\nand will keep thee_.--ISA. xlii. 6.\n\n_O keep my soul, and deliver me: for I put my trust in Thee_.--PS. xxv. 20.\n\n  I do not ask my cross to understand,\n    My way to see;\n  Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand,\n    And follow Thee.\n\nADELAIDE A. PROCTER.\n\nO Lord, if only my will may remain right and firm towards Thee, do with\nme whatsoever it shall please Thee. For it cannot be anything but good,\nwhatsoever Thou shalt do with me. If it be Thy will I should be in\ndarkness, be Thou blessed; and, if it be Thy will I should be in light, be\nThou again blessed. If Thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be Thou blessed; and,\nif Thou wilt have me afflicted, be Thou equally blessed. O Lord! for\nThy sake I will cheerfully suffer whatever shall come on me with Thy\npermission.\n\nTHOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS.\n\nMy soul could not incline itself on the one side or the other, since\nanother will had taken the place of its own; but only nourished itself with\nthe daily providences of God.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nJuly 7\n\n\n_The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the\nstrength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid_?--PS. xxvii. I.\n\n  Thou hidden Source of calm repose,\n    Thou all-sufficient Love divine,\n  My Help and Refuge from my foes,\n    Secure I am while Thou art mine:\n  And lo! from sin, and grief, and shame,\n  I hide me, Father, in Thy name.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nWhatever troubles come on you, of mind, body, or estate, from within or\nfrom without, from chance or from intent, from friends or foes--whatever\nyour trouble be, though you be lonely, O children of a heavenly Father, be\nnot afraid!\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nWhatsoever befalleth thee, receive it not from the hand of any creature,\nbut from Him alone, and render back all to Him, seeking in all things His\npleasure and honor, the purifying and subduing of thyself. What can harm\nthee, when all must first touch God, within whom thou hast enclosed\nthyself?\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\nHow God rejoices over a soul, which, surrounded on all sides by suffering\nand misery, does that upon earth which the angels do in heaven; namely,\nloves, adores, and praises God!\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\n\n\nJuly 8\n\n\n_Be ye kind one to another_.--EPH. iv. 32.\n\n  She doeth little kindnesses\n    Which most leave undone or despise;\n  For nought which sets one heart at ease,\n  And giveth happiness or peace,\n    Is low-esteemed in her eyes.\n\nJ. R. LOWELL.\n\nWhat was the secret of such a one's power? What had she done? Absolutely\nnothing; but radiant smiles, beaming good-humor, the tact of divining what\nevery one felt and every one wanted, told that she had got out of self\nand learned to think of others; so that at one time it showed itself in\ndeprecating the quarrel, which lowering brows and raised tones already\nshowed to be impending, by sweet words; at another, by smoothing an\ninvalid's pillow; at another, by soothing a sobbing child; at another, by\nhumoring and softening a father who had returned weary and ill-tempered\nfrom the irritating cares of business. None but she saw those things. None\nbut a loving heart _could_ see them. That was the secret of her heavenly\npower. The one who will be found in trial capable of great acts of love, is\never the one who is always doing considerate small ones.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nJuly 9\n\n\n_Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth\nGod_.--I JOHN iv. 7.\n\n_Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a\nquarrel (or \"complaint\") against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also\ndo ye_.--COL. iii. 13.\n\n  Oh, might we all our lineage prove,\n  Give and forgive, do good and love;\n  By soft endearments, in kind strife,\n  Lightening the load of daily life.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nWe may, if we choose, make the worst of one another. Every one has his weak\npoints; every one has his faults: we may make the worst of these; we may\nfix our attention constantly upon these. But we may also make the best of\none another. We may forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. We may put\nourselves in the place of others, and ask what we should wish to be done\nto us, and thought of us, were we in their place. By loving whatever is\nlovable in those around us, love will flow back from them to us, and life\nwill become a pleasure instead of a pain; and earth will become like\nheaven; and we shall become not unworthy followers of Him whose name is\nLove.\n\nA. P. STANLEY.\n\n\n\nJuly 10\n\n\n_The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord,\nendureth forever: forsake not the--works of Thine own hands_.--PS.\ncxxxviii. 8.\n\n  As God leads me, will I go,--\n    Nor choose my way;\n  Let Him choose the joy or woe\n    Of every day:\n  They cannot hurt my soul,\n  Because in His control:\n  I leave to Him the whole,--\n    His children may.\n\nL. GEDICKE.\n\nWhy is it that we are so busy with the future? It is not _our_ province;\nand is there not a criminal interference with Him to whom it belongs, in\nour feverish, anxious attempts to dispose of it, and in filling it up with\nshadows of good and evil shaped by our own wild imaginations? To do God's\nwill as fast as it is made known to us, to inquire hourly--I had almost\nsaid each moment--what He requires of us, and to leave ourselves, our\nfriends, and every interest at His control, with a cheerful trust that the\npath which He marks out leads to our perfection and to Himself,--this is at\nonce our duty and happiness; and why will we not walk in the plain, simple\nway?\n\nWILLIAM E. CHANNING.\n\n\n\nJuly 11\n\n\n_When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble_?--JOB xxxiv. 29.\n\n_None of these things move me_.--ACTS xx. 24.\n\n  I've many a cross to take up now,\n    And many left behind;\n  But present troubles move me not,\n    Nor shake my quiet mind.\n  And what may be to-morrow's cross\n    I never seek to find;\n  My Father says, \"Leave that to me,\n    And keep a quiet mind.\"\n\nANON.\n\nLet us then think only of the present, and not even permit our minds to\nwander with curiosity into the future. This future is not yet ours; perhaps\nit never will be. It is exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to\nanticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for things which He may not\ndestine for us. If such things should come to pass, He will give us\nlight and strength according to the need. Why should we desire to meet\ndifficulties prematurely, when we have neither strength nor light as yet\nprovided for them? Let us give heed to the present, whose duties are\npressing; it is fidelity to the present which prepares us for fidelity in\nthe future.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nEvery hour comes with some little fagot of God's will fastened upon its\nback.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\n\n\nJuly 12\n\n\n_Be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ... for the\nLord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor\nforsake thee_.--DEUT. xxxi. 6.\n\n  The timid it concerns to ask their way,\n  And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray,\n  To make no step until the event is known,\n  And ills to come as evils past bemoan.\n  Not so the wise; no coward watch he keeps\n  To spy what danger on his pathway creeps;\n  Go where he will, the wise man is at home,\n  His hearth the earth,--his hall the azure dome;\n  Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road,\n  By God's own light illumined and foreshowed.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nThough I sympathize, I do not share in the least the feeling of being\ndisheartened and cast down. It is not things of this sort that depress me,\nor ever will. The contrary things, praise, openings, the feeling of the\ngreatness of my work, and my inability in relation to it, these things\noppress and cast me down; but little hindrances, and closing up of\naccustomed or expected avenues, and the presence of difficulties to be\novercome,--I'm not going to be cast down by trifles such as these.\n\nJAMES HINTON.\n\n\n\nJuly 13\n\n\n_And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in\ndrought_.--ISA. lviii. 11.\n\n  Wherever He may guide me,\n    No want shall turn me back;\n  My Shepherd is beside me,\n    And nothing can I lack.\n  His wisdom ever waketh,\n    His sight is never dim,--\n  He knows the way He taketh,\n    And I will walk with Him.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nAbandon yourself to His care and guidance, as a sheep in the care of a\nshepherd, and trust Him utterly. No matter though you may seem to yourself\nto be in the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly\nor outwardly, and may think you will have to make a long journey before you\ncan get into the green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that very place\nwhere you are into green pastures, for He has power to make the desert\nrejoice and blossom as a rose.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nJuly 14\n\n\n_Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of\nyour mind_.--ROM. xii. 2.\n\n  Father, let our faithful mind\n  Rest, on Thee alone inclined;\n  Every anxious thought repress,\n  Keep our souls in perfect peace.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nRetirement from anxieties of every kind; entering into no disputes;\navoiding all frivolous talk; and simplifying everything we engage in,\nwhether in a way of doing or suffering; denying the, imagination its false\nactivities, and the intellect its false searchings after what it cannot\nobtain,--these seem to be some of the steps that lead to obedience to the\nholy precept in our text.\n\nJAMES P. GREAVES.\n\nRetire inwardly; wait to feel somewhat of God's Spirit, discovering and\ndrawing away from that which is contrary to His holy nature, and leading\ninto that which is acceptable to Him. As the mind is joined to this, some\ntrue light and life is received.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\nAct up faithfully to your convictions; and when you have been unfaithful,\nbear with yourself, and resume always with calm simplicity your little\ntask. Suppress, as much as you possibly can, all recurrence to yourself,\nand you will suppress much vanity. Accustom yourself to much calmness and\nan indifference to events.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nJuly 15\n\n\n_Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;\nand the King of glory shall come in_.--PS. xxiv. 9.\n\n_Ye are the temple of the living God_.--2 COR. vi. 16.\n\n  Fling wide the portals of your heart,\n  Make it a temple set apart\n  From earthly use for Heaven's employ,\n  Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy.\n  So shall your Sovereign enter in,\n  And new and nobler life begin.\n\nG. WEISSEL.\n\nThou art to know that thy soul is the centre, habitation, and kingdom of\nGod. That, therefore, to the end the sovereign King may rest on that throne\nof thy soul, thou oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet, and\npeaceable,--clean from guilt and defects; quiet from fears; and peaceable\nin temptations and tribulations. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine\nheart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that temple of God; and with a\nright and pure intention thou art to work, pray, obey, and suffer (without\nbeing in the least moved), whatever it pleases the Lord to send unto thee.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS\n\n\n\nJuly 16\n\n\n_Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear\nThee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee_.--PS. xxxi. 19.\n\n_I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with\nme_.--PS. xiii. 6.\n\n  Thy calmness bends serene above\n    My restlessness to still;\n  Around me flows Thy quickening life,\n    To nerve my faltering will;\n  Thy presence fills my solitude;\n  Thy providence turns all to good.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nWith a heart devoted to God and full of God, no longer seek Him in the\nheavens above or the earth beneath, or in the things under the earth, but\nrecognize Him as the great fact of the universe, separate from no place or\npart, but revealed in all places and in all things and events, _moment by\nmoment_. And as eternity alone will exhaust this momentary revelation,\nwhich has sometimes been called the ETERNAL Now, thou shalt thus find God\never present and ever new; and thy soul shall adore Him and feed upon Him\nin the things and events which each new moment brings; and thou shalt never\nbe absent from Him, and He shall never be absent from thee.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\n\n\nJuly 17\n\n\n_For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be\ncompared with the glory which shall be revealed in us_.--ROM. viii. 18.\n\n_The power of an endless life_.--HEB. vii. 16.\n\n  Believ'st thou in eternal things?\n    Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart,\n  Thou art not clay; thy soul hath wings,\n    And what thou seest is but part.\n  Make this thy med'cine for the smart\n    Of every day's distress; be dumb,\n  In each new loss thou truly art\n    Tasting the power of things that come.\n\nT. W. Parsons.\n\nEvery contradiction of our will, every little ailment, every petty\ndisappointment, will, if we take it patiently, become a blessing. So,\nwalking on earth, we may be in heaven; the ill-tempers of others, the\nslights and rudenesses of the world, ill-health, the daily accidents\nwith which God has mercifully strewed our paths, instead of ruffling or\ndisturbing our peace, may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts\nabundantly.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nJuly 18\n\n\n_A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have\nloved you, that ye also love one another_.--JOHN xiii. 34.\n\n_And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love, one toward another,\nand toward all men_.--I THESS. iii. 12.\n\n  Let love through all my conduct shine,\n  An image fair, though faint, of Thine;\n  Thus let me His disciple prove,\n  Who came to manifest Thy love.\n\nSimon Browne.\n\nWe should arrive at a fulness of love extending to the whole creation, a\ndesire to impart, to pour out in full and copious streams the love and\ngoodness we bear to all around us.\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\nGoodness and love mould the form into their own image, and cause the joy\nand beauty of love to shine forth from every part of the face. When this\nform of love is seen, it appears ineffably beautiful, and affects with\ndelight the inmost life of the soul.\n\nE. SWEDENBORG.\n\nThe soul within had so often lighted up her countenance with its own full\nhappiness and joy, that something of a permanent radiance remained upon it.\n\nSARAH W. STEPHEN.\n\n\n\nJuly 19\n\n\n_The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His\nworks_.--PS. cxlv. 9.\n\n_For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand\nhills_.--PS. 1. 10.\n\n  Maker of earth and sea and sky,\n    Creation's sovereign Lord and King,\n  Who hung the starry worlds on high,\n    And formed alike the sparrow's wing;\n  Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care,\n  And listen to their voiceless prayer.\n\nANON.\n\nI believe where the love of God is verily perfected, and the true spirit of\ngovernment watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards all creatures made\nsubject to us will be experienced; and a care felt in us, that we do not\nlessen that sweetness of life in the animal creation, which the great\nCreator intends for them under our government. To say we love God as\nunseen, and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature\nmoving by His life, or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in\nitself.\n\nJOHN WOOLMAN.\n\nI would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not\nthe better for it.\n\nROWLAND HILL.\n\n\n\nJuly 20\n\n\n_Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught,\nand in vain_.--ISA. xlix. 4.\n\n  Because I spent the strength Thou gavest me\n  In struggle which Thou never didst ordain,\n  And have but dregs of life to offer Thee--\n    O Lord, I do repent.\n\nSARAH WILLIAMS.\n\nMind, it is our best work that He wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I\nthink He must prefer quality to quantity.\n\nGEORGE MACDONALD.\n\nIf the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence\nat a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace;\nbe called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but\nbe what you were meant to be and can be. You have your natural limit of\npower as much as an engine,--ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You\nare fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount\nof fuel, and a certain kind of handling.\n\nGEORGE S. MERRIAM.\n\nIn your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace. It is not a good\nplan to be in haste to perform any action that it may be the sooner over.\nOn the contrary, you should accustom yourself to do whatever you have to do\nwith tranquillity, in order that you may retain the possession of yourself\nand of settled peace.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nJuly 21\n\n\n_For which cause we faint not; but, though our outward man perish, yet the\ninward man is renewed day by day_.--2 COR. iv. 16.\n\n  Let my soul beneath her load\n  Faint not through the o'erwearied flesh;\n  Let me hourly drink afresh\n  Love and peace from Thee, my God!\n\nC. F. RICHTER.\n\nIn my attempts to promote the comfort of my family, the quiet of my spirit\nhas been disturbed. Some of this is doubtless owing to physical weakness;\nbut, with every temptation, there is a way of escape; there is _never_ any\n_need_ to sin. Another thing I have suffered loss from,--entering into the\nbusiness of the day without seeking to have my spirit quieted and directed.\nSo many things press upon me, this is sometimes neglected; shame to me that\nit should be so.\n\nThis is of great importance, to watch carefully,--now I am so weak--not to\nover-fatigue myself, because then I cannot contribute to the pleasure of\nothers; and a placid face and a gentle tone will make my family more happy\nthan anything else I can do for them. Our own will gets sadly into the\nperformance of our duties sometimes.\n\nELIZABETH T. KING.\n\n\n\nJuly 22\n\n\n_Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand\nthe loving-kindness of the Lord_.--PS. cvii. 43.\n\n  What channel needs our faith, except the eyes?\n    God leaves no spot of earth unglorified;\n  Profuse and wasteful, lovelinesses rise;\n    New beauties dawn before the old have died.\n\n  Trust thou thy joys in keeping of the Power\n    Who holds these changing shadows in His hand;\n  Believe and live, and know that hour by hour\n    Will ripple newer beauty to thy strand.\n\nT. W. HIGGINSON.\n\nI wondered over again for the hundredth time what could be the principle\nwhich, in the wildest, most lawless, fantastically chaotic, apparently\ncapricious work of nature, always kept it beautiful. The beauty of holiness\nmust be at the heart of it somehow, I thought. Because our God is so free\nfrom stain, so loving, so unselfish, so good, so altogether what He wants\nus to be, so holy, therefore all His works declare Him in beauty; His\nfingers can touch nothing but to mould it into loveliness; and even the\nplay of His elements is in grace and tenderness of form.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nJuly 23\n\n\n_Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy\nsoul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind_.--LUKE x. 27.\n\n  O God, what offering shall I give\n    To Thee, the Lord of earth and skies?\n  My spirit, soul, and flesh receive,\n    A holy, living sacrifice.\n\nJ. LANGE.\n\nTo love God \"with all our heart,\" is to know the spiritual passion of\nmeasureless gratitude for loving-kindness, and self-devotedness to\ngoodness; to love Him \"with all our mind,\" is to know the passion for Truth\nthat is the enthusiasm of Science, the passion for Beauty that inspires\nthe poet and the artist, when all truth and beauty are regarded as the\nself-revealings of God; to love Him \"with all our soul,\" is to know the\nsaint's rapture of devotion and gaze of penitential awe into the face of\nthe All-holy, the saint's abhorrence of sin, and agony of desire to save\na sinner's soul; and to love Him \"with all our strength,\" is the supreme\nspiritual passion that tests the rest; the passion for reality, for worship\nin spirit and in truth, for being what we adore, for doing what we know\nto be God's word; the loyalty that exacts the living sacrifice, the whole\nburnt-offering that is our reasonable service, and in our coldest hours\nkeeps steadfast to what seemed good when we were aglow.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nJuly 24\n\n\n_Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory_.--I\nTHESS. ii. 12.\n\n_Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not_.--GEN. xxviii. 16.\n\n  Thou earnest not to thy place by accident,\n  It is the very place God meant for thee;\n  And shouldst thou there small scope for action see,\n  Do not for this give room to discontent.\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nAccept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of\nyour contemporaries, the connection of events.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nAdapt thyself to the things with which thy lot has been cast; and love the\nmen with whom it is thy portion to live, and that with a sincere affection.\nNo longer be either dissatisfied with thy present lot, or shrink from the\nfuture.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\nI love best to have each thing in its season, doing without it at all other\ntimes. I have never got over my surprise that I should have been born into\nthe most estimable place in all the world, and in the very nick of time\ntoo.\n\nH. D. THOREAU.\n\n\n\nJuly 25\n\n\n_He knoweth the way that I take_.--JOB xxiii. 10.\n\n_Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own\nway_?--PROV. xx. 24.\n\n  Be quiet, why this anxious heed\n  About thy tangled ways?\n  God knows them all, He giveth speed,\n  And He allows delays.\n\nE. W.\n\nWe complain of the slow, dull life we are forced to lead, of our humble\nsphere of action, of our low position in the scale of society, of our\nhaving no room to make ourselves known, of our wasted energies, of our\nyears of patience. So do we say that we have no Father who is directing our\nlife; so do we say that God has forgotten us; so do we boldly judge what\nlife is best for us, and so by our complaining do we lose the use and\nprofit of the quiet years. O men of little faith! Because you are not sent\nout yet into your labor, do you think God has ceased to remember you?\nBecause you are forced to be outwardly inactive, do you think you, also,\nmay not be, in your years of quiet, \"about your Father's business\"? It is a\nperiod given to us in which to mature ourselves for the work which God will\ngive us to do.\n\nSTOPFORD A. BROOKE.\n\n\n\nJuly 26\n\n\n_They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be\nremoved, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,\nso the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever_.--PS.\ncxxv. I, 2.\n\n    How on a rock they stand,\n  Who watch His eye, and hold His guiding hand!\n  Not half so fixed amid her vassal hills,\n  Rises the holy pile that Kedron's valley fills.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nThat is the way to be immovable in the midst of troubles, as a rock amidst\nthe waves. When God is in the midst of a kingdom or city, He makes it firm\nas Mount Sion, that cannot be removed. When He is in the midst of a soul,\nthough calamities throng about it on all hands, and roar like the billows\nof the sea, yet there is a constant calm within, such a peace as the world\ncan neither give nor take away. What is it but want of lodging God in the\nsoul, and that in His stead the world is in men's hearts, that makes them\nshake like leaves at every blast of danger?\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nJuly 27\n\n\n_He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word,\nand understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an\nhundredfold, some sixty, some thirty_.--MATT. xiii. 23.\n\n  Then bless thy secret growth, nor catch\n    At noise, but thrive unseen and dumb;\n  Keep clean, bear fruit, earn life, and watch\n    Till the white-winged reapers come.\n\nH. VAUGHAN.\n\nHe does not need to transplant us into a different field, but right where\nwe are, with just the circumstances that surround us, He makes His sun to\nshine and His dew to fall upon us, and transforms the very things that were\nbefore our greatest hindrances, into the chiefest and most blessed means\nof our growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle Him. No dwarfing\nof your growth in years that are past, no apparent dryness of your\ninward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in any of your past\ndevelopment, can in the least mar the perfect work that He will accomplish,\nif you will only put yourselves absolutely into His hands, and let Him have\nHis own way with you.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nJuly 28\n\n\n_But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which\nare asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope_.--I\nTHESS. iv. 13.\n\n  Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust\n    (Since He who knows our need is just),\n  That somehow, somewhere, meet we must.\n    Alas for him who never sees\n    The stars shine through his cypress trees;\n  Who hath not learned in hours of faith,\n    The truth to flesh and sense unknown,\n  That life is ever Lord of Death,\n    And Love can never lose its own.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nWhile we poor wayfarers still toil, with hot and bleeding feet, along the\nhighway and the dust of life, our companions have but mounted the divergent\npath, to explore the more sacred streams, and visit the diviner vales, and\nwander amid the everlasting Alps, of God's upper province of creation. And\nso we keep up the courage of our hearts, and refresh ourselves with the\nmemories of love, and travel forward in the ways of duty, with less weary\nstep, feeling ever for the hand of God, and listening for the domestic\nvoices of the immortals whose happy welcome waits us. Death, in short,\nunder the Christian aspect, is but God's method of colonization; the\ntransition from this mother-country of our race to the fairer and newer\nworld of our emigration.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nJuly 29\n\n\n_But this I say, brethren, the time is short_.--I COR. vii. 29.\n\n  I sometimes feel the thread of life is slender,\n  And soon with me the labor will be wrought;\n  Then grows my heart to other hearts more tender.\n    The time is short.\n\nD. M. CRAIK.\n\nOh, my dear friends, you who are letting miserable misunderstandings run on\nfrom year to year, meaning to clear them up some day; you who are keeping\nwretched quarrels alive because you cannot quite make up your mind that now\nis the day to sacrifice your pride and kill them; you who are passing men\nsullenly upon the street, not speaking to them out of some silly spite, and\nyet knowing that it would fill you with shame and remorse if you heard\nthat one of those men were dead tomorrow morning; you who are letting your\nneighbor starve, till you hear that he is dying of starvation; or letting\nyour friend's heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which you\nmean to give him some day,--if you only could know and see and feel, all of\na sudden, that \"the time is short,\" how it would break the spell! How you\nwould go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another\nchance to do.\n\nPHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\n\nJuly 30\n\n\n_Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy\nmercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O Lord_.--PS. XXV. 7.\n\n  When on my aching, burdened heart\n    My sins lie heavily,\n  My pardon speak, new peace impart,\n    In love remember me.\n\nT. HAWEIS.\n\nWe need to know that our sins are forgiven. And how shall we know this? By\nfeeling that we have peace with God,--by feeling that we are able so to\ntrust in the divine compassion and infinite tenderness of our Father, as\nto arise and go to Him, whenever we commit sin, and say at once to Him,\n\"Father, I have sinned; forgive me.\" To know that we are forgiven, it is\nonly necessary to look at our Father's love till it sinks into our heart,\nto open our soul to Him till He shall pour His love into it; to wait on Him\ntill we find peace, till our conscience no longer torments us, till the\nweight of responsibility ceases to be an oppressive burden to us, till we\ncan feel that our sins, great as they are, cannot keep us away from our\nHeavenly Father.\n\nJ. F. CLARKE.\n\n\n\nJuly 31\n\n\n_I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud,\nthy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee_.--ISA. xliv. 22.\n\n_He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our\niniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the\nsea_.--MICAH vii. 19.\n\n  If my shut eyes should dare their lids to part,\n  I know how they must quail beneath the blaze\n  Of Thy Love's greatness. No; I dare not raise\n  One prayer, to look aloft, lest it should gaze\n  On such forgiveness as would break my heart.\n\nH. S. SUTTON.\n\nO Lord God gracious and merciful, give us, I entreat Thee, a humble trust\nin Thy mercy, and suffer not our heart to fail us. Though our sins be\nseven, though our sins be seventy times seven, though our sins be more in\nnumber than the hairs of our head, yet give us grace in loving penitence to\ncast ourselves down into the depth of Thy compassion. Let us fall into the\nhand of the Lord. Amen.\n\nC. G. ROSSETTI.\n\n\n\nAugust 1\n\n\n_Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of\nfools_.--ECCLES. vii. 9.\n\n_Let not the sun go down upon your wrath_--EPH. iv. 26.\n\n  Quench thou the fires of hate and strife,\n    The wasting fever of the heart;\n  From perils guard our feeble life,\n    And to our souls Thy peace impart.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN, _Tr. from Latin_.\n\nWhen thou art offended or annoyed by others, suffer not thy thoughts to\ndwell thereon, or on anything relating to them. For example, \"that they\nought not so to have treated thee; who they are, or whom they think\nthemselves to be;\" or the like; for all this is fuel and kindling of wrath,\nanger, and hatred.\n\nL. SCUPOLI.\n\nStruggle diligently against your impatience, and strive to be amiable and\ngentle, in season and out of season, towards every one, however much they\nmay vex and annoy you, and be sure God will bless your efforts.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nAugust 2\n\n\n_Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord\nJehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation_.--ISA.\nxii. 2.\n\n_Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith_?--MARK. iv. 40.\n\n  Still heavy is thy heart?\n    Still sink thy spirits down?\n  Cast off the weight, let fear depart,\n    And every care be gone.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nGo on in all simplicity; do not be so anxious to win a quiet mind, and it\nwill be all the quieter. Do not examine so closely into the progress of\nyour soul. Do not crave so much to be perfect, but let your spiritual life\nbe formed by your duties, and by the actions which are called forth by\ncircumstances. Do not take overmuch thought for to-morrow. God, who has led\nyou safely on so far, will lead you on to the end. Be altogether at rest\nin the loving holy confidence which you ought to have in His heavenly\nProvidence.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nAugust 3\n\n\n_Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance_.--PS. xxi. 6.\n\n  MY heart for gladness springs,\n    It cannot more be sad,\n  For very joy it laughs and sings,\n    Sees nought but sunshine glad.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nA new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky;\nthe heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day\nhas gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of\nlife, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music\nand gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is\ncertain that till we see GOD in the world--GOD in the bright and boundless\nuniverse--we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were\ntranslated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme\nand central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom, shining over this world\nand all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and\nglorious they are.\n\nORVILLE DEWEY.\n\nWhen I look like this into the blue sky, it seems so deep, so peaceful, so\nfull of a mysterious tenderness, that I could lie for centuries and wait\nfor the dawning of the face of God out of the awful loving-kindness.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nAugust 4\n\n\n_He satisfieth the longing soul, and the hungry soul He filleth with\ngood_.--PS. cvii. 9 (R. V.).\n\n_That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God_.--EPH. iii. 19.\n\n  Enough that He who made can fill the soul\n    Here and hereafter till its deeps o'erflow;\n  Enough that love and tenderness control\n    Our fate where'er in joy or doubt we go.\n\nANON.\n\nO God, the Life of the Faithful, the Bliss of the righteous, mercifully\nreceive the prayers of Thy suppliants, that the souls which thirst for Thy\npromises may evermore be filled from Thy abundance. Amen.\n\nGELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 490.\n\nGod makes every common thing serve, if thou wilt, to enlarge that capacity\nof bliss in His love. Not a prayer, not an act of faithfulness in your\ncalling, not a self-denying or kind word or deed, done out of love for\nHimself; not a weariness or painfulness endured patiently; not a duty\nperformed; not a temptation resisted; but it enlarges the whole soul for\nthe endless capacity of the love of God.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nAugust 5\n\n\n_O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto Him\nthat hath called you to the heavenly kingdom_.--2 ESDRAS ii. 37.\n\n_Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift_.--2 COR. ix. 15.\n\n  O Giver of each perfect gift!\n  This day our daily bread supply;\n  While from the Spirit's tranquil depths\n  We drink unfailing draughts of joy.\n\nLYRA CATHOLICA.\n\nThe best way for a man rightly to enjoy himself, is to maintain a\nuniversal, ready, and cheerful compliance with the divine and uncreated\nWill in all things; as knowing that nothing can issue and flow forth from\nthe fountain of goodness but that which is good; and therefore a good man\nis never offended with any piece of divine dispensation, nor hath he any\nreluctancy against that Will that dictates and determines all things by\nan eternal rule of goodness; as knowing that there is an unbounded and\nalmighty Love that, without any disdain or envy, freely communicates itself\nto everything He made; that always enfolds those in His everlasting arms\nwho are made partakers of His own image, perpetually nourishing and\ncherishing them with the fresh and vital influences of His grace.\n\nDR. JOHN SMITH.\n\n\n\nAugust 6\n\n\n_Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits_.--PS. ciii. 2.\n\n  Wiser it were to welcome and make ours\n  Whate'er of good, though small, the Present brings,--\n  Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers,\n  With a child's pure delight in little things.\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nInto all our lives, in many simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this\nelement of joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly brighten our\ndays, and fill our eyes with light. He drops this added sweetness into His\nchildren's cup, and makes it to run over. The success we were not counting\non, the blessing we were not trying after, the strain of music, in the\nmidst of drudgery, the beautiful morning picture or sunset glory thrown\nin as we pass to or from our daily business, the unsought word of\nencouragement or expression of sympathy, the sentence that meant for us\nmore than the writer or speaker thought,--these and a hundred others that\nevery one's experience can supply are instances of what I mean. You may\ncall it accident or chance--it often is; you may call it human goodness--it\noften is; but always, always call it God's love, for that is always in it.\nThese are the overflowing riches of His grace, these are His free gifts.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\n\n\nAugust 7\n\n\n_If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that\nbelieveth_.--MARK ix. 23.\n\n_Nothing shall be impossible unto you_.--MATT. xvii. 20.\n\n  So nigh is grandeur to our dust,\n    So near is God to man,\n  When Duty whispers low, _Thou must_,\n    The youth replies, _I can_.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nKnow that \"impossible,\" where truth and mercy and the everlasting voice of\nnature order, has no place in the brave man's dictionary. That when all men\nhave said \"Impossible,\" and tumbled noisily elsewhither, and thou alone art\nleft, then first thy time and possibility have come. It is for thee now: do\nthou that, and ask no man's counsel, but thy own only and God's. Brother,\nthou hast possibility in thee for much: the possibility of writing on the\neternal skies the record of a heroic life.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\nIn the moral world there is nothing impossible, if we bring a thorough will\nto it. Man can do everything with himself; but he must not attempt to do\ntoo much with others.\n\nWM. VON HUMBOLDT.\n\n\n\nAugust 8\n\n\n_Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,\nand be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage_.--GAL. v. i.\n\n_I believed, and therefore have I spoken_.--2 COR. iv. 13.\n\n  They are slaves who fear to speak\n  For the fallen and the weak;\n  They are slaves who will not choose\n  Hatred, scoffing, and abuse,\n  Rather than in silence shrink\n  From the truth they needs must think;\n  They are slaves who dare not be\n  In the right with two or three.\n\nJ. R. LOWELL.\n\nThe real corrupters of society may be, not the corrupt, but those who have\nheld back the righteous leaven, the salt that has lost its savor, the\ninnocent who have not even the moral courage to show what they think of the\neffrontery of impurity,--the serious, who yet timidly succumb before\nsome loud-voiced scoffer,--the heart trembling all over with religious\nsensibilities that yet suffers itself through false shame to be beaten down\ninto outward and practical acquiescence by some rude and worldly nature.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nAugust 9\n\n\n_The things which are impossible with men are possible with God_.--LUKE\nxviii. 27.\n\n_Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in\nsilence_.--PS. xciv. 17.\n\n  When obstacles and trials seem\n    Like prison-walls to be,\n  I do the little I can do,\n    And leave the rest to Thee.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nThe mind never puts forth greater power over itself than when, in great\ntrials, it yields up calmly its desires, affections, interests to God.\nThere are seasons when to be _still_ demands immeasurably higher strength\nthan to act. Composure is often the highest result of power. Think you it\ndemands no power to calm the stormy elements of passion, to moderate the\nvehemence of desire, to throw off the load of dejection, to suppress every\nrepining thought, when the dearest hopes are withered, and to turn the\nwounded spirit from dangerous reveries and wasting grief, to the quiet\ndischarge of ordinary duties? Is there no power put forth, when a man,\nstripped of his property, of the fruits of a life's labors, quells\ndiscontent and gloomy forebodings, and serenely and patiently returns to\nthe tasks which Providence assigns?\n\nWM. E. CHANNING.\n\n\n\nAugust 10\n\n\n_The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it_?--JOHN xviii.\n11.\n\n_Whatsoever is brought upon thee, take cheerfully_.--ECCLESIASTICUS ii. 4.\n\n  Every sorrow, every smart,\n  That the Eternal Father's heart\n  Hath appointed me of yore,\n  Or hath yet for me in store,\n  As my life flows on, I 'll take\n  Calmly, gladly, for His sake,\n  No more faithless murmurs make\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nThe very least and the very greatest sorrows that God ever suffers to\nbefall thee, proceed from the depths of His unspeakable love; and such\ngreat love were better for thee than the highest and best gifts besides\nthat He has given thee, or ever could give thee, if thou couldst but see it\nin this light. So that if your little finger only aches, if you are cold,\nif you are hungry or thirsty, if others vex you by their words or deeds, or\nwhatever happens to you that causes you distress or pain, it will all help\nto fit you for a noble and blessed state.\n\nJ. TAULER.\n\n\n\nAUGUST 11\n\n\n_The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou\nputtest thine hand unto_.--DEUT. xv. 10.\n\n  My place of lowly service, too,\n    Beneath Thy sheltering wings I see;\n  For all the work I have to do\n    Is done through strengthening rest in Thee.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nI think I find most help in trying to look on all interruptions and\nhindrances to work that one has planned out for oneself as discipline,\ntrials sent by God to help one against getting selfish over one's\nwork. Then one can feel that perhaps one's true work--one's work for\nGod--consists in doing some trifling haphazard thing that has been thrown\ninto one's day. It is not waste of time, as one is tempted to think, it\nis the most important part of the work of the day,--the part one can best\noffer to God. After such a hindrance, do not rush after the planned work;\ntrust that the time to finish it will be given sometime, and keep a quiet\nheart about it.\n\nANNIE KEARY.\n\n\n\nAugust 12\n\n\n_Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life_?--LUKE x. 25.\n\n_Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might_.--ECCLES. ix. 10.\n\n  \"What shall I do to gain eternal life?\"\n    \"Discharge aright\n  The simple dues with which each day is rife,\n    Yea, with thy might.\"\n\nF. VON SCHILLER.\n\nA man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work, and done\nhis best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nBe diligent, after thy power, to do deeds of love. Think nothing too\nlittle, nothing too low, to do lovingly for the sake of God. Bear with\ninfirmities, ungentle tempers, contradictions; visit, if thou mayest, the\nsick; relieve the poor; forego thyself and thine own ways for love; and He\nwhom in them thou lovest, to whom in them thou ministerest, will own thy\nlove, and will pour His own love into thee.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\n\n\nAugust 13\n\n\n_In your patience possess ye your souls_.--LUKE xxi. 19.\n\n  What though thy way be dark, and earth\n  With ceaseless care do cark, till mirth\n    To thee no sweet strain singeth;\n  Still hide thy life above, and still\n  Believe that God is love; fulfil\n    Whatever lot He bringeth.\n\nALBERT E. EVANS.\n\nThe soul loses command of itself when it is impatient. Whereas, when it\nsubmits without a murmur it possesses itself in peace, and possesses God.\nTo be impatient, is to desire what we have not, or not to desire what we\nhave. When we acquiesce in an evil, it is no longer such. Why make a real\ncalamity of it by resistance? Peace does not dwell in outward things, but\nwithin the soul. We may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain,\nif our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from\nacquiescence even in disagreeable things, not in an exemption from bearing\nthem.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nThe chief pang of most trials is not so much the actual suffering itself,\nas our own spirit of resistance to it.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nAugust 14\n\n\n_I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help_.--PS.\ncxxi. 1.\n\n_My grace is sufficient for thee_.--2 COR. xii. 9.\n\n  I look to Thee in every need,\n    And never look in vain;\n  I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love,\n    And all is well again:\n  The thought of Thee is mightier far\n  Than sin and pain and sorrow are.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nHow can you live sweetly amid the vexatious things, the irritating things,\nthe multitude of little worries and frets, which lie all along your way,\nand which you cannot evade? You cannot at present change your surroundings.\nWhatever kind of life you are to live, must be lived amid precisely the\nexperiences in which you are now moving. Here you must win your victories\nor suffer your defeats. No restlessness or discontent can change your lot.\nOthers may have other circumstances surrounding them, but here are yours.\nYou had better make up your mind to accept what you cannot alter. You can\nlive a beautiful life in the midst of your present circumstances.\n\nJ. R. MILLER.\n\nStrive to realize a state of inward happiness, independent of\ncircumstances.\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\n\n\nAugust 15\n\n\n_God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and\nof a sound mind_.--2 TIM. i. 7.\n\n  We cast behind fear, sin, and death;\n    With Thee we seek the things above;\n  Our inmost souls Thy spirit breathe,\n    Of power, of calmness, and of love.\n\nHYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.\n\nI must conclude with a more delightful subject,--my most dear and blessed\nsister. I never saw a more perfect instance of the spirit of power and of\nlove, and of a sound mind; intense love, almost to the annihilation of\nselfishness--a daily martyrdom for twenty years, during which she adhered\nto her early-formed resolution of never talking about herself; thoughtful\nabout the very pins and ribands of my wife's dress, about the making of a\ndoll's cap for a child,--but of herself, save only as regarded her ripening\nin all goodness, wholly thoughtless; enjoying everything lovely, graceful,\nbeautiful, high-minded, whether in God's works or man's, with the keenest\nrelish; inheriting the earth to the very fulness of the promise, though\nnever leaving her crib, nor changing her posture; and preserved through the\nvery valley of the shadow of death, from all fear or impatience, or from\nevery cloud of impaired reason, which might mar the beauty of Christ's\nspirit's glorious work.\n\nTHOMAS ARNOLD.\n\n\n\nAugust 16\n\n\n_Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap_.--GAL. vi. 7.\n\n  The life above, when this is past,\n    Is the ripe fruit of life below.\n\n  Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure;\n    Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright;\n  Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor,\n    And find a harvest-home of light.\n\nH. BONAR.\n\nThe dispositions, affections, inclinations of soul, which shall issue\nhereafter in perfection, must be trained and nurtured in us throughout the\nwhole course of this earthly life. When shall we bear in mind this plain\ntruth, that the future perfection of the saints is not a translation from\none state or disposition of soul into another, diverse from the former; but\nthe carrying out, and, as it were, the blossom and the fruitage of one and\nthe same principle of spiritual life, which, through their whole career on\nearth, has been growing with an even strength, putting itself forth in\nthe beginnings and promise of perfection, reaching upward with steadfast\naspirations after perfect holiness?\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nAugust 17\n\n\n_O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give Thy strength unto Thy\nservant, and save the son of Thy handmaid_.--PS. lxxxvi. 16.\n\n  Thou art my King--\n  My King henceforth alone;\n  And I, Thy servant, Lord, am all Thine own.\n  Give me Thy strength; oh! let Thy dwelling be\n  In this poor heart that pants, my Lord, for Thee!\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nWhen it is the one ruling, never-ceasing desire of our hearts, that God may\nbe the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of\nour doing or not doing, from morning to night; then everywhere, whether\nspeaking or silent, whether inwardly or outwardly employed, we are equally\noffered up to the eternal Spirit, have our life in Him and from Him, and\nare united to Him by that Spirit of Prayer which is the comfort, the\nsupport, the strength and security of the soul, travelling, by the help of\nGod, through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity. Let us have no\nthought or care, but how to be wholly His devoted instruments; everywhere,\nand in everything, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nAugust 18\n\n\n_Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward\nGod_--I JOHN iii. 21.\n\n  O Lord, how happy is the time\n    When in Thy love I rest:\n  When from my weariness I climb\n    E'en to Thy tender breast.\n  The night of sorrow endeth there,\n    Thy rays outshine the sun;\n  And in Thy pardon and Thy care\n    The heaven of heavens is won.\n\nW. C. DESSLER.\n\nNothing doth so much establish the mind amidst the rollings and turbulency\nof present things, as both a look above them, and a look beyond them; above\nthem to the good and steady Hand by which they are ruled, and beyond them\nto the sweet and beautiful end to which, by that Hand, they shall be\nbrought. Study pure and holy walking, if you would have your confidence\nfirm, and have boldness and joy in God. You will find that a little sin\nwill shake your trust and disturb your peace more than the greatest\nsufferings: yea, in those sufferings, your assurance and joy in God will\ngrow and abound most if sin be kept out. So much sin as gets in, so much\npeace will go out.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nAugust 19\n\n\n_Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path_.--PS. xxvii. 11.\n\n  Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,\n    Lead Thou me on;\n  The night is dark, and I am far from home,\n    Lead Thou me on.\n  Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see\n  The distant scene; one step enough for me.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nGod only is holy; He alone knows how to lead His children in the paths of\nholiness. He knows every aspect of your soul, every thought of your heart,\nevery secret of your character, its difficulties and hindrances; He\nknows how to mould you to His will, and lead you onwards to perfect\nsanctification; He knows exactly how each event, each trial, each\ntemptation, will tell upon you, and He disposes all things accordingly. The\nconsequences of this belief, if fully grasped, will influence your whole\nlife. You will seek to give yourself up to God more and more unreservedly,\nasking nothing, refusing nothing, wishing nothing, but what He wills; not\nseeking to bring things about for yourself, taking all He sends joyfully,\nand believing the \"one step\" set before you to be enough for you. You will\nbe satisfied that even though there are clouds around, and your way seems\ndark, He is directing all, and that what seems a hindrance will prove a\nblessing, since He wills it.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nAugust 20\n\n\n_Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:\nwait, I say, on the Lord_.--PS. xxvii. 14.\n\n_He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth\nstrength_.--ISA. xl. 29.\n\n Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness\n    His own thy will,\n  And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness\n    Life's task fulfil.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nShould we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a confiding thought,\na simple movement of heart towards God will renew our powers. Whatever\nHe may demand of us, He will give us at the moment the strength and the\ncourage that we need.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nWe require a certain firmness in all circumstances of life, even the\nhappiest, and perhaps contradictions come in order to prove and exercise\nthis; and, if we can only determine so to use them, the very effort brings\nback tranquillity to the soul, which always enjoys having exercised its\nstrength in conformity to duty.\n\nWM. VON HUMBOLDT.\n\n\n\nAugust 21\n\n\n_We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not\nto please ourselves_.--ROM. xv. 1.\n\n_The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know\nhow to speak a word in season to him that is weary_.\n\n  If there be some weaker one,\n  Give me strength to help him on;\n  If a blinder soul there be,\n  Let me guide him nearer Thee.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nAsk Him to increase your powers of sympathy: to give you more quickness\nand depth of sympathy, in little things as well as great. Opportunities of\ndoing a kindness are often lost from mere want of thought. Half a dozen\nlines of kindness may bring sunshine into the whole day of some sick\nperson. Think of the pleasure you might give to some one who is much shut\nup, and who has fewer pleasures than you have, by sharing with her some\nlittle comfort or enjoyment that you have learnt to look upon as a\nnecessary of life,--the pleasant drive, the new book, flowers from the\ncountry, etc. Try to put yourself in another's place. Ask \"What should I\nlike myself, if I were hard-worked, or sick, or lonely?\" Cultivate the\n_habit_ of sympathy.\n\nG. H. WILKINSON.\n\n\n\nAugust 22\n\n\n_I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present\nyour bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your\nreasonable service_.--ROM. xii. 1.\n\n  Thou hast my flesh, Thy hallowed shrine,\n    Devoted solely to Thy will;\n  Here let Thy light forever shine,\n    This house still let Thy presence fill;\n  O Source of Life, live, dwell, and move\n  In me, till all my life be love!\n\nJOACHIM LANCE.\n\nMay it not be a comfort to those of us who feel we have not the mental\nor spiritual power that others have, to notice that the living sacrifice\nmentioned in Rom. xii. 1, is our \"bodies\"? Of course, that includes the\nmental power, but does it not also include the loving, sympathizing glance,\nthe kind, encouraging word, _the ready errand for another_, the work of our\nhands, opportunities for all of which come oftener in the day than for\nthe mental power we are often tempted to envy? May we be enabled to offer\nwillingly that which we have.\n\nANON.\n\n\n\nAugust 23\n\n\n_Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not_.--JER. xlv. 5.\n\n  I would not have the restless will\n    That hurries to and fro,\n  Seeking for some great thing to do,\n    Or secret thing to know;\n  I would be treated as a child,\n    And guided where I go.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nOh! be little, be little; and then thou wilt be content with little; and\nif thou feel, now and then, a check or a secret smiting,--in _that_ is\nthe Father's love; be not over-wise, nor over-eager, in thy own willing,\nrunning, and desiring, and thou mayest feel it so; and by degrees come to\nthe knowledge of thy Guide, who will lead thee, step by step, in the\npath of life, and teach thee to follow. Be still, and wait for light and\nstrength.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\nSink into the sweet and blessed littleness, where thou livest by grace\nalone. Contemplate with delight the holiness and goodness in God, which\nthou dost not find in thyself. How lovely it is to be nothing when God is\nall!\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\n\n\nAugust 24\n\n\n_And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go\nforth, and are choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of this life,\nand bring no fruit to perfection_.--LUKE viii. 14.\n\n  Preserve me from my calling's snare,\n    And hide my simple heart above,\n  Above the thorns of choking care,\n    The gilded baits of worldly love.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nAnything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God, let it\nseem ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to\nfall before our enemies. Any root of bitterness cherished towards another,\nany self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in, any slackness in obeying\nthe voice of the Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one of\nthese things will effectually cripple and paralyze our spiritual life. I\nbelieve our blessed Guide, the indwelling Holy Spirit, is always secretly\ndiscovering these things to us by continual little twinges and pangs of\nconscience, so that we are left without excuse,\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nAugust 25\n\n\n_See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh_.--HEB. xii. 25.\n\n  From the world of sin and noise\n    And hurry I withdraw;\n  For the small and inward voice\n    I wait with humble awe;\n  Silent am I now and still,\n    Dare not in Thy presence move;\n  To my waiting soul reveal\n    The secret of Thy love.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nWhen therefore the smallest instinct or desire of thy heart calleth thee\ntowards God, and a newness of life, give it time and leave to speak; and\ntake care thou refuse not Him that speaketh. Be retired, silent, passive,\nand humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nIt is hardly to be wondered at that he should lose the finer consciousness\nof higher powers and deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself\nwrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in the streets of life, that,\npenetrating too deep into the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent\nand lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, far apart. He had no time\nto think or feel.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nAugust 26\n\n\n_Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord_.--ZECH. ii. 13.\n\n  Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn;\n  Let noise and vanity be gone:\n  In secret silence of the mind,\n  My heaven, and there my God, I find.\n\nI. WATTS.\n\nIt is only with the pious affection of the will that we can be spiritually\nattentive to God. As long as the noisy restlessness of the thoughts goes\non, the gentle and holy desires of the new nature are overpowered and\ninactive.\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\nThere is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to\nus wellnigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the\nsoul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always\nwhispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry,\nand distraction which life causes as it rushes on.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nThe prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and quiet view of divine, eternal\ntruth. The soul rests quiet, perceiving and loving God; sweetly rejecting\nall the imaginations that present themselves, calming the mind in the\nDivine presence, and fixing it only on God.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\n\n\nAugust 27\n\n\n_Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work\nin you will perform it_.--PHIL. i. 6.\n\n_He that endureth to the end shall be saved_.--MATT. x. 22.\n\n  Fill with inviolable peace;\n    Stablish and keep my settled heart;\n  In Thee may all my wanderings cease,\n    From Thee no more may I depart:\n  Thy utmost goodness called to prove,\n  Loved with an everlasting love!\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nIf any sincere Christian cast himself with his whole will upon the Divine\nPresence which dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the end. What\nis it that makes us unable to persevere? Is it want of strength? By no\nmeans. We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. When did we ever\nset ourselves sincerely to any work according to the will of God, and fail\nfor want of strength? It was not that strength failed the will, but that\nthe will failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine will with the\nwhole love of ours; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we should be\nborne along as upon \"the river of the water of life.\" We open only certain\nchambers of our will to the influence of the Divine will. We are afraid of\nbeing wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if we would have peace, we must be\naltogether united to Him.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nAugust 28\n\n\n_They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast\nnot forsaken them that seek Thee_.--PS. ix. 10.\n\n_Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good_.--PS. lxxxv. 12.\n\n  In Thee I place my trust,\n    On Thee I calmly rest;\n  I know Thee good, I know Thee just,\n    And count Thy choice the best.\n\nH. F. LYTE.\n\nThe souls that would really be richer in duty in some new position, are\nprecisely those who borrow no excuses from the old one; who even esteem\nit full of privileges, plenteous in occasions of good, frequent in divine\nappeals, which they chide their graceless and unloving temper for not\nheeding more. Wretched and barren is the discontent that quarrels with its\ntools instead of with its skill; and, by criticising Providence, manages\nto keep up complacency with self. How gentle should we be, if we were not\nprovoked; how pious, if we were not busy; the sick would be patient, only\nhe is not in health; the obscure would do great things, only he is not\nconspicuous!\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nAugust 29\n\n\n_Am I my brother's keeper_?--GEN. iv. 9.\n\n  Because I held upon my selfish, road,\n  And left my brother wounded by the way,\n  And called ambition duty, and pressed on--\n      O Lord, I do repent.\n\nSARAH WILLIAMS.\n\nHow many are the sufferers who have fallen amongst misfortunes along\nthe wayside of life! \"By _chance_\" we come that way; chance, accident,\nProvidence, has thrown them in our way; we see them from a distance, like\nthe Priest, or we come upon them suddenly, like the Levite; our business,\nour pleasure, is interrupted by the sight, is troubled by the delay; what\nare our feelings, what our actions towards them? \"Who is thy neighbor?\" It\nis the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou hearest\nthe cry of distress, wherever thou seest any one brought across thy path by\nthe chances and changes of life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom\nit is in thy power to help,--he, stranger or enemy though he be,--_he_ is\nthy neighbor.\n\nA. P. STANLEY.\n\n\n\nAugust 30\n\n\n_Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness\nand meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love_.--EPH.\niv. 1, 2.\n\n  Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear\n    Each other's faults, to suffer with true meekness;\n  Help us each other's joys and griefs to share,\n    But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness.\n\nANON.\n\nYou should make a special point of asking God every morning to give you,\nbefore all else, that true spirit of meekness which He would have His\nchildren possess. You must also make a firm resolution to practise yourself\nin this virtue, especially in your intercourse with those persons to whom\nyou chiefly owe it. You must make it your main object to conquer yourself\nin this matter; call it to mind a hundred times during the day, commending\nyour efforts to God. It seems to me that no more than this is needed in\norder to subject your soul entirely to His will, and then you will become\nmore gentle day by day, trusting wholly in His goodness. You will be very\nhappy, my dearest child, if you can do this, for God will dwell in your\nheart; and where He reigns all is peace. But if you should fail, and commit\nsome of your old faults, do not be disheartened, but rise up and go on\nagain, as though you had not fallen.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\nAugust 31\n\n\n_Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage\nthat which hath befallen thee_.--2 ESDRAS x. 15.\n\n  Go, bury thy sorrow,\n    The world hath its share;\n  Go, bury it deeply,\n    Go, hide it with care.\n  Go, bury thy sorrow,\n    Let others be blest;\n  Go, give them the sunshine,\n    And tell God the rest.\n\nANON.\n\nOur veiled and terrible guest [Trouble] brings for us, if we will accept\nit, the boon of fortitude, patience, self-control, wisdom, sympathy, faith.\nIf we reject that, then we find in our hands the other gift,--cowardice,\nweakness, isolation, despair. If your trouble seems to have in it no other\npossibility of good, at least set yourself to bear it like a man. Let none\nof its weight come on other shoulders. Try to carry it so that no one shall\neven see it. Though your heart be sad within, let cheer go out from you to\nothers. Meet them with a kindly presence, considerate words, helpful acts.\n\nG. S. MERRIAM.\n\n\n\nSeptember 1\n\n\n_Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of\ntheir souls to Him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator_.--I PETER iv.\n19.\n\n_The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy_.--JAMES v. 11.\n\n  On Thy compassion I repose\n    In weakness and distress:\n  I will not ask for greater ease,\n    Lest I should love Thee less;\n  Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me\n    To need Thy tenderness.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nOh, look not at thy pain or sorrow, how great soever; but look from them,\nlook off them, look beyond them, to the Deliverer! whose power is over\nthem, and whose loving, wise, and tender spirit is able to do thee good by\nthem. The Lord lead thee, day by day, in the right way, and keep thy mind\nstayed upon Him, in whatever befalls thee; that the belief of His love and\nhope in His mercy, when thou art at the lowest ebb, may keep up thy head\nabove the billows.\n\nISAAC PENINGTON\n\n\nSeptember 2\n\n\n_Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of\nGod_.--MATT. v. 6.\n\n  Grant us Thy peace, down from Thy presence falling,\n    As on the thirsty earth cool night-dews sweet;\n  Grant us Thy peace, to Thy pure paths recalling,\n    From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet.\n\nE. SCUDDER.\n\nO God, who art Peace everlasting, whose chosen reward is the gift of peace,\nand who hast taught us that the peacemakers are Thy children, pour Thy\nsweet peace into our souls, that everything discordant may utterly vanish,\nand all that makes for peace be sweet to us forever. Amen.\n\nGELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 492.\n\nHave you ever thought seriously of the meaning of that blessing given to\nthe peacemakers? People are always expecting to get peace in heaven; but\nyou know whatever peace they get there will be ready-made. Whatever making\nof peace _they_ can be blest for, must be on the earth here: not the taking\nof arms against, but the building of nests amidst, its \"sea of troubles\"\n[like the halcyons]. Difficult enough, you think? Perhaps so, but I do not\nsee that any of us try. We complain of the want of many things--we want\nvotes, we want liberty, we want amusement, we want money. Which of us feels\nor knows that he wants peace?\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\nSeptember 3\n\n\n_The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due\nseason_.--PS. cxlv. 15.\n\n_What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee_.--PS. lvi. 3.\n\n  Late on me, weeping, did this whisper fall:\n  \"Dear child, there is no need to weep at all!\n  Why go about to grieve and to despair?\n  Why weep now through thy Future's eyes, and bear\n  In vain to-day to-morrow's load of care?\"\n\nH. S. SUTTON.\n\nThe crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and\nconsequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is\nlaid upon us. But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the\ndispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them\nindeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, everything in\nthem is bitter and unendurable; all seems dark and helpless. Let us throw\nself aside; no more self-interest, and then God's will, unfolding every\nmoment in everything, will console us also every moment for all that He\nshall do around us, or within us, for our discipline.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nSeptember 4\n\n\n_His delight is in the law of the Lord. And he shall be like a tree planted\nby the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his\nleaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper_.--PS. i.\n2, 3.\n\n  The wind that blows can never kill\n    The tree God plants;\n  It bloweth east; it bloweth west;\n  The tender leaves have little rest,\n  But any wind that blows is best.\n    The tree God plants\n  Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,\n  Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will\n    Meets all its wants.\n\nLILLIE E. BARR.\n\nIt is a fatal mistake to suppose that we cannot be holy except on the\ncondition of a situation and circumstances in life such as shall suit\nourselves. It is one of the first principles of holiness to leave our times\nand our places, our going out and our coming; in, our wasted and our goodly\nheritage entirely with the Lord. Here, O Lord, hast Thou placed us, and we\nwill glorify Thee here!\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\nIt is not by change of circumstances, but by fitting our spirits to the\ncircumstances in which God has placed us, that we can be reconciled to life\nand duty.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nSeptember 5\n\n\n_O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me_.--ISA. xxxviii. 14.\n\n  Being perplexed, I say,\n    Lord, make it right!\n  Night is as day to Thee,\n    Darkness is light.\n  I am afraid to touch\n  Things that involve so much;--\n    My trembling hand may shake,\n    My skill-less hand may break:\n    Thine can make no mistake.\n\nANNA B. WARNER.\n\nThe many troubles in your household will tend to your edification, if you\nstrive to bear them all in gentleness, patience, and kindness. Keep this\never before you, and remember constantly that God's loving eyes are upon\nyou amid all these little worries and vexations, watching whether you\ntake them as He would desire. Offer up all such occasions to Him, and\nif sometimes you are put out, and give way to impatience, do not be\ndiscouraged, but make haste to regain your lost composure.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nSeptember 6\n\n\n_If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross\ndaily, and follow me_.--LUKE ix. 23.\n\n  There lies thy cross; beneath it meekly bow;\n    It fits thy stature now;\n  Who scornful pass it with averted eye,\n    'Twill crush them by and by.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nTo take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it\nconsists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to\nus.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nOn one occasion an intimate friend of his was fretting somewhat at not\nbeing able to put a cross on the grave of a relation, because the rest of\nthe family disliked it. \"Don't you see,\" he said to her, \"that by giving up\nyour own way, you will be virtually putting a cross on the grave? You 'll\nhave it in its effect. The one is but a stone cross, the other is a true\nspiritual cross.\"\n\nLIFE OF JAMES HINTON.\n\nI would have you, one by one, ask yourselves, Wherein do I take up the\ncross daily?\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nEvery morning, receive thine own special cross from the hands of thy\nheavenly Father.\n\nL. SCUPOLI.\n\n\n\nSeptember 7\n\n\n_Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit\nthe fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself\nunspotted from the world_.--JAMES i. 27.\n\n  Not to ease and aimless quiet\n    Doth that inward answer tend,\n  But to works of love and duty\n    As our being's end.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nIt is surprising how practical duty enriches the fancy and the heart, and\naction clears and deepens the affections. Indeed, no one can have a true\nidea of right, until he does it; any genuine reverence for it, till he has\ndone it often and with cost; any peace ineffable in it, till he does it\nalways and with alacrity. Does any one complain, that the best affections\nare transient visitors with him, and the heavenly spirit a stranger to\nhis heart? Oh, let him not go forth, on any strained wing of thought, in\ndistant quest of them; but rather stay at home, and set his house in the\ntrue order of conscience; and of their own accord the divinest guests will\nenter.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nSeptember 8\n\n\n_Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving_.--COL. iv. 2.\n\n_Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong_.--I COR.\nxvi. 13.\n\n  We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power.\n  Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong,\n  Or others--that we are not always strong,\n  That we are ever overborne with care,\n  That we should ever weak or heartless be,\n  Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,\n  And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nIt is impossible for us to make the duties of our lot minister to our\nsanctification without a habit of devout fellowship with God. This is the\nspring of all our life, and the strength of it. It is prayer, meditation,\nand converse with God, that refreshes, restores, and renews the temper of\nour minds, at all times, under all trials, after all conflicts with the\nworld. By this contact with the world unseen we receive continual accesses\nof strength. As our day, so is our strength. Without this healing and\nrefreshing of spirit, duties grow to be burdens, the events of life chafe\nour temper, employments lower the tone of our minds, and we become fretful,\nirritable, and impatient.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nSeptember 9\n\n\n_This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm\nconstantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to\nmaintain good works_.--TITUS iii. 8.\n\n  Faith's meanest deed more favor bears\n    Where hearts and wills are weighed,\n  Than brightest transports, choicest prayers,\n    Which bloom their hour and fade.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nOne secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice of inclination to duty, is\nworth all the mere good thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in\nwhich idle people indulge themselves.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nIt is impossible for us to live in fellowship with God without holiness in\nall the duties of life. These things act and react on each other. Without a\ndiligent and faithful obedience to the calls and claims of others upon us,\nour religious profession is simply dead. To disobey conscience when it\npoints to relative duties irritates the whole temper, and quenches the\nfirst beginnings of devotion. We cannot go from strife, breaches, and angry\nwords, to God. Selfishness, an imperious will, want of sympathy with\nthe sufferings and sorrows of other men, neglect of charitable offices,\nsuspicions, hard censures of those with whom our lot is cast, will\nmiserably darken our own hearts, and hide the face of God from us.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nSeptember 10\n\n\n_Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head_.--JOHN xiii. 9.\n\n  Take my hands, and let them move\n  At the impulse of Thy love.\n\n  Take my feet, and let them be\n  Swift and \"beautiful\" for Thee.\n\n  Take my intellect, and use\n  Every power as Thou shall choose.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nIf a man may attain thereunto, to be unto God as his hand is to a man, let\nhim be therewith content, and not seek further. That is to say, let him\nstrive and wrestle with all his might to obey God and His commandments so\nthoroughly at all times, and in all things, that in him there be nothing,\nspiritual or natural, which opposeth God; and that his whole soul and body,\nwith all their members, may stand ready and willing for that to which God\nhath created them; as ready and willing as his hand is to a man, which is\nso wholly in his power, that in the twinkling of an eye, he moveth and\nturneth it whither he will. And when we find it otherwise with us, we must\ngive our whole diligence to amend our state.\n\nTHEOLOGIA GERMANICA.\n\nWhen the mind thinks nothing, when the soul covets nothing, and the body\nacteth nothing that is contrary to the will of God, this is perfect\nsanctification.\n\nANONYMOUS, _in an old Bible_, 1599.\n\n\n\nSeptember 11\n\n\n_Thy kingdom come_.--MATT. vi. 10.\n\n  The kingdom of established peace,\n    Which can no more remove;\n  The perfect powers of godliness,\n    The omnipotence of love.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nMy child, thou mayest not measure out thine offering unto me by what others\nhave done or left undone; but be it thine to seek out, even to the last\nmoment of thine earthly life, what is the utmost height of pure devotion to\nwhich I have called _thine own self_. Remember that, if thou fall short of\nthis, each time thou utterest in prayer the words, \"Hallowed be Thy name,\nThy kingdom come,\" thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for is it\nnot a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not seek to promote even unto the\nuttermost, within the narrow compass of thine own heart and spirit?\n\nTHE DIVINE MASTER.\n\nIf you do not wish for His kingdom, don't pray for it. But if you do, you\nmust do more than pray for it; you must work for it.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nSeptember 12\n\n\n_She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not In\nthe Lord; she drew not near to her God_.--ZEPH. iii. 2.\n\n  Oh! let us not this thought allow;\n  The heat, the dust upon our brow,\n  Signs of the contest, we may wear;\n  Yet thus we shall appear more fair\n    In our Almighty Master's eye,\n  Than if in fear to lose the bloom,\n  Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume,\n    We from the strife should fly.\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nIf God requires anything of us, we have no right to draw back under the\npretext that we are liable to commit some fault in obeying. It is better\nto obey imperfectly than not at all. Perhaps you ought to rebuke some\none dependent on you, but you are silent for fear of giving way to\nvehemence;--or you avoid the society of certain persons, because they make\nyou cross and impatient. How are you to attain self-control, if you shun\nall occasions of practising it? Is not such self-choosing a greater fault\nthan those into which you fear to fall? Aim at a steady mind to do right,\ngo wherever duty calls you, and believe firmly that God will forgive the\nfaults that take our weakness by surprise in spite of our sincere desire to\nplease Him.\n\nJEAN NICOLAS GROU.\n\n\n\nSeptember 13\n\n\n_It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation\nof the Lord_.--LAM. iii. 26.\n\n_Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation_.--PS. lxii.\nI.\n\n  Not so in haste, my heart;\n    Have faith in God, and wait;\n  Although He linger long,\n    He never comes too late.\n\nANON.\n\nThe true use to be made of all the imperfections of which you are conscious\nis neither to justify, nor to condemn them, but to present them before\nGod, conforming your will to His, and remaining in peace; for peace is the\ndivine order, in whatever state we may be.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nYou will find it less easy to uproot faults, than to choke them by gaining\nvirtues. Do not think of your faults; still less of others' faults; in\nevery person who comes near you look for what is good and strong: honor\nthat; rejoice in it; and, as you can, try to imitate it; and your faults\nwill drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nSeptember 14\n\n\n_Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty\nthings which thou knowest not_.--JER. xxxiii. 3.\n\n_And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked_.--I KINGS iii.\n13.\n\n  No voice of prayer to Thee can rise,\n  But swift as light Thy Love replies;\n  Not always what we ask, indeed,\n  But, O most Kind! what most we need.\n\nH. M. KIMBALL.\n\nIf you have any trial which seems intolerable, pray,--pray that it be\nrelieved or changed. There is no harm in that. We may pray for anything,\nnot wrong in itself, with perfect freedom, if we do not pray selfishly.\nOne disabled from duty by sickness may pray for health, that he may do his\nwork; or one hemmed in by internal impediments may pray for utterance, that\nhe may serve better the truth and the right. Or, if we have a besetting\nsin, we may pray to be delivered from it, in order to serve God and man,\nand not be ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But the answer to\nthe prayer may be, as it was to Paul, not the removal of the thorn, but,\ninstead, a growing insight into its meaning and value. The voice of God in\nour soul may show us, as we look up to Him, that His strength is enough to\nenable us to bear it.\n\nJ. F. CLARKE.\n\n\n\nSeptember 15\n\n\n_Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism\nthat I am baptized with_?--MARK. x. 38.\n\n  Whate'er my God ordains is right;\n    Though I the cup must drink\n  That bitter seems to my faint heart,\n    I will not fear nor shrink.\n\nS. RODIGAST.\n\nThe worst part of martyrdom is not the last agonizing moment; it is the\nwearing, daily steadfastness. Men who can make up their minds to hold out\nagainst the torture of an hour have sunk under the weariness and the harass\nof small prolonged vexations. And there are many Christians who have the\nweight of some deep, incommunicable grief pressing, cold as ice, upon their\nhearts. To bear that cheerfully and manfully is to be a martyr. There is\nmany a Christian bereaved and stricken in the best hopes of life. For such\na one to say quietly, \"Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt,\" is to be a\nmartyr. There is many a Christian who feels the irksomeness of the duties\nof life, and feels his spirit revolting from them. To get up every morning\nwith the firm resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and do them well,\nand finish the work which God has given us to do, that is to drink Christ's\ncup. The humblest occupation has in it materials of discipline for the\nhighest heaven.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nSeptember 16\n\n\n_For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea,\nas a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth. But Thou\nhast mercy upon all. For Thou lovest all the things that are_.--WISDOM OF\nSOLOMON xi. 22-24.\n\n  Oh! Source divine, and Life of all,\n    The Fount of Being's fearful sea,\n  Thy depth would every heart appal,\n    That saw not love supreme in Thee.\n\nJ. STERLING.\n\nHe showed a little thing, the quantity of a hazel-nut, lying in the palm of\nmy hand, as meseemed, and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereon with\nthe eye of my understanding, and thought, \"What may this be?\" and it was\nanswered generally thus, \"It is all that is made.\" I marvelled how it might\nlast; for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for littleness.\nAnd I was answered in my understanding, \"It lasteth, and ever shall: For\nGod loveth it. And so hath all thing being by the Love of God.\" In this\nlittle thing I saw three properties. The first is, that God made it. The\nsecond is, that God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. For this\nis the cause which we be not all in ease of heart and soul: for we seek\nhere rest in this thing which is so little, where no rest is in: and we\nknow not our God that is all Mighty, all Wise, and all Good, for He is very\nrest.\n\nMOTHER JULIANA, 1373.\n\n\n\nSeptember 17\n\n\n_Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever\nof you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of\nman came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a\nransom for many_.--MARK x. 43-45.\n\n    A child's kiss\n  Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad;\n  A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich;\n  A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strong;\n  Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense\n  Of service which thou renderest.\n\nE. B. BROWNING.\n\nLet every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and cares, and his sins too,\nas it were, on the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy in this\nlofty inward work, were called by some duty in the Providence of God to\ncease therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick person, or any other such\nservice, he should do so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake\nsuch work, and go out to preach or aught else, I should go cheerfully,\nbelieving not only that God would be with me, but that he would vouchsafe\nme it may be even greater grace and blessing in that external work\nundertaken out of true love in the service of my neighbor, than I should\nperhaps receive in my season of loftiest contemplation.\n\nJOHN TAULER.\n\n\n\nSeptember 18\n\n\n_All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His\ncovenant and His testimonies_.--PS. xxv. 10.\n\n  Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth,\n    Speak peace to my anxious soul,\n  And help me to feel that all my ways\n    Are under Thy wise control;\n  That He who cares for the lily,\n    And heeds the sparrows' fall,\n  Shall tenderly lead His loving child:\n    For He made and loveth all.\n\nANON.\n\nIt is not by seeking more fertile regions where toil is lighter--happier\ncircumstances free from difficult complications and troublesome people--but\nby bringing the high courage of a devout soul, clear in principle and aim,\nto bear upon what is given to us, that we brighten our inward light, lead\nsomething of a true life, and introduce the kingdom of heaven into the\nmidst of our earthly day. If we cannot work out the will of God where God\nhas placed us, then why has He placed us there?\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nSeptember 19\n\n\n_Pray for us unto the Lord thy God... that the Lord thy God may show us the\nway wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do_.--JER. xlii. 2, 3.\n\n_That which I see not, teach Thou me_.--JOB xxxiv. 32.\n\n    O father, hear!\n  The way is dark, and I would fain discern\n  What steps to take, into which path to turn;\n    Oh! make it clear.\n\nCHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.\n\n\"We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we can't\ntell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge\nourselves in the present moment, or whether we will renounce that, for the\nsake of obeying the Divine voice within us,--for the sake of being true to\nall the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has\nslipped away from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go\nforever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life.\"\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nThere was a care on my mind so to pass my time, that nothing might hinder\nme from the most steady attention to the voice of the true Shepherd.\n\nJOHN WOOLMAN.\n\n\n\nSeptember 20\n\n\n_Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of\nman: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of\ntongues_.--PS. xxxi. 20.\n\n  The praying spirit breathe,\n    The watching power impart,\n  From all entanglements beneath\n    Call off my anxious heart.\n  My feeble mind sustain,\n    By worldly thoughts oppressed;\n  Appear, and bid me turn again\n    To my eternal rest.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nAs soon as we are with God in faith and in love, we are in prayer.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nIf you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake\nmore work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry\nor flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing nervous and like one\nout of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple\ncommon-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever\naccomplish.\n\nELIZABETH PRENTISS.\n\n\n\nSeptember 21\n\n\n_How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men\nput their trust under the shadow of Thy wings_.--PS. xxxvi. 7.\n\n_The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting\narms_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 27.\n\n  Within Thy circling arms we lie,\n    O God! in Thy infinity:\n  Our souls in quiet shall abide,\n    Beset with love on every side.\n\nANON.\n\n\"The Everlasting Arms.\" I think of that whenever rest is sweet. How the\nwhole earth and the strength of it, that is almightiness, is beneath every\ntired creature to give it rest; _holding_ us, always! No thought of God\nis closer than that. No human tenderness of patience is greater than\nthat which gathers in its arms a little child, and holds it, heedless of\nweariness. And He fills the great earth, and all upon it, with this\nunseen force of His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself, so that\neverywhere we may lie down in His bosom, and be comforted.\n\nA. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\n\n\nSeptember 22\n\n\n_The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou\nmayest do it_.--DEUT. xxx. 14.\n\n  But, above all, the victory is most sure\n  For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives\n  To yield entire obedience to the Law\n  Of Conscience; Conscience reverenced and obeyed,\n  As God's most intimate presence in the soul,\n  And His most perfect image in the world.\n\nW. WORDSWORTH.\n\nWhat we call Conscience is the voice of Divine love in the deep of\nour being, desiring union with our will; and which, by attracting the\naffections inward, invites them to enter into the harmonious contentment,\nand \"fulness of joy\" which attends the being joined by \"one spirit to the\nLord.\"\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\nI rejoice that God has bestowed upon you a relish and inclination for the\ninner life. To be called to this precious and lofty life is a great\nand undeserved grace of God, to which we ought to respond with great\nfaithfulness. God invites us to His fellowship of love, and wishes to\nprepare our spirit to be His own abode and temple.\n\nGERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\n\n\n\nSeptember 23\n\n\n_Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths_--PS. xxv. 4.\n\n  When we cannot see our way,\n  Let us trust and still obey;\n  He who bids us forward go,\n  Cannot fail the way to show.\n  Though the sea be deep and wide,\n  Though a passage seem denied;\n  Fearless let us still proceed,\n  Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead.\n\nANON.\n\nThat which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His\napproval of our way.\n\nS. F. SMILEY.\n\nThere is nothing like the first glance we get at duty, before there has\nbeen any special pleading of our affections or inclinations. Duty is never\nuncertain at first. It is only after we have got involved in the mazes and\nsophistries of wishing that things were otherwise than they are, that it\nseems indistinct. Considering a duty is often only explaining it away.\nDeliberation is often only dishonesty. God's guidance is plain, when we are\ntrue.\n\nF. W, ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nSeptember 24\n\n\n_When I awake, I am still with Thee_.--PS. cxxxix. 18.\n\n  Let the glow of love destroy\n  Cold obedience faintly given;\n  Wake our hearts to strength and joy\n  With the flushing eastern heaven.\n\nC. K. VON ROSENROTH.\n\nWith his first waking consciousness, he can set himself to take a serious,\nmanly view of the day before him. He ought to know pretty well on what\nlines his difficulty is likely to come, whether in being irritable, or\ndomineering, or sharp in his bargains, or self-absorbed, or whatever it be;\nand now, in this quiet hour, he can take a good, full look at his enemy,\nand make up his mind to beat him. It is a good time, too, for giving\nhis thoughts a range quite beyond himself,--beyond even his own moral\nstruggles,--a good time, there in the stillness, for going into the realm\nof other lives. His wife,--what needs has she for help, for sympathy, that\nhe can meet? His children,--how can he make the day sweeter to them? This\nacquaintance, who is having a hard time; this friend, who dropped a word to\nyou yesterday that you hardly noticed in your hurry, but that comes up to\nyou now, revealing in him some finer trait, some deeper hunger, than you\nhad guessed before,--now you can think these things over.\n\nG. S. MERRIAM.\n\n\n\nSeptember 25\n\n\n_Ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your\nhouseholds, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee_.--DEUT. xii. 7.\n\n  Sweet is the smile of home; the mutual look\n    When hearts are of each other sure;\n  Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook,\n    The haunt of all affections pure.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nIs there any tie which absence has loosened, or which the wear and tear\nof every-day intercourse, little uncongenialities, unconfessed\nmisunderstandings, have fretted into the heart, until it bears something of\nthe nature of a fetter? Any cup at our home-table whose sweetness we have\nnot fully tasted, although it might yet make of our daily bread a continual\nfeast? Let us reckon up these treasures while they are still ours, in\nthankfulness to God.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\nWe ought daily or weekly to dedicate a little time to the reckoning up of\nthe virtues of our belongings,--wife, children, friends,--contemplating\nthem then in a beautiful collection. And we should do so now, that we may\nnot pardon and love in vain and too late, after the beloved one has been\ntaken away from us to a better world.\n\nJEAN PAUL RICHTER.\n\n\n\nSeptember 26\n\n\n_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear\nno evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me_.--PS.\nxxiii. 4.\n\n  O will, that wiliest good alone,\n    Lead Thou the way, Thou guides! best;\n  A silent child, I follow on,\n    And trusting lean upon Thy breast.\n  And if in gloom I see Thee not,\n    I lean upon Thy love unknown;\n  In me Thy blessed will is wrought,\n    If I will nothing of my own.\n\nGERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\n\nThe devout soul is always safe in every state, if it makes everything an\noccasion either of rising up, or falling down into the hands of God, and\nexercising faith, and trust, and resignation to Him. The pious soul, that\neyes only God, that means nothing but being His alone, can have no stop put\nto its progress; light and darkness equally assist him: in the light he\nlooks up to God, in the darkness he lays hold on God, and so they both do\nhim the same good.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nSeptember 27\n\n\n_When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me_.--MICAH vii. 8.\n\n_There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the\nlight of Thy countenance upon us_.--PS. iv. 6.\n\n  How oft a gleam of glory sent\n    Straight through the deepest, darkest night,\n  Has filled the soul with heavenly light,\n    With holy peace and sweet content.\n\nANON.\n\nSuppose you are bewildered and know not what is right nor what is true. Can\nyou not cease to regard whether you do or not, whether you be bewildered,\nwhether you be happy? Cannot you utterly and perfectly love, and rejoice\nto be in the dark, and gloom-beset, because that very thing is the fact of\nGod's Infinite Being as it is to you? Cannot you take this trial also into\nyour own heart, and be ignorant, not because you are obliged, but because\nthat being God's will, it is yours also? Do you not see that a person who\ntruly loves is one with the Infinite Being--cannot be uncomfortable or\nunhappy? It is that which is that he wills and desires and holds best of\nall to be. To know God is utterly to sacrifice self.\n\nJAMES HINTON.\n\n\n\nSeptember 28\n\n\n_My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in\ndeed, and in truth_.--I JOHN iii. 18.\n\n_But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own\nselves_.--JAMES i. 22.\n\n  Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers,\n    Whose loves in higher love endure;\n    What souls possess themselves so pure,\n  Or is there blessedness like theirs?\n\nA. TENNYSON.\n\nLet every creature have your love. Love, with its fruits of meekness,\npatience, and humility, is all that we can wish for to ourselves, and our\nfellow-creatures; for this is to live in God, united to Him, both for time\nand eternity. To desire to communicate good to every creature, in the\ndegree we can, and it is capable of receiving from us, is a divine temper;\nfor thus God stands unchangeably disposed towards the whole creation.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nWhat shall be our reward for loving our neighbor as ourselves in this life?\nThat, when we become angels, we shall be enabled to love him better than\nourselves.\n\nE. SWEDENBORG.\n\n\n\nSeptember 29\n\n\n_Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God_.--MATT. v. 8.\n\n_Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see\nthe Lord_.--HEB. xii. 14.\n\n  Since Thou Thyself dost still display\n    Unto the pure in heart,\n  Oh, make us children of the day\n    To know Thee as Thou art.\n  For Thou art light and life and love;\n    And Thy redeemed below\n  May see Thee as Thy saints above,\n    And know Thee as they know.\n\nJ. MONTGOMERY.\n\nDoubt, gloom, impatience, have been expelled; joy has taken their place,\nthe hope of heaven and the harmony of a pure heart, the triumph of\nself-mastery, sober thoughts, and a contented mind. How can charity towards\nall men fail to follow, being the mere affectionateness of innocence and\npeace? Thus the Spirit of God creates in us the simplicity and warmth of\nheart which children have, nay, rather the perfections of His heavenly\nhosts, high and low being joined together in His mysterious work; for what\nare implicit trust, ardent love, abiding purity, but the mind both of\nlittle children and of the adoring seraphim!\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\n\n\nSeptember 30\n\n\n_Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?\nHe that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the\ntruth in his heart_.--PS. xv. 1, 2.\n\n  How happy is he born or taught,\n    That serveth not another's will,\n  Whose armor is his honest thought,\n    And simple truth his utmost skill.\n\nH. WOTTON.\n\nIf thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason,\nseriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract\nthee, but keeping thy divine part pure as if thou shouldest be bound to\ngive it back immediately,--if thou boldest to this, expecting nothing,\nfearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to\nnature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest,\nthou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nOctober 1\n\n\n_Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am\nwith you, saith the Lord of hosts_.--HAGGAI ii. 4,\n\n  Yet the world is Thy field, Thy garden;\n    On earth art Thou still at home.\n  When Thou bendest hither Thy hallowing eye,\n  My narrow work-room seems vast and high,\n  Its dingy ceiling a rainbow-dome,--\n  Stand ever thus at my wide-swung door,\n    And toil will be toil no more.\n\nL. LARCOM.\n\nThe situation that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied\nby man. Yes, here, in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable Actual,\nwherein thou even now standest, here or nowhere is thy Ideal: work it out\ntherefrom; and working, believe, live, be free. Fool! the Ideal is in\nthyself, the impediment too is in thyself: thy condition is but the stuff\nthou art to shape that same Ideal out of: what matters whether such stuff\nbe of this sort or that, so the form thou givest it be heroic, be poetic. O\nthou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to\nthe gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth:\nthe thing thou seekest is already with thee, \"here or nowhere,\" couldst\nthou only see!\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nOctober 2\n\n\n_I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress_.--PS. xvii. 3.\n\n_In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth\nhis lips is wise_.--PROV. x. 19.\n\n  Prune thou thy words; the thoughts control\n    That o'er thee swell and throng;\n  They will condense within thy soul,\n    And change to purpose strong.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nFew men suspect how much mere talk fritters away spiritual energy,--that\nwhich should be spent in action, spends itself in words. Hence he who\nrestrains that love of talk, lays up a fund of spiritual strength.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\nDo not flatter yourself that your thoughts are under due control, your\ndesires properly regulated, or your dispositions subject as they should be\nto Christian principle, if your intercourse with others consists mainly of\nfrivolous gossip, impertinent anecdotes, speculations on the character and\naffairs of your neighbors, the repetition of former conversations, or a\ndiscussion of the current petty scandal of society; much less, if you allow\nyourself in careless exaggeration on all these points, and that grievous\ninattention to exact truth, which is apt to attend the statements of those\nwhose conversation is made up of these materials.\n\nH. WARE, JR.\n\n\n\nOctober 3\n\n\n_Judge not, that ye be not judged_.--MATT. vii. 1.\n\n_Why beboldest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest\nnot the beam that is in thine own eye_?--LUKE vi. 41.\n\n  Judge not; the workings of his brain\n    And of his heart thou canst not see;\n  What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,\n    In God's pure light may only be\n  A scar, brought from some well-won field,\n  Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.\n\nADELAIDE A. PROCTER.\n\nWhen you behold an aspect for whose constant gloom and frown you\ncannot account, whose unvarying cloud exasperates you by its apparent\ncauselessness, be sure that there is a canker somewhere, and a canker not\nthe less deeply corroding because concealed.\n\nCHARLOTTE BRONTE.\n\nWhile we are coldly discussing a man's career, sneering at his mistakes,\nblaming his rashness, and labelling his opinions--\"Evangelical and narrow,\"\nor \"Latitudinarian and Pantheistic,\" or \"Anglican and supercilious\"--that\nman, in his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because his sacrifice\nis a hard one, because strength and patience are failing him to speak the\ndifficult word, and do the difficult deed.\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\n\n\nOctober 4\n\n\n_Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:\nfor the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest_.--JOSH. i. 9.\n\n  By Thine unerring Spirit led,\n    We shall not in the desert stray;\n  We shall not full direction need,\n    Nor miss our providential way;\n  As far from danger as from fear,\n  While love, almighty love, is near.\n\nCHARLES WESLEY.\n\nWatch your way then, as a cautious traveller; and don't be gazing at that\nmountain or river in the distance, and saying, \"How shall I ever get over\nthem?\" but keep to the present _little inch_ that is before you, and\naccomplish _that_ in the little moment that belongs to it. The mountain and\nthe river can only be passed in the same way; and, when you come to them,\nyou will come to the light and strength that belong to them.\n\nM. A. KELTY.\n\nLet not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall\nbe necessary, having with thee the same reason which thou now usest for\npresent things.\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS.\n\n\n\nOctober 5\n\n\n_Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not_.--ISA. xxxv.\n4.\n\n  Why shouldst them fill to-day with sorrow\n    About to-morrow,\n    My heart?\n  One watches all with care most true,\n  Doubt not that He will give thee too\n    Thy part.\n\nPAUL FLEMMING.\n\nThe crosses which we make for ourselves by a restless anxiety as to the\nfuture, are not crosses which come from God. We show want of faith in Him\nby our false wisdom, wishing to forestall His arrangements, and struggling\nto supplement His Providence by our own providence. The future is not yet\nours; perhaps it never will be. If it comes, it may come wholly different\nfrom what we have foreseen. Let us shut our eyes, then, to that which God\nhides from us, and keeps in reserve in the treasures of His deep counsels.\nLet us worship without seeing; let us be silent; let us abide in peace.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nOctober 6\n\n\n_I had fainted, unless I bad believed to see the goodness of the Lord in\nthe land of the living_--PS. xxvii. 13.\n\n_I will surely do thee good_.--GEN. xxxii. 12.\n\n  Thou know'st not what is good for thee,\n    But God doth know,--\n  Let Him thy strong reliance be,\n    And rest thee so.\n\nC. F. GELLERT.\n\nLet us be very careful of thinking, on the one hand, that we have no work\nassigned us to do, or, on the other hand, that what we have assigned to us\nis not the right thing for us. If ever we can say in our hearts to God,\nin reference to any daily duty, \"This is not my place; I would choose\nsomething dearer; I am capable of something higher;\" we are guilty not only\nof rebellion, but of blasphemy. It is equivalent to saying, not only, \"My\nheart revolts against Thy commands,\" but \"Thy commands are unwise; Thine\nAlmighty guidance is unskilful; Thine omniscient eye has mistaken the\ncapacities of Thy creature; Thine infinite love is indifferent to the\nwelfare of Thy child.\"\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\n\n\nOctober 7\n\n\n_And because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your\nhearts, crying, Abba, Father_.--GAL. iv. 6.\n\n    O Lord, forgive my sin,\n  And deign to put within\n  A calm, obedient heart, a patient mind;\n    That I may murmur not,\n    Though bitter seem my lot;\n  For hearts unthankful can no blessing find.\n\nM. RUTILIUS, 1604.\n\nResignation to the Divine Will signifies a cheerful approbation and\nthankful acceptance of everything that comes from God. It is not enough\npatiently to submit, but we must thankfully receive and fully approve of\neverything that, by the order of God's providence, happens to us. For there\nis no reason why we should be patient, but what is as good and as strong a\nreason why we should be thankful. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself\ndisposed to uneasiness or murmuring at any thing that is the effect of\nGod's providence over you, you must look upon yourself as denying either\nthe wisdom or goodness of God.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nOctober 8\n\n\n_Ye shall not go out in haste, for the Lord will go before you; and the God\nof Israel will be your rearward_.--ISA. lii. 12. (R. V.).\n\n_He that believeth shall not make haste_.--ISA. xxviii. 16.\n\n  Holy Spirit, Peace divine!\n  Still this restless heart of mine;\n  Speak to calm this tossing sea,\n  Stayed in Thy tranquillity.\n\nS. LONGFELLOW.\n\nIn whatever you are called upon to do, endeavor to maintain a calm,\ncollected, and prayerful state of mind. Self-recollection is of great\nimportance. \"It is good for a man to quietly wait for the salvation of the\nLord.\" He who is in what may be called a spiritual hurry, or rather who\nruns without having evidence of being spiritually sent, makes haste to no\npurpose.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\nThere is great fret and worry in always running after work; it is not good\nintellectually or spiritually.\n\nANNIE KEARY.\n\nWhenever we are outwardly excited we should cease to act; but whenever we\nhave a message from the spirit within, we should execute it with calmness.\nA fine day may excite one to act, but it is much better that we act from\nthe calm spirit in any day, be the outward what it may.\n\nJ. P. GREAVES.\n\n\n\nOctober 9\n\n\n_As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord_.--JOSH. xxiv. 15.\n\n  O happy house I and happy servitude!\n    Where all alike one Master own;\n  Where daily duty, in Thy strength pursued,\n    Is never hard or toilsome known;\n  Where each one serves Thee, meek and lowly,\n    Whatever Thine appointment be,\n  Till common tasks seem great and holy,\n    When they are done as unto Thee.\n\nC. J. P. SPITTA.\n\nAt Dudson there was no rushing after anything, either worldly or\nintellectual. It was a home of constant activity, issuing from, and\nretiring to, a centre of deep repose. There was an earnest application of\nexcellent sense to the daily duties of life, to the minutest courtesy and\nkindness, as well as to the real interests of others. Everything great and\neverything little seemed done in the same spirit, and with the same degree\nof fidelity, because it was the will of God; and that which could not\nbe traced to His will was not undertaken at all. Nothing at Dudson was\nesteemed too little to be cared for, and nothing too great to be undertaken\nat the command of God; and for this they daily exercised their mental and\nbodily powers on the things around them; knowing that our Lord thoroughly\nfurnishes each of His soldiers for his work, and places before each the\ntask he has to do.\n\nM. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\n\n\n\nOctober 10\n\n\n_Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means_.--2\nTHESS. iii. 16.\n\n_The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His\npeople with peace_.--PS. xxix. 11.\n\n  In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy\n    Abides, and when pain seems to have its will,\n  Or we despair,--oh, may that peace rise slowly,\n    Stronger than agony, and we be still.\n\nS. JOHNSON.\n\nBut if a man ought and is willing to lie still under God's hand, he must\nand ought also to lie still under all things, whether they come from God,\nhimself, or the creatures, nothing excepted. And he who would be obedient,\nresigned, and submissive to God, must and ought to be also resigned,\nobedient, and submissive to all things, in a spirit of yielding, and not of\nresistance; and take them in silence, resting on the hidden foundations of\nhis soul, and having a secret inward patience, that enableth him to take\nall chances or crosses willingly; and, whatever befalleth, neither to call\nfor nor desire any redress, or deliverance, or resistance, or revenge, but\nalways in a loving, sincere humility to cry, \"Father, forgive them, for\nthey know not what they do!\"\n\nTHEOLOGIA GERMANICA.\n\n\n\nOctober 11\n\n\n_And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord_.--NUM. xi. 1.\n\n  When thou hast thanked thy God\n    For every blessing sent,\n  What time will then remain\n    For murmurs or lament?\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nLet him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, yield himself up to suffer\nwhatever God shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, according to his power,\nby the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmost that he can discern\nit, and never complain of his distresses but to God alone, with entire\nand humble resignation, praying that he may be strong to endure all his\nsufferings according to the will of God.\n\nJOHN TAULER.\n\nHe who complains, or thinks he has a right to complain, because he is\ncalled in God's Providence to suffer, has something within him which needs\nto be taken away. A soul whose will is lost in God's will, can never do\nthis. Sorrow may exist; but complaint never.\n\nCATHERINE ADORNA.\n\n\n\nOctober 12\n\n\n_Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord_.--EPH. v. 19.\n\n_Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts_.--I PETER iii. 15.\n\n    There are in this loud stunning tide\n      Of human care and crime,\n    With whom the melodies abide\n      Of th' everlasting chime;\n    Who carry music in their heart\n    Through dusky lane and wrangling mart,\n  Plying their daily task with busier feet,\n  Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.\n\nJ. KEBLE.\n\nStrive to carry thyself with a total resignation to the Divine Will, that\nGod may do with thee and all thine according to His heavenly pleasure,\nrelying on Him as on a kind and loving Father. Never recall that intention,\nand though thou be taken up about the affairs of the condition wherein God\nhath placed thee, yet thou wilt still be in prayer, in the presence of God,\nand in perpetual acts of resignation. \"A just man leaves not off to pray\nunless he leaves off to be just.\" He always prays who always does well.\nThe good desire is prayer, and if the desire be continued so also is the\nprayer.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\n\n\nOctober 13\n\n\n_We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full\nassurance of hope unto the end_.--HEB. vi. 11.\n\n_The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil_.--2\nTHESS. iii. 3.\n\n  Long though my task may be,\n    Cometh the end.\n  God't is that helpeth me,\n  His is the work, and He\n    New strength will lend.\n\nANON.\n\nSet yourself steadfastly to those duties which have the least attractive\nexterior; it matters not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in great or\nsmall matters. Be patient with yourself and your own failings; never be in\na hurry, and do not yield to longings after that which is impossible to\nyou. My dear sister, go on steadily and quietly; if our dear Lord means you\nto run, He will \"strengthen your heart.\"\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\nAlways begin by doing that which costs me most, unless the easier duty is\na pressing one. Examine, classify, and determine at night the work of\nthe morrow; arrange things in the order of their importance, and act\naccordingly. Dread, above all things, bitterness and irritation. Never say,\nor indirectly recall anything to my advantage.\n\nMADAME SWET CHINE,\n\n\n\nOctober 14\n\n\n_He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me\nlove death_.--PROV. viii. 36.\n\n_But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your\nfruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin\nis death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our\nLord_.--ROM. vi. 22, 23.\n\n  O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry!\n  Give me Thyself, or else I die!\n  Save me from death; from hell set free!\n  Death, hell, are but the want of Thee.\n  Quickened by Thy imparted flame,\n  Saved when possessed of Thee, I am:\n  My life, my only heaven Thou art;\n  O might I feel Thee in my heart!\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nSin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure\nfrom goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with\nwhom the happiness, and blessedness, and heaven of a soul doth consist.\nAvoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable.\n\nSAMUEL SHAW.\n\n\"I could n't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between\nmyself and God.\"\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nUnholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.\n\nJOHN WESLEY.\n\n\n\nOctober 15\n\n\n_Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;\ntherefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord,\nmake haste to help me_.--PS. xl. 12, 13.\n\n_Sin shall not have dominion over you_.--ROM. vi. 14.\n\n  O Thou, to whose all-searching sight\n  The darkness shineth as the light!\n  Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;\n  Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nYes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart\nto morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that\ncuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth\nof springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of\nfriendliness,--this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for\nme so long,--this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better\nthan that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I\nat last shall say, \"My temptation has become my strength! for to the very\nfight with it I owe my force.\"\n\nW. C. GANNETT.\n\n\n\nOctober 16\n\n\n_I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth,\nwhich Thou hast showed unto Thy servant_.--GEN. xxxii. 10.\n\n  Some murmur if their sky is clear,\n    And wholly bright to view,\n  If one small speck of dark appear\n    In their great heaven of blue:\n  And some with thankful love are filled,\n    If but one streak of light,\n  One ray of God's good mercy, gild\n    The darkness of their night.\n\nR. C. TRENCH.\n\nHabitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the\nDivine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest\ncheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy,\ntheir blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them fresh\nand brilliant as the first day's morning and evening light to the dwellers\nin Paradise. With the happy it is their constant peace that seems to come\nby nature, and to be blunted by its commonness,--and their griefs to come\nfrom God, sharpened by their sacred origin; with the sufferer, it is his\npain that appears to be a thing of course, and to require no explanation,\nwhile his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as\na breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nOctober 17\n\n\n_Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as\nin obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than\nsacrifice_.--I SAM. XV. 22.\n\n_Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will\nshow to you to-day_--EX. xiv. 13.\n\n  The folded hands seem idle:\n    If folded at His word,\n  'Tis a holy service, trust me,\n    In obedience to the Lord.\n\nANNA SHIPTON.\n\nIt is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention\nthat advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the\nyielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread\ncheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek\nnothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see our duty in the present\nmoment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nGodliness is the devotion of the soul to God, as to a living person whose\nwill is to be its law, whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of\nliving before the face of God, and not the simply doing certain things.\n\nJ. B. BROWN.\n\n\n\nOctober 18\n\n\n_Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the\nscribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of\nheaven_.--MATT. v. 20.\n\n  The freedom from all wilful sin,\n    The Christian's daily task,--\n  Oh these are graces far below\n    What longing love would ask!\n  Dole not thy duties out to God.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nYou perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the\nGospel, and therefore you are content with your failings. But this is\nsaying nothing to the purpose: for the question is not whether Gospel\nperfection can be fully attained, but whether you come as near it as a\nsincere intention and careful diligence can carry you. Whether you are\nnot in a much lower state than you might be if you sincerely intended and\ncarefully labored to advance yourself in all Christian virtues.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\nWe know not exactly how low the least degree of obedience is, which will\nbring a man to heaven; but this we are quite sure of, that he who aims\nno higher will be sure to fall short even of that, and that he who goes\nfarthest beyond it will be most blessed.\n\nJOHN KEBLE.\n\n\n\nOctober 19\n\n\n_Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord\nthy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that\nthou shouldest go_.--ISA. xlviii. 17.\n\n  I seek Thy aid, I ask direction,\n    Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee;\n  I can bear toil, endure affliction,\n    Only Thy leadings let me see.\n\nANON.\n\nOf all paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a\n_best path_ for every man; a thing which, here and now, it were of all\nthings _wisest_ for him to do; which could he but be led or driven to do,\nhe were then doing \"like a man,\" as we phrase it. His success, in such\ncase, were complete, his felicity a maximum. This path, to find this path,\nand walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\nEvery man has his own vocation. There is one direction in which all space\nis open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless\nexertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on\nevery side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he\nsweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nOctober 20\n\n\n_Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good_.--ROM. xii. 21.\n\n  Come, in this accepted hour;\n    Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in;\n  Fill us with Thy glorious power,\n    Rooting out the seeds of sin.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nIf we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome it by good. There are\ndoubtless many ways of overcoming the evil in our own hearts, but the\nsimplest, easiest, most universal, is to overcome it by active occupation\nin some good word or work. The best antidote against evil of all kinds,\nagainst the evil thoughts which haunt the soul, against the needless\nperplexities which distract the conscience, is to keep hold of the good we\nhave. Impure thoughts will not stand against pure words, and prayers, and\ndeeds. Little doubts will not avail against great certainties. Fix your\naffections on things above, and then you will be less and less troubled by\nthe cares, the temptations, the troubles of things on earth.\n\nA. P. STANLEY.\n\n\n\nOctober 21\n\n\n_I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect_.--GEN. xvii.\nI.\n\n_Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord_.--EX. xxxii. 29.\n\n  Take my life, and let it be\n  Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.\n\n  Take my moments and my days;\n  Let them flow in ceaseless praise.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nI have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the\nLord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed,\nsooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the\ncharacteristics of the daily life. A submissive acceptance of the will of\nGod as it comes in the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands\nof God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will; sweetness\nunder provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle;\nyieldingness to the wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights and\naffronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear;--all\nthese, and many similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural\noutward development of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nOctober 22\n\n\n_Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my\nwill, but Thine, be done_.--LUKE xxii. 42.\n\n  Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will;\n  Give me but this, the heart to be content,\n  And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still,\n  Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent,\n  And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant.\n\nSUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nLet your will be one with His will, and be glad to be disposed of by Him.\nHe will order all things for you. What can cross your will, when it is one\nwith His will, on which all creation hangs, round which all things revolve?\nKeep your hearts clear of evil thoughts; for as evil choices estrange the\nwill from His will, so evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide Him from\nus. Whatever sets us in opposition to Him makes our will an intolerable\ntorment. So long as we will one thing and He another, we go on piercing\nourselves through and through with a perpetual wound; and His will advances\nmoving on in sanctity and majesty, crushing ours into the dust.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nOctober 23\n\n\n_Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me\ninto the land of uprightness_.--PS. cxliii. 10.\n\n  The battle of our life is won,\n    And heaven begun,\n  When we can say, \"Thy will be done!\"\n    But, Lord, until\n  These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still,\n  We pray Thee, \"Teach us how to do Thy will!\"\n\nLUCY LARCOM.\n\n\"You are seeking your own will, my daughter. You are seeking some good\nother than the law you are bound to obey. But how will you find good? It\nis not a thing of choice; it is a river that flows from the foot of the\nInvisible Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. I say again, man\ncannot choose his duties. You may choose to forsake your duties, and\nchoose not to have the sorrow they bring. But you will go forth, and what\nwill you find, my daughter? Sorrow without duty--bitter herbs, and no\nbread with them.\"\n\nGEORGE ELIOT.\n\nHowever dark and profitless, however painful and weary, existence may have\nbecome, life is not done, and our Christian character is not won, so long\nas God has anything left for us to suffer, or anything left for us to do.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nOctober 24\n\n\n_The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I\nam helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I\npraise Him_.--PS. xxviii. 7.\n\n  Well may Thy happy children cease\n    From restless wishes, prone to sin,\n  And, in Thy own exceeding peace,\n    Yield to Thy daily discipline.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nTalk of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, and sleeping on ashes, as means\nof saintship! There is no need of them in our country. Let a woman\nonce look at her domestic trials as her hair-cloth, her ashes, her\nscourges,--accept them,--rejoice in them,--smile and be quiet, silent,\npatient, and loving under them,--and the convent can teach her no more; she\nis a victorious saint.\n\nH. B. STOWE.\n\nPerhaps it is a greater energy of Divine Providence, which keeps the\nChristian from day to day, from year to year--praying, hoping, running,\nbelieving--against all hindrances--which maintains him as a _living\nmartyr_, than that which bears him up for an hour in sacrificing himself at\nthe stake.\n\nR. CECIL.\n\n\n\nOctober 25\n\n\n_For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor\nprincipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor\nheight, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us\nfrom the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord_.--ROM. viii. 38,\n39.\n\n  I know not what the future hath\n    Of marvel or surprise,\n  Assured alone that life and death\n    His mercy underlies.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nBe of good faith, my dear Friends, look not out at any thing; fear none of\nthose things ye may be exposed to suffer, either outwardly or inwardly; but\ntrust the Lord over all, and your life will spring, and grow, and refresh\nyou, and ye will learn obedience and faithfulness daily more and more, even\nby your exercises and sufferings; yea, the Lord will teach you the very\nmystery of faith and obedience; the wisdom, power, love, and goodness of\nthe Lord ordering _every_ thing for you, and ordering _your_ hearts in\nevery thing.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nOctober 26\n\n\n_Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope_.--ZECH. ix. 12.\n\n  O power to do; O baffled will!\n    O prayer and action! ye are one.\n  Who may not strive, may yet fulfil\n  The harder task of standing still,\n    And good but wished with God is done.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nThat God has circumscribed our life may add a peculiar element of trial,\nbut often it defines our way and cuts off many tempting possibilities that\nperplex the free and the strong; whilst it leaves intact the whole body\nof spiritual reality, with the Beatitude thereon, \"that if we know these\nthings, happy are we if we do them.\" We know that God orders the lot; and\nto meet it with the energies it requires and permits, neither more nor\nless,--to fill it at every available point with the light and action of an\nearnest and spiritually inventive mind, though its scene be no wider than\na sick chamber, and its action narrowed to patient suffering, and gentle,\ncheerful words, and all the light it can emit the thankful quiet of a\ntrustful eye,--without chafing as though God had misjudged our sphere, and\nplaced us wrong, and did not know where we could best serve Him,--this is\nwhat, in that condition, we _have to do_.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nOctober 27\n\n\n_Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,\nin persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then\nam I strong_.--2 COR. xii. 10.\n\n  Whatever God does is well!\n  In patience let us wait;\n  He doth Himself our burdens bear,\n    He doth for us take care,\n  And He, our God, knows all our weary days.\n    Come, give Him praise.\n\nB. SCHMOLCK.\n\nNothing else but this seeing God in everything will make us loving and\npatient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only\nthe instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes towards us,\nand we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the\nblessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all\nmurmuring or rebelling thoughts.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\nThe subjection of the will is accomplished by calmly resigning thyself in\neverything that internally or externally vexes thee; for it is thus only\nthat the soul is prepared for the reception of divine influences. Prepare\nthe, heart like clean paper, and the Divine Wisdom will imprint on it\ncharacters to His own liking.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\n\n\nOctober 28\n\n\n_I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of\npeace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end_.--JER. xxix. 11.\n\n  Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind,\n    E'en when we think it not;\n  How many an anxious, faithless mind\n    Sits grieving o'er its lot,\n  And frets, and pines by day and night,\n  As God had lost it out of sight,\n    And all its wants forgot.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nYou are never to complain of your birth, your training, your employments,\nyour hardships; never to fancy that you could be something if only you had\na different lot and sphere assigned you. God understands His own plan, and\nHe knows what you want a great deal better than you do. The very things\nthat you most deprecate, as fatal limitations or obstructions, are probably\nwhat you most want. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements,\nare probably God's opportunities. Bring down your soul, or, rather, bring\nit up to receive God's will and do His work, in your lot, in your sphere,\nunder your cloud of obscurity, against your temptations, and then you\nshall find that your condition is never opposed to your good, but really\nconsistent with it.\n\nH. BUSHNELL.\n\n\n\nOctober 29\n\n\n_Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in\nthe furnace of affliction_--ISA. xlviii. 10.\n\n  Be patient, suffering soul! I hear thy cry.\n  The trial fires may glow, but I am nigh.\n    I see the silver, and I will refine\n    Until My image shall upon it shine.\n  Fear not, for I am near, thy help to be;\n  Greater than all thy pain, My love for thee.\n\nH. W. C.\n\nGod takes a thousand times more pains with us than the artist with his\npicture, by many touches of sorrow, and by many colors of circumstance, to\nbring man into the form which is the highest and noblest in His sight, if\nonly we received His gifts and myrrh in the right spirit. But when the cup\nis put away, and these feelings are stifled or unheeded, a greater injury\nis done to the soul than can ever be amended. For no heart can conceive in\nwhat surpassing love God giveth us this myrrh; yet this which we ought\nto receive to our soul's good, we suffer to pass by us in our sleepy\nindifference, and nothing comes, of it. Then we come and complain: \"Alas,\nLord! I am so dry, and it is so dark within me!\" I tell thee, dear child,\nopen thy heart to the pain, and it will do thee more good than if thou wert\nfull of feeling and devoutness.\n\nJ. TAULER.\n\n\n\nOctober 30\n\n\n_That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which\ndwelleth in us_.--2 TIM. i. 14.\n\n  Oh that the Comforter would come!\n    Nor visit as a transient guest,\n  But fix in me His constant home,\n    And keep possession of my breast:\n  And make my soul His loved abode,\n  The temple of indwelling God!\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nThy spirit should become, while yet on earth, the peaceful throne of the\nDivine Being; think, then, how quiet, how gentle and pure, how reverent,\nthou shouldst be.\n\nGERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\n\nI cannot tell you how much I love you. But that which of all things I have\nmost at heart, with regard to you, is the real progress of your soul in the\ndivine life. Heaven seems to be awakened in you. It is a tender plant. It\nrequires stillness, meekness, and the unity of the heart, totally given up\nto the unknown workings of the Spirit of God, which will do all its work in\nthe calm soul, that has no hunger or desire but to escape out of the mire\nof its earthly life into its lost union and life in God. I mention this,\nout of a fear of your giving in to an eagerness about many things, which,\nthough seemingly innocent, yet divide and weaken the workings of the divine\nlife within you.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nOctober 31\n\n\n_And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him_.--GEN. v. 24.\n\n  Oh for a closer walk with God,\n    A calm and heavenly frame;\n  A light to shine upon the road\n    That leads me to the Lamb!\n\nW. COWPER.\n\nIs it possible for any of us in these modern days to so live that we may\nwalk with God? Can we walk with God in the shop, in the office, in the\nhousehold, and on the street? When men exasperate us, and work wearies us,\nand the children fret, and the servants annoy, and our best-laid plans fall\nto pieces, and our castles in the air are dissipated like bubbles that\nbreak at a breath, then can we walk with God? That religion which fails us\nin the every-day trials and experiences of life has somewhere in it a flaw.\nIt should be more than a plank to sustain us in the rushing tide, and land\nus exhausted and dripping on the other side. It ought, if it come from\nabove, to be always, day by day, to our souls as the wings of a bird,\nbearing us away from and beyond the impediments which seek to hold us down.\nIf the Divine Love be a conscious presence, an indwelling force with us, it\nwill do this.\n\nCHRISTIAN UNION.\n\n\n\nNovember 1\n\n\n_Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named_.--EPH. iii. 15.\n\n  One family, we dwell in Him;\n    One church above, beneath;\n  Though now divided by the stream,--\n    The narrow stream of death.\n\n  One army of the living God,\n    To His command we bow:\n  Part of His host has crossed the flood,\n    And part is crossing now.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nLet us, then, learn that we can never be lonely or forsaken in this life.\nShall they forget us because they are \"made perfect\"? Shall they love us\nthe less because they now have power to love us more? If we forget them\nnot, shall they not remember us with God? No trial, then, can isolate us,\nno sorrow can cut us off from the Communion of Saints. Kneel down, and you\nare with them; lift up your eyes, and the heavenly world, high above all\nperturbation, hangs serenely overhead; only a thin veil, it may be, floats\nbetween. All whom we loved, and all who loved us, whom we still love no\nless, while they love us yet more, are ever near, because ever in His\npresence in whom we live and dwell.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nNovember 2\n\n\n_Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of\nwitnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so\neasily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before\nus_.--HEB. xii. i.\n\n  When the powers of hell prevail\n    O'er our weakness and unfitness,\n  Could we lift the fleshly veil,\n    Could we for a moment witness\n  Those unnumbered hosts that stand\n  Calm and bright on either hand;\n\n  Oh, what joyful hope would cheer,\n    Oh, what faith serene would guide us!\n  Great may be the danger near,\n    Greater are the friends beside us.\n\nANON.\n\nWe are compassed about by a cloud of witnesses, whose hearts throb in\nsympathy with every effort and struggle, and who thrill with joy at every\nsuccess. How should this thought check and rebuke every worldly feeling\nand unworthy purpose, and enshrine us, in the midst of a forgetful and\nun-spiritual world, with an atmosphere of heavenly peace! They have\novercome--have risen--are crowned, glorified; but still they remain to us,\nour assistants, our comforters, and in every hour of darkness their voice\nspeaks to us: \"So we grieved, so we struggled, so we fainted, so we\ndoubted; but we have overcome, we have obtained, we have seen, we have\nfound,--and in our victory behold the certainty of thy own.\"\n\nH. B. STOWE.\n\n\n\nNovember 3\n\n\n_Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for\nwe are members one of another_.--EPH. iv. 25.\n\n  In conversation be sincere;\n  Keep conscience as the noontide clear;\n  Think how All-seeing God thy ways\n  And all thy secret thoughts surveys.\n\nTHOMAS KEN.\n\nThe essence of lying is in deception, not in words; a lie may be told by\nsilence, by equivocation, by the accent on a syllable, by a glance of the\neye attaching a peculiar significance to a sentence; and all these kinds of\nlies are worse and baser by many degrees than a lie plainly worded; so that\nno form of blinded conscience is so far sunk as that which comforts itself\nfor having deceived because the deception was by gesture or silence,\ninstead of utterance.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\nHe that is habituated to deceptions and artificialities in trifles, will\ntry in vain to be true in matters of importance; for truth is a thing of\nhabit rather than of will. You cannot in any given case by any sudden\nand single effort will to be true, if the habit of your life has been\ninsincerity.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.\n\n\n\nNovember 4\n\n\n_A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up\nanger_.--PROV. xv. i,\n\n_Doest thou well to be angry_?--JONAH iv. 4.\n\n  Renew Thine image, Lord, in me,\n  Lowly and gentle may I be;\n    No charms but these to Thee are dear;\n  No anger mayst Thou ever find,\n  No pride in my unruffled mind,\n    But faith, and heaven-born peace be there.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nNeither say nor do aught displeasing to thy neighbor; and if thou hast been\nwanting in charity, seek his forgiveness, or speak to him with gentleness.\nSpeak always with mildness and in a low tone of voice.\n\nL. SCUPOLI.\n\nInjuries hurt not more in the receiving than in the remembrance. A small\ninjury shall go as it comes; a great injury may dine or sup with me; but\nnone at all shall lodge with me. Why should I vex myself because another\nhath vexed me? Grief for things past that cannot be remedied, and care for\nthings to come that cannot be prevented, may easily hurt, can never benefit\nme. I will therefore commit myself to God in both, and enjoy the present.\n\nJOSEPH HALL.\n\n\n\nNovember 5\n\n\n_The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are_.--I COR. iii. 17.\n\n  Now shed Thy mighty influence abroad\n  On souls that would their Father's image bear;\n  Make us as holy temples of our God,\n  Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer.\n\nC. J. P. SPITTA.\n\nThis pearl of eternity is the church or temple of God within thee, the\nconsecrated place of divine worship, where alone thou canst worship God\nin spirit and in truth. When once thou art well grounded in this inward\nworship, thou wilt have learned to live unto God above time and place. For\nevery day will be Sunday to thee, and, wherever thou goest, thou wilt have\na priest, a church, and an altar along with thee. For when God has all that\nHe should have of thy heart, when thou art wholly given up to the obedience\nof the light and spirit of God within thee, to will only in His will, to\nlove only in His love, to be wise only in His wisdom, then it is that\neverything thou dost is as a song of praise, and the common business of thy\nlife is a conforming to God's will on earth as angels do in heaven.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nNovember 6\n\n\n_He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their\ncry, and will save them_;--PS. cxlv. 19.\n\n_Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of\nthine heart_.--PS. xxxvii. 4.\n\n  Though to-day may not fulfil\n  All thy hopes, have patience still;\n  For perchance to-morrow's sun\n  Sees thy happier days begun.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nHis great desire and delight is God; and by desiring and delighting, he\nhath Him. _Delight thou in the Lord, and He shall give thee thy heart's\ndesire,_--HIMSELF; and then surely thou shall have all. Any other thing\n_commit it to Him_, and He shall bring it to pass.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\nAll who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly\nbe heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not\nin the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask; yet they\nwill obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.\n\nMARTIN LUTHER.\n\n\n\nNovember 7\n\n\n_I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision_.--ACTS xxvi. 19.\n\n_The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey_.--JOSH. xxiv.\n24.\n\n  I will shun no toil or woe,\n  Where Thou leadest I will go,\n    Be my pathway plain or rough;\n  If but every hour may be\n  Spent in work that pleases Thee,\n    Ah, dear Lord, it is enough!\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nAll these longings and doubts, and this inward distress, are the voice of\nthe Good Shepherd in your heart, seeking to call you out of all that is\ncontrary to His will. Oh, let me entreat of you not to turn away from His\ngentle pleadings.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\nThe fear of man brings a snare. By halting in our duty and giving back in\nthe time of trial, our hands grow weaker, our ears grow dull as to hearing\nthe language of the true Shepherd; so that when we look at the way of the\nrighteous, it seems as though it was not for us to follow them.\n\nJ. WOOLMAN.\n\n\n\nNovember 8\n\n\n_Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God_.--HEB. x. 9.\n\n_Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God_.--PS. cxliii. 10.\n\n  Lo! I come with joy to do\n    The Father's blessed will;\n  Him in outward works pursue,\n    And serve His pleasure still.\n  Faithful to my Lord's commands,\n    I still would choose the better part;\n  Serve with careful Martha's hands,\n    And loving Mary's heart.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nA soul cannot be regarded as truly subdued and consecrated in its will,\nand as having passed into union with the Divine will, until it has a\ndisposition to do promptly and faithfully all that God requires, as well as\nto endure patiently and thankfully all that He imposes.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\nWhen we have learned to offer up every duty connected with our situation\nin life as a sacrifice to God, a settled employment becomes just a settled\nhabit of prayer.\n\nTHOMAS ERSKINE.\n\n\"_Do the duty which lies nearest thee_,\" which thou knowest to be a duty.\nThy second duty will already have become clearer.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nNovember 9\n\n\n_Say not thou, I will hide myself from the Lord: shall any remember me from\nabove? I shall not be remembered among so many people: for what is my soul\namong such an infinite number of creatures_?--ECCLESIASTICUS xvi. 17.\n\n  Among so many, can He care?\n  Can special love be everywhere?\n  A myriad homes,--a myriad ways,--\n  And God's eye over every place?\n\n  I asked: my soul bethought of this;--\n  In just that very place of His\n  Where He hath put and keepeth you,\n  God hath no other thing to do!\n\nA. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nGive free and bold play to those instincts of the heart which believe that\nthe Creator must care for the creatures He has made, and that the only real\neffective care for them must be that which takes each of them into His\nlove, and knowing it separately surrounds it with His separate sympathy.\nThere is not one life which the Life-giver ever loses out of His sight; not\none which sins so that He casts it away; not one which is not so near to\nHim that whatever touches it touches Him with sorrow or with joy.\n\nPHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\n\nNovember 10\n\n\n_In Him we live, and move, and have our being_.--ACTS xvii. 28.\n\n_Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy\npresence_?--PS. cxxxix. 7.\n\n  Yea! In Thy life our little lives are ended,\n    Into Thy depths our trembling spirits fall;\n  In Thee enfolded, gathered, comprehended,\n    As holds the sea her waves--Thou hold'st us all.\n\nE. SCUDDER.\n\nWhere then is _our_ God? You say, He is _everywhere:_ then show me\n_anywhere_ that you have met Him. You declare Him _everlasting:_ then tell\nme _any moment_ that He has been with you. You believe Him ready to succor\nthem that are tempted, and to lift those that are bowed down: then in what\npassionate hour did you subside into His calm grace? in what sorrow lose\nyourself in His \"more exceeding\" joy? These are the testing questions by\nwhich we may learn whether we too have raised our altar to an \"unknown God\"\nand pay the worship of the blind; or whether we commune with Him \"in whom\nwe live, and move, and have our being.\"\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nNovember 11\n\n\n_Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good\nwork, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might,\naccording to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with\njoyfulness_.--COL. i. 10, ii.\n\n  To be the thing we seem,\n  To do the thing we deem\n    Enjoined by duty;\n  To walk in faith, nor dream\n  Of questioning God's scheme\n    Of truth and beauty.\n\nANON.\n\nTo shape the whole Future is not our problem; but only to shape faithfully\na small part of it, according to rules already known. It is perhaps\npossible for each of us, who will with due earnestness inquire, to\nascertain clearly what he, for his own part, ought to do; this let him,\nwith true heart, do, and continue doing. The general issue will, as it has\nalways done, rest well with a Higher Intelligence than ours. This day thou\nknowest ten commanded duties, seest in thy mind ten things which should be\ndone for one that thou doest! _Do_ one of them; this of itself will show\nthee ten others which can and shall be done.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nNovember 12\n\n\n_I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night\ncometh, when no man can work_.--JOHN ix. 4.\n\n_Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task_?--EX. v. 14.\n\n    He who intermits\n  The appointed task and duties of the day\n  Untunes full oft the pleasures of the day;\n  Checking the finer spirits that refuse\n  To flow, when purposes are lightly changed.\n\nW. WORDSWORTH.\n\nBy putting off things beyond their proper times, one duty treads upon the\nheels of another, and all duties are felt as irksome obligations,--a yoke\nbeneath which we fret and lose our peace. In most cases the consequence of\nthis is, that we have no time to do the work as it ought to be done. It is\ntherefore done precipitately, with eagerness, with a greater desire simply\nto get it done, than to do it well, and with very little thought of God\nthroughout.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nSufficient for each day is the _good_ thereof, equally as the evil. We must\ndo at once, and with our might, the merciful deed that our hand findeth to\ndo,--else it will never be done, for the hand will find other tasks, and\nthe arrears fall through. And every unconsummated good feeling, every\nunfulfilled purpose that His spirit has prompted, shall one day charge us\nas faithless and recreant before God.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nNovember 13\n\n\n_Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of\nThy law_.--PS. xciv\n\n_Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it_.--JER. x. 19.\n\n  Hold in thy murmurs, heaven arraigning!\n    The patient see God's loving face;\n  Who bear their burdens uncomplaining,\n    'Tis they that win the Father's grace.\n\nANON.\n\nDo not run to this and that for comfort when you are in trouble, but bear\nit. Be uncomfortably quiet--be uneasily silent--be patiently unhappy.\n\nJ.P. GREAVES.\n\nHard words _will_ vex, unkindness _will_ pierce; neglect _will_ wound;\nthreatened evils _will_ make the soul quiver; sharp pain or weariness\n_will_ rack the body, or make it restless. But what says the Psalmist?\n\"When my heart is vexed, I will complain.\" To whom? Not _of_ God, but _to_\nGod.\n\nE.B. PUSEY.\n\nSurely, I have thought, I do not want to have a grief which would not be\na grief. I feel that I shall be able to take up my cross in a religious\nspirit soon, and then it will be all right.\n\nJAMES HINTON.\n\n\n\nNovember 14\n\n\n_Thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel,\nthou shalt not be forgotten of me_.--ISA. xliv. 21.\n\n  Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still,\n      And bear Thy will;\n  Courage to venture wholly on the arm\n      That will not harm;\n  The wisdom that will never let me stray\n      Out of my way;\n  The love, that, now afflicting, knoweth best\n      When I should rest.\n\nJ. M. NEALE.\n\nSupposing that you were never to be set free from such trials, what would\nyou do? You would say to God, \"I am Thine--if my trials are acceptable to\nThee, give me more and more.\" I have full confidence that this is what you\nwould say, and then you would not think more of it--at any rate, you would\nnot be anxious. Well, do the same now. Make friends with your trials, as\nthough you were always to live together; and you will see that when you\ncease to take thought for your own deliverance, God will take thought for\nyou; and when you cease to help yourself eagerly, He will help you.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\nAh, if you knew what peace there is in an accepted sorrow!\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\n\n\nNovember 15\n\n\n_Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I\nwill strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with\nthe right hand of my righteousness_.--ISA. xli. 10.\n\n  Lord, be Thou near and cheer my lonely way;\n    With Thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill;\n  Scatter my cares and fears; my griefs allay,\n      And be it mine each day\n      To love and please Thee still.\n\nP. CORNEILLE.\n\nWhat if the wicked nature, which is as a sea casting out mire and dirt,\nrage against thee? There is a river, a sweet, still, flowing river, the\nstreams whereof will make glad thy heart. And, learn but in quietness and\nstillness to retire to the Lord, and wait upon Him; in whom thou shall feel\npeace and joy, in the midst of thy trouble from the cruel and vexatious\nspirit of this world. So, wait to know thy work and service to the Lord\nevery day, in thy place and station; and the Lord make thee faithful\ntherein, and thou wilt want neither help, support, nor comfort.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nNovember 16\n\n\n_Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because\nhe trusteth in Thee_.--ISA. xxvi. 3.\n\n  What comforts, Lord, to those are given,\n    Who seek in Thee their home and rest!\n  They find on earth an opening heaven,\n    And in Thy peace are amply blest.\n\nW. C. DESSLER.\n\nGod is a tranquil Being, and abides in a tranquil eternity. So must thy\nspirit become a tranquil and clear little pool, wherein the serene light\nof God can be mirrored. Therefore shun all that is disquieting and\ndistracting, both within and without. Nothing in the whole world is worth\nthe loss of thy peace; even the faults which thou hast committed should\nonly humble, but not disquiet thee. God is full of joy, peace, and\nhappiness. Endeavor then to obtain a continually joyful and peaceful\nspirit. Avoid all anxious care, vexation, murmuring, and melancholy, which\ndarken thy soul, and render thee unfit for the friendship of God. If thou\ndost perceive such feelings arising, turn gently away from them.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\n\n\nNovember 17\n\n\n_Every day will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name for ever and\never_.--PS. cxlv. 2.\n\n_Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be\nestablished_.--PROV. xvi. 3.\n\n  Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;\n  Disperse my sins as morning dew;\n  Guard my first springs of thought and will,\n  And with Thyself my spirit fill.\n\nTHOMAS KEN.\n\nMorning by morning think, for a few moments, of the chief employments of\nthe day, any one thing of greater moment than others, thine own especial\ntrial, any occasions of it which are likely to come that day, and by one\nshort strong act commend thyself beforehand in all to God; offer all thy\nthoughts, words, and deeds to Him--to be governed, guided, accepted by Him.\nChoose some great occasions of the day, such as bring with them most trial\nto thee, on which, above others, to commend thyself to God.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nWill you not, before venturing away from your early quiet hour, \"commit thy\nworks\" to Him definitely, the special things you have to do to-day, and the\nunforeseen work which He may add in the course of it?\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nNovember 18\n\n\n_Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He bath given\nus of His Spirit_.--I JOHN iv. 13.\n\n    Within! within, oh turn\n    Thy spirit's eyes, and learn\n  Thy wandering senses gently to control;\n  Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within thy soul,\n    And asks thyself of thee,\n  That heart, and mind, and sense, He may make whole\n    In perfect harmony.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nWait patiently, trust humbly, depend only upon, seek solely to a God of\nLight and Love, of Mercy and Goodness, of Glory and Majesty, ever dwelling\nin the inmost depth and spirit of your soul. There you have all the secret,\nhidden, invisible Upholder of all the creation, whose blessed operation\nwill always be found by a humble, faithful, loving, calm, patient\nintroversion of your heart to Him, who has His hidden heaven within you,\nand which will open itself to you, as soon as your heart is left wholly to\nHis eternal, ever-speaking Word, and ever-sanctifying Spirit within you.\nBeware of all eagerness and activity of your own natural spirit and temper.\nRun not in any hasty ways of your own. Be patient under the sense of your\nown vanity and weakness; and patiently wait for God to do His own work, and\nin His own way.\n\nWM. LAW.\n\n\n\nNovember 19\n\n\n_If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,\nbut deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain_.--JAMES i. 26.\n\n_I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue_.--PS.\nxxxix. I.\n\n  No sinful word, nor deed of wrong,\n    Nor thoughts that idly rove;\n  But simple truth be on our tongue,\n    And in our hearts be love.\n\nST. AMBROSE.\n\nLet us all resolve,--First, to attain the grace of SILENCE; Second, to deem\nall FAULT-FINDING that does no good a SIN, and to resolve, when we are\nhappy ourselves, not to poison the atmosphere for our neighbors by calling\non them to remark every painful and disagreeable feature of their daily\nlife; Third, to practise the grace and virtue of PRAISE.\n\nHARRIET B. STOWE.\n\nSurrounded by those who constantly exhibit defects of character and\nconduct, if we yield to a complaining and impatient spirit, we shall mar\nour own peace without having the satisfaction of benefiting others.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\n\n\nNovember 20\n\n\n_Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the--will of God, ye\nmight receive the promise_.--HEB. x. 36.\n\n    Sweet Patience, come:\n  Not from a low and earthly source,--\n  Waiting, till things shall have their course,--\n  Not as accepting present pain\n  In hope of some hereafter gain,--\n  Not in a dull and sullen calm,--\n  But as a breath of heavenly balm,\n  Bidding my weary heart submit\n  To bear whatever God sees fit:\n    Sweet Patience, come!\n\nHYMNS OF THE CHURCH MILITANT.\n\nPatience endues her scholars with content of mind, and evenness of temper,\npreventing all repining grumbling, and impatient desires, and inordinate\naffections; disappointments here are no crosses, and all anxious thoughts\nare disarmed of their sting; in her habitations dwell quietness,\nsubmission, and long-suffering, all fierce turbulent inclinations are\nhereby allayed. The eyes of the patient fixedly wait the inward power of\nGod's providence, and they are thereby mightily enabled towards their\nsalvation and preservation.\n\nTHOMAS TRYON.\n\n\n\nNovember 21\n\n\n_Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out\nof the mouth of God_.--MATT. iv. 4.\n\n_A man's life conisteth not in the abundance of the things which he\npossesseth_.--LUKE xii. 15.\n\n  Whate'er God does is well,\n  Whether He gives or takes!\n  And what we from His hand receive\n    Suffices us to live.\n  He takes and gives, while yet He loves us still;\n    Then love His will.\n\nB. SCHMOLCK.\n\nIs that beast better, that hath two or three mountains to graze on, than\na little bee, that feeds on dew or manna, and lives upon what falls every\nmorning from the storehouse of heaven, clouds, and providence?\n\nJEREMY TAYLOR.\n\nFor myself I am certain that the good of human life cannot lie in the\npossession of things which for one man to possess is for the rest to lose,\nbut rather in things which all can possess alike, and where one man's\nwealth promotes his neighbor's.\n\nB. SPINOZA.\n\nEvery lot is happy to a person who bears it with tranquillity.\n\nBOETHIUS.\n\n\n\nNovember 22\n\n\n_Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of_.--MATT. vi. 8.\n\n_Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these\nthings shall be added unto you_.--MATT. vi. 33.\n\n  Thy kingdom come, with power and grace,\n    To every heart of man;\n  Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness\n    In all our bosoms reign.\n\nC. WESLEY.\n\nGod bids us, then, by past mercies, by present grace, by fears of coming\nill, by hopes in His goodness, earnestly, with our whole hearts, seek Him\nand His righteousness, and all these things, all ye need for soul and body,\npeace, comfort, joy, the overflowing of His consolations, shall be added\nover and above to you.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nGrant us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, always to seek Thy kingdom and\nrighteousness, and of whatsoever Thou seest us to stand in need, mercifully\ngrant us an abundant portion. Amen.\n\nBe content to be a child, and let the Father proportion out daily to thee\nwhat light, what power, what exercises, what straits, what fears, what\ntroubles He sees fit for thee.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nNovember 23\n\n\n_I have taught thee In the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right\npaths_.--PROV. iv. 11.\n\n  We know not what the path may be\n    As yet by us untrod;\n  But we can trust our all to Thee,\n    Our Father and our God.\n\nWM. J. IRONS.\n\nWe have very little command over the circumstances in which we may be\ncalled by God to bear our part--unlimited command over the temper of our\nsouls, but next to no command over the outward forms of trial. The most\nenergetic will cannot order the events by which our spirits are to be\nperilled and tested. Powers quite beyond our reach--death, accident,\nfortune, another's sin--may change in a moment all the conditions of our\nlife. With to-morrow's sun existence may have new and awful aspects for any\nof us.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\nOh, my friend, look not _out_ at what stands in the way; what if it look\ndreadfully as a lion, is not the Lord stronger than the mountains of prey?\nbut look _in_, where the law of life is written, and the will of the Lord\nrevealed, that thou mayest know what is the Lord's will concerning thee.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nNovember 24\n\n\n_Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope\nin the Lord_.--PS. xxxi. 24.\n\n_Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid_.--JOHN xiv. 27.\n\n  In heavenly love abiding,\n    No change my heart shall fear;\n  And safe is such confiding,\n    For nothing changes here.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nA true Christian, that hath power over his own will, may live nobly and\nhappily, and enjoy a clear heaven within the serenity of his own mind\nperpetually. When the sea of this world is most rough and tempestuous\nabout him, then can he ride safely at anchor within the haven, by a sweet\ncompliance of his will with God's will. He can look about him, and with an\neven and indifferent mind behold the world either to smile or frown upon\nhim; neither will he abate of the least of his contentment for all the ill\nand unkind usage he meets withal in this life. He that hath got the mastery\nover his own will feels no violence from without, finds no contests within;\nand when God calls for him out of this state of mortality, he finds in\nhimself a power to lay down his own life; neither is it so much taken from\nhim, as quietly and freely surrendered up by him.\n\nDR. JOHN SMITH.\n\n\n\nNovember 25\n\n\n_And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee,\nHe will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be\ndismayed_.--DEUT. xxxi. 8.\n\n  Know well, my soul, God's hand controls\n    Whatever thou fearest;\n  Round Him in calmest music rolls\n    Whate'er thou hearest.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nThe lessons of the moral sentiment are, once for all, an emancipation from\nthat anxiety which takes the joy out of all life. It teaches a great peace.\nIt comes itself from the highest place. It is that, which being in all\nsound natures, and strongest in the best and most gifted men, we know to be\nimplanted by the Creator of men. It is a commandment at every moment, and\nin every condition of life, to do the duty of that moment, and to abstain\nfrom doing the wrong.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\nGo face the fire at sea, or the cholera in your friend's house, or the\nburglar in your own, or what danger lies in the way of duty, knowing you\nare guarded by the cherubim of Destiny.\n\nR. W. EMERSON.\n\n\n\nNovember 26\n\n\n_Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou\nguest_.--GEN. xxviii. 15.\n\n    Be quiet, soul:\n  Why shouldst thou care and sadness borrow,\n  Why sit in nameless fear and sorrow,\n    The livelong day?\n  God will mark out thy path to-morrow\n    In His best way.\n\nANON.\n\nI had hoped, Madame, to find you here, and was rejoicing in that hope; but\nGod has sent you elsewhere. The best place is wherever He puts us, and\nany other would be undesirable, all the worse because it would please our\nfancy, and would be of our own choice. Do not think about distant events.\nThis uneasiness about the future is unwholesome for you. We must leave to\nGod all that depends on Him, and think only of being faithful in all that\ndepends upon ourselves. When God takes away that which He has given you, He\nknows well how to replace it, either through other means or by Himself.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\n\n\nNovember 27\n\n\n_The Lord hath been mindful of us: He will bless us_.--PS. cxv. 12.\n\n  My Father! what am I, that all\n  Thy mercies sweet like sunlight fall\n    So constant o'er my way?\n  That Thy great love should shelter me,\n  And guide my steps so tenderly\n    Through every changing day?\n\nANON.\n\nWhat a strength and spring of life, what hope and trust, what glad,\nunresting energy, is in this one thought,--to serve Him who is \"my Lord,\"\never near me, ever looking on; seeing my intentions before He beholds my\nfailures; knowing my desires before He sees my faults; cheering me to\nendeavor greater things, and yet accepting the least; inviting my poor\nservice, and yet, above all, content with my poorer love. Let us try to\nrealize this, whatsoever, wheresoever we be. The humblest and the simplest,\nthe weakest and the most encumbered, may love Him not less than the busiest\nand strongest, the most gifted and laborious. If our heart be clear before\nHim; if He be to us our chief and sovereign choice, dear above all, and\nbeyond all desired; then all else matters little. That which concerneth us\nHe will perfect in stillness and in power.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nNovember 28\n\n\n_Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving\nkindness have I drawn thee_.--JER. xxxi. 3.\n\n  On the great love of God I lean,\n  Love of the Infinite, Unseen,\n  With nought of heaven or earth between.\n    This God is mine, and I am His;\n    His love is all I need of bliss.\n\nH. BONAR.\n\nIf ever human love was tender, and self-sacrificing, and devoted; if ever\nit could bear and forbear; if ever it could suffer gladly for its loved\nones; if ever it was willing to pour itself out in a lavish abandonment for\nthe comfort or pleasure of its objects; then infinitely more is Divine love\ntender, and self-sacrificing, and devoted, and glad to bear and forbear,\nand to suffer, and to lavish its best of gifts and blessings upon the\nobjects of its love. Put together all the tenderest love you know of, the\ndeepest you have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever been poured out\nupon you, and heap upon it all the love of all the loving human hearts in\nthe world, and then multiply it by infinity, and you will begin, perhaps,\nto have some faint glimpse of what the love of God is.\n\nH. W. SMITH.\n\n\n\nNovember 29\n\n\n_My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand\nbefore Him, to serve Him_.--2 CHRON. xxix. 11.\n\n  Bright be my prospect as I pass along;--\n    An ardent service at the cost of all,--\n  Love by untiring ministry made strong,\n    And ready for the first, the softest call.\n\nA. L. WARING.\n\nThere are many things that appear trifles, which greatly tend to enervate\nthe soul, and hinder its progress in the path to virtue and glory. The\nhabit of indulging in things which our judgment cannot thoroughly approve,\ngrows stronger and stronger by every act of self-gratification, and we are\nled on by degrees to an excess of luxury which must greatly weaken our\nhands in the spiritual warfare. If we do not endeavor to do that which is\nright in every particular circumstance, though trifling, we shall be in\ngreat danger of letting the same negligence take place in matters more\nessential.\n\nMARGARET WOODS.\n\nThe will can only be made submissive by frequent self-denials, which must\nkeep in subjection its sallies and inclinations. Great weakness is often\nproduced by indulgences which seem of no importance.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\n\n\nNovember 30\n\n\n_Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?\nhope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His\ncountenance_.--PS. xlii. 5.\n\n_We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed_.--2 COR. iv. 8.\n\n  Oh, my soul, why art thou vexed?\n    Let things go e'en as they will;\n  Though to thee they seem perplexed,\n    Yet His order they fulfil.\n\nA. H. FRANCKE.\n\nThe vexation, restlessness, and impatience which small trials cause, arise\nwholly from our ignorance and want of self-control. We may be thwarted\nand troubled, it is true, but these things put us into a condition for\nexercising patience and meek submission, and the self-abnegation wherein\nalone the fulness of God is to be found.\n\nDE RENTY.\n\nEvery day deny yourself some satisfaction;--bearing all the inconveniences\nof life (for the love of God), cold, hunger, restless nights, ill health,\nunwelcome news, the faults of servants, contempt, ingratitude of friends,\nmalice of enemies, calumnies, our own failings, lowness of spirits, the\nstruggle in overcoming our corruptions;--bearing all these with patience\nand resignation to the will of God. Do all this as unto God, with the\ngreatest privacy.\n\nTHOMAS WILSON.\n\n\n\nDecember 1\n\n\n_Charity envieth not, ... thinketh no evil_--I COR. xiii. 4, 5.\n\n_Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy\nbrother_?--ROM. xiv. 10.\n\n_He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth_.--PROV. xiv. 21.\n\n  Look thou with pity on a brother's fall,\n  But dwell not with stern anger on his fault;\n  The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all;\n  Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt.\n\nJ. EDMESTON.\n\nIf, on hearing of the fall of a brother, however differing or severed from\nus, we feel the least inclination to linger over it, instead of hiding it\nin grief and shame, or veiling it in the love which covereth a multitude\nof sins; if, in seeing a joy or a grace or an effective service given to\nothers, we do not rejoice, but feel depressed, let us be very watchful; the\nmost diabolical of passions may mask itself as humility, or zeal for the\nglory of God.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\nLove taketh up no malign elements; its spirit prompteth it to cover in\nmercy all things that ought not to be exposed, to believe all of good that\ncan be believed, to hope all things that a good God makes possible, and to\nendure all things that the hope may be made good.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nDecember 2\n\n\n_Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest:\nfor wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that\njudgest doest the same things_.--ROM. ii. I.\n\n  Search thine own heart. What paineth thee\n    In others, in thyself may be;\n  All dust is frail, all flesh is weak;\n    Be thou the true man thou dost seek.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\nA saint's life in one man may be less than common honesty in another. From\nus, whose consciences He has reached and enlightened, God may look for a\nmartyr's truth, a Christian's unworldly simplicity, before He will place us\non a level even with the average of the exposed classes. We perhaps think\nour lives at least harmless. We do not consider what He may think of them,\nwhen compared with the invitations of His that we have slighted, with the\naims of His Providence we are leaving without our help, with the glory for\nourselves we are refusing and casting away, with the vast sum of blessed\nwork that daily faithfulness in time can rear without overwork on any\nsingle day.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\n\n\nDecember 3\n\n\n_Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye\nmay abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost_.--ROM. xv. 13.\n\n  To heaven I lift my waiting eyes;\n    There all my hopes are laid;\n  The Lord that built the earth and skies\n    Is my perpetual aid.\n\nI. WATTS.\n\nGrovel not in things below, among earthly cares, pleasures, anxieties,\ntoils, if thou wouldst have a good strong hope on high. Lift up thy cares\nwith thy heart to God, if thou wouldst hope in Him. Then see what in thee\nis most displeasing to God. This it is which holdeth thy hope down. Strike\nfirmly, repeatedly, in the might of God, until it give way. Thy hope will\nsoar at once with thy thanks to God who delivered thee.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nThe snares of the enemy will be so known to thee and discerned, the way of\nhelp so manifest and easy, that their strength will be broken, and the poor\nentangled bird will fly away singing, from the nets and entanglements of\nthe fowler; and praises will spring up, and great love in thy heart to the\nForgiver and Redeemer.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nDecember 4\n\n\n_Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou\nart also called_.--I TIM. vi. 12.\n\n    Oh, dream no more of quiet life;\n  Care finds the careless out; more wise to vow\n    Thy heart entire to faith's pure strife;\n  So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how.\n\nLYRA APOSTOLICA.\n\nWho art thou that complainest of thy life of toil? Complain not. Look\nup, my wearied brother; see thy fellow-workmen there, in God's Eternity;\nsurviving there, they alone surviving; sacred band of the Immortals,\ncelestial body-guard of the empire of mankind. To thee Heaven, though\nsevere, is _not_ unkind; Heaven is kind,--as a noble mother; as that\nSpartan mother, saying while she gave her son his shield, \"With it, my son,\nor upon it.\" Thou too shall return _home_ in honor; to thy far-distant\nHome, in honor; doubt it not,--if in the battle thou keep thy shield!\nThou, in the Eternities and deepest death-kingdoms art not an alien; thou\neverywhere art a denizen. Complain not.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nDecember 5\n\n\n_The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ\nJesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,\nstrengthen, settle you_.--I PET. v. 10.\n\n_Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted_.--ISA. vii.\n4.\n\n  How shall thou bear the cross that now\n    So dread a weight appears?\n  Keep quietly to God, and think\n    Upon the Eternal Years.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nGod forgive them that raise an ill report upon the sweet cross of Christ;\nit is but our weak and dim eyes, that look but to the black side, that\nmakes us mistake; those that can take that crabbed tree handsomely upon\ntheir backs, and fasten it on cannily, shall find it such a burden as wings\nunto a bird, or sails to a ship.\n\nS. RUTHERFORD.\n\nBlessed is any weight, however overwhelming, which God has been so good as\nto fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nWe cannot say this or that trouble shall not befall, yet we may, by help of\nthe Spirit, say, nothing that doth befall shall make me do that which is\nunworthy of a Christian.\n\nR. SIBBES.\n\n\n\nDecember 6\n\n\n_This God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto\ndeath_.--PS. xlviii. 14.\n\n_For the Lord shall be thy confidence_.--PROV. iii. 26.\n\n  Be still, my soul! Thy God doth undertake\n    To guide the future, as He has the past:\n  Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake,\n    All now mysterious shall be bright at last.\n\nJ. BORTHWJCK.\n\nHe has kept and folded us from ten thousand ills when we did not know it:\nin the midst of our security we should have perished every hour, but that\nHe sheltered us \"from the terror by night and from the arrow that flieth by\nday\"--from the powers of evil that walk in darkness, from snares of our own\nevil will. He has kept us even against ourselves, and saved us even from\nour own undoing. Let us read the traces of His hand in all our ways, in all\nthe events, the chances, the changes of this troubled state. It is He that\nfolds and feeds us, that makes us to go in and out,--to be faint, or to\nfind pasture,--to lie down by the still waters, or to walk by the way that\nis parched and desert.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\nWe are never without help. We have no right to say of any good work, it is\ntoo hard for me to do, or of any sorrow, it is too hard for me to bear; or\nof any sinful habit, it is too hard for me to overcome.\n\nELIZABETH CHARLES.\n\n\n\nDecember 7\n\n\n_Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace_.--JOB xxii. 21.\n\n_All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace\nof thy children_.--ISA. liv. 13.\n\n  Unite, my roving thoughts, unite\n    In silence soft and sweet;\n  And thou, my soul, sit gently down\n    At thy great Sovereign's feet.\n\nP. DODDRIDGE.\n\nYes! blessed are those holy hours in which the soul retires from the world\nto be alone with God. God's voice, as Himself, is everywhere. Within and\nwithout, He speaks to our souls, if we would hear. Only the din of the\nworld, or the tumult of our own hearts, deafens our inward ear to it.\nLearn to commune with Him in stillness, and He, whom thou hast sought in\nstillness, will be with thee when thou goest abroad.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nThe great step and direct path to the fear and awful reverence of God, is\nto meditate, and with a sedate and silent hush to turn the eyes of the mind\ninwards; there to seek, and with a submissive spirit wait at the gates of\nWisdom's temple; and then the Divine Voice and Distinguishing Power will\narise in the light and centre of a man's self.\n\nTHOMAS TRYON.\n\n\n\nDecember 8\n\n\n_Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed\nus with all spiritual blessings_.--EPH. i. 3.\n\n_As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing_.--2 COR. vi. 10.\n\n  It is not happiness I seek,\n  Its name I hardly dare to speak;\n  It is not made for man or earth,\n  And Heaven alone can give it birth.\n\n  There is a something sweet and pure,\n  Through life, through death it may endure;\n  With steady foot I onward press,\n  And long to win that Blessedness.\n\nLOUISA J. HALL.\n\nThe elements of _happiness_ in this present life no man can command, even\nif he could command himself, for they depend on the action of many wills,\non the purity of many hearts, and by the highest law of God the holiest\nmust ever bear the sins and sorrows of the rest; but over the _blessedness_\nof his own spirit circumstance need have no control; God has therein given\nan unlimited power to the means of preservation, of grace and growth, at\nevery man's command.\n\nJ. H. THOM.\n\nThere is in man a higher than love of happiness: he can do without\nhappiness, and instead thereof find blessedness!\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nDecember 9\n\n\n_For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou\nmayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come\nnigh unto him_.--PS. xxxii. 6.\n\n  Be not o'ermastered by thy pain,\n    But cling to God, thou shall not fall;\n  The floods sweep over thee in vain,\n    Thou yet shall rise above them all;\n  For when thy trial seems too hard to bear,\n  Lo! God, thy King, hath granted all thy prayer:\n  Be thou content.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nIt is the Lord's mercy, to give thee breathings after life, and cries unto\nHim against that which oppresseth thee; and happy wilt thou be, when He\nshall fill thy soul with that which He hath given thee to breathe after. Be\nnot troubled; for if troubles abound, and there be tossing, and storms,\nand tempests, and no peace, nor anything visible left to support; yet, lie\nstill, and sink beneath, till a secret hope stir, which will stay the heart\nin the midst of all these; until the Lord administer comfort, who knows how\nand what relief to give to the weary traveller, that knows not where it is,\nnor which way to look, nor where to expect a path.\n\nI. PENINGTON.\n\n\n\nDecember 10\n\n\n_Behold, we count them happy which endure_.--JAMES v. 11.\n\n_If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons_.--HEB. xii. 7.\n\n  Trials must and will befall;\n    But with humble faith to see\n  Love inscribed upon them all,\n    This is happiness to me.\n\nW. COWPER.\n\nBe not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee. It\nis with the wind and storm of tribulation that God separates the true wheat\nfrom the chaff. Always remember, therefore, that God comes to thee in thy\nsorrows, as really as in thy joys. He lays low, and He builds up. Thou wilt\nfind thyself far from perfection, if thou dost not find God in everything.\n\nM. DE MOLINOS.\n\nGod hath provided a sweet and quiet life for His children, could they\nimprove and use it; a calm and firm conviction in all the storms and\ntroubles that are about them, however things go, to find content, and be\ncareful for nothing.\n\nR. LEIGHTON.\n\n\n\nDecember 11\n\n\n_Oh, that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and that Thine hand might be\nwith me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve\nme_!--I CHRON. iv. 10.\n\n_Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread and thy\nwater_.--EX. xxiii. 25.\n\n  What I possess, or what I crave,\n    Brings no content, great God, to me,\n  If what I would, or what I have,\n    Be not possest, and blest, in Thee;\n    What I enjoy, O make it mine,\n    In making me that have it, Thine.\n\nJ. QUARLES.\n\nOffer up to God all pure affections, desires, regrets, and all the bonds\nwhich link us to home, kindred, and friends, together with all our works,\npurposes, and labors. These things, which are not only lawful, but sacred,\nbecome then the matter of thanksgiving and oblation. Memories, plans for\nthe future, wishes, intentions; works just begun, half done, all but\ncompleted; emotions, sympathies, affections,--all these things throng\ntumultuously and dangerously in the heart and will. The only way to master\nthem is to offer them up to Him, as once ours, under Him, always His by\nright.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nDecember 12\n\n\n_I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart_.--PS.\nxl. 8.\n\n  A patient, a victorious mind,\n  That life and all things casts behind,\n    Springs forth obedient to Thy call;\n  A heart that no desire can move,\n  But still to adore, believe, and love,\n    Give me, my Lord, my Life, my All.\n\nP. GERHARDT.\n\nThat piety which sanctifies us, and which is a true devotion to God,\nconsists in doing all His will precisely at the time, in the situation, and\nunder the circumstances, in which He has placed us. Perfect devotedness\nrequires, not only that we do the will of God, but that we do it with love.\nGod would have us serve Him with delight; it is our hearts that He asks of\nus.\n\nFRAN\u00c7OIS DE LA MOTHE F\u00c9NELON.\n\nDevotion is really neither more nor less than a general inclination and\nreadiness to do that which we know to be acceptable to God. It is that\n\"free spirit,\" of which David spoke when he said, \"I will run the way\nof Thy commandments, when Thou hast set my heart at liberty.\" People of\nordinary goodness walk in God's way, but the devout run in it, and at\nlength they almost fly therein. To be truly devout, we must not only do\nGod's will, but we must do it cheerfully.\n\nST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\n\n\n\nDecember 13\n\n\n_So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto\nwisdom_.--PS. xc. 12.\n\n_Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of\ndoubtful mind_.--LUKE xii. 29.\n\n  Our days are numbered: let us spare\n  Our anxious hearts a needless care:\n  'T is Thine to number out our days;\n  'T is ours to give them to Thy praise.\n\nMADAME GUYON.\n\nEvery day let us renew the consecration to God's service; every day let\nus, in His strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do His will, even in the\nveriest trifle, and to turn aside from anything that may displease Him.\nHe does not bid us bear the burdens of tomorrow, next week, or next year.\nEvery day we are to come to Him in simple obedience and faith, asking\nhelp to keep us, and aid us through that day's work; and to-morrow, and\nto-morrow, and to-morrow, through years of long to-morrows, it will be but\nthe same thing to do; leaving the future always in God's hands, sure that\nHe can care for it better than we. Blessed trust! that can thus confidingly\nsay, \"This hour is mine with its present duty; the next is God's, and when\nit comes, His presence will come with it.\"\n\nW. R. HUNTINCTON.\n\n\n\nDecember 14\n\n\n_And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy,\nand upon the Israel of God_.--GAL. vi. 16.\n\n  Lord, I have given my life to Thee,\n    And every day and hour is Thine,--\n  What Thou appointest let them be;\n    Thy will is better, Lord, than mine.\n\nA. WARNER.\n\nBegin at once; before you venture away from this quiet moment, ask your\nKing to take you wholly into His service, and place all the hours of this\nday quite simply at His disposal, and ask Him to make and keep you _ready_\nto do just exactly what He appoints. Never mind about to-morrow; one day\nat a time is enough. Try it to-day, and see if it is not a day of strange,\nalmost curious peace, so sweet that you will be only too thankful, when\nto-morrow comes, to ask Him to take it also,--till it will become a\nblessed habit to hold yourself simply and \"wholly at Thy commandment for\n_any_ manner of service.\" The \"whatsoever\" is not necessarily active work.\nIt may be waiting (whether half an hour or half a life-time), learning,\nsuffering, sitting still. But shall we be less ready for these, if any of\nthem are His appointments for to-day? Let us ask Him to prepare us for all\nthat He is preparing for us.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\n\n\nDecember 15\n\n\n_Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with\nthee_.--PS. cxvi. 7.\n\n_We which have believed do enter into rest_.--HEB. iv. 3.\n\n  Rest is not quitting\n    The busy career;\n  Rest is the fitting\n    Of self to its sphere.\n\n  'T is loving and serving\n    The highest and best!\n  'T is onwards, unswerving,--\n    And that is true rest.\n\nJ. S. DWIGHT.\n\nAs a result of this strong faith, the inner life of Catherine of Genoa\nwas characterized, in a remarkable degree, by what may be termed rest, or\nquietude; which is only another form of expression for true interior peace.\nIt was not, however, the quietude of a lazy inaction, but the quietude\nof an inward acquiescence; not a quietude which feels nothing and does\nnothing, but that higher and divine quietude which exists by feeling and\nacting in the time and degree of God's appointment and God's will. It was a\nprinciple in her conduct, to give herself to God in the discharge of duty;\nand to leave all results without solicitude in His hands.\n\nT. C. UPHAM.\n\n\n\nDecember 16\n\n\n_Thou understandest my thought afar off_.--PS. cxxxix. 2.\n\n_Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults_.--PS.\nxix. 12.\n\n  My newest griefs to Thee are old;\n    My last transgression of Thy law,\n  Though wrapped in thought's most secret fold,\n    Thine eyes with pitying sadness saw.\n\nH. M. KIMBALL.\n\nLord our God, great, eternal, wonderful in glory, who keepest covenant and\npromises for those that love Thee with their whole heart, who art the Life\nof all, the Help of those that flee unto Thee, the Hope of those who cry\nunto Thee, cleanse us from our sins, secret and open, and from every\nthought displeasing to Thy goodness,--cleanse our bodies and souls, our\nhearts and consciences, that with a pure heart, and a clear soul, with\nperfect love and calm hope, we may venture confidently and fearlessly to\npray unto Thee. Amen.\n\nCOPTIC LITURGY OF ST. BASIL.\n\nThe dominion of any sinful habit will fearfully estrange us from His\npresence. A single consenting act of inward disobedience in thought or will\nis enough to let fall a cloud between Him and us, and to leave our hearts\ncheerless and dark.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nDecember 17\n\n\n_The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,\ngoodness, faith, meekness, temperance_.--GAL. v. 22, 23.\n\n_Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my\ndisciples_.--JOHN xv. 8.\n\n  O Breath from out the Eternal Silence! blow\n    Softly upon our spirits' barren ground;\n  The precious fulness of our God bestow,\n    That fruits of faith, love, reverence may abound.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\nIs it possible we should be ignorant whether we feel tempers contrary to\nlove or no?--whether we rejoice always, or are burdened and bowed down with\nsorrow?--whether we have a praying, or a dead, lifeless spirit?--whether\nwe can praise God, and be resigned in all trials, or feel murmurings,\nfretfulness, and impatience under them?--is it not easy to know if we\nfeel anger at provocations, or whether we feel our tempers mild, gentle,\npeaceable, and easy to be entreated, or feel stubbornness, self-will, and\npride? whether we have slavish fears, or are possessed of that perfect love\nwhich casteth out all fear that hath torment?\n\nHESTER ANN ROGERS.\n\n\n\nDecember 18\n\n\n_We trust in the living God_.--I TIM. iv. 10.\n\n  Thy secret judgment's depths profound\n    Still sings the silent night;\n  The day, upon his golden round,\n    Thy pity infinite.\n\nI. WILLIAMS. _Tr. from Latin_.\n\nNow that I have no longer any sense for the transitory and perishable, the\nuniverse appears before my eyes under a transformed aspect. The dead, heavy\nmass which did but stop up space has vanished, and in its place there flows\nonward, with the rushing music of mighty waves, an eternal stream of\nlife, and power, and action, which issues from the original source of all\nlife,--from Thy life, O Infinite One! for all life is Thy life, and only\nthe religious eye penetrates to the realm of true Beauty.\n\nJ. G. FICHTE.\n\nWhat is Nature? Art thou not the \"Living Garment\" of God? O Heavens, is it,\nin very deed, He then that ever speaks through thee; that lives and\nloves in thee, that lives and loves in me? Sweeter than dayspring to the\nshipwrecked in Nova Zembla; ah! like the mother's voice to her little child\nthat strays bewildered, weeping, in unknown tumults; like soft streamings\nof celestial music to my too exasperated heart, came that Evangel. The\nUniverse is not dead and demoniacal, a charnel-house with spectres; but\ngodlike, and my Father's.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nDecember 19\n\n\n_And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee_.--PS. xxxix. 7.\n\n_O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee_.--ISA. xxxiii. 2.\n\n  He never comes too late;\n    He knoweth what is best;\n  Vex not thyself in vain;\n    Until He cometh, rest.\n\nB. T.\n\nWe make mistakes, or what we call such. The nature that could fall into\nsuch mistake exactly needs, and in the goodness of the dear God is given,\nthe living of it out, And beyond this, I believe more. That in the pure\nand patient living of it out we come to find that we have fallen, not into\nhopeless confusion of our own wild, ignorant making; but that the finger\nof God has been at work among our lines, and that the emerging is into His\nblessed order; that He is forever making up for us our own undoings; that\nHe makes them up beforehand; that He evermore restoreth our souls.\n\nA. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nTHE Lord knows how to make stepping-stones for us of our defects, even;\nit is what He lets them be for. He remembereth--He remembered in the\nmaking--that we are but dust; the dust of earth, that He _chose_ to make\nsomething little lower than the angels out of.\n\nA. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\n\n\nDecember 20\n\n\n_Take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in\nthat same hour what ye shall speak_.--MATT. x. 19.\n\n  Just to follow hour by hour\n    As He leadeth;\n  Just to draw the moment's power\n    As it needeth.\n\nF. R. HAVERGAL.\n\nYou have a disagreeable duty to do at twelve o'clock. Do not blacken nine,\nand ten, and eleven, and all between, with the color of twelve. Do the work\nof each, and reap your reward in peace. So when the dreaded moment in the\nfuture becomes the present, you shall meet it walking in the light, and\nthat light will overcome its darkness. The best preparation is the present\nwell seen to, the last duty done. For this will keep the eye so clear and\nthe body so full of light that the right action will be perceived at once,\nthe right words will rush from the heart to the lips, and the man, full of\nthe Spirit of God because he cares for nothing but the will of God, will\ntrample on the evil thing in love, and be sent, it may be, in a chariot\nof fire to the presence of his Father, or stand unmoved amid the cruel\nmockings of the men he loves.\n\nG. MACDONALD.\n\n\n\nDecember 21\n\n\n_Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the\nLord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?\nHe giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth\nstrength_.--ISA. xl. 28, 29.\n\n  Workman of God! oh, lose not heart,\n    But learn what God is like;\n  And in the darkest battle-field\n    Thou shall know where to strike.\n\nF. W. FABER.\n\nFor the rest, let that vain struggle to read the mystery of the Infinite\ncease to harass us. It is a mystery which, through all ages, we shall only\nread here a line of, there another line of. Do we not already know that the\nname of the Infinite is GOOD, is GOD? Here on earth we are as soldiers,\nfighting in a foreign land, that understand not the plan of the campaign,\nand have no need to understand it; seeing well what is at our hand to be\ndone. Let us do it like soldiers, with submission, with courage, with a\nheroic joy. Behind us, behind each one of us, lie six thousand years of\nhuman, effort, human conquest: before us is the boundless Time, with its as\nyet uncreated and unconquered continents and Eldorados, which we, even we,\nhave to conquer, to create; and from the bosom of Eternity there shine for\nus celestial guiding stars.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\n\n\nDecember 22\n\n\n_I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob,\nand I will look for Him_.--ISA. viii. 17.\n\n  What heart can comprehend Thy name,\n    Or, searching, find Thee out?\n  Who art within, a quickening flame,\n    A presence round about.\n\n  Yet though I know Thee but in part,\n    I ask not, Lord, for more:\n  Enough for me to know Thou art,\n    To love Thee and adore.\n\nF. L. HOSMER.\n\nStand up, O heart! and yield not one inch of thy rightful territory to the\nusurping intellect. Hold fast to God in spite of logic, and yet not quite\nblindly. Be not torn from thy grasp upon the skirts of His garments by any\nwrench of atheistic hypothesis that seeks only to hurl thee into utter\ndarkness; but refuse not to let thy hands be gently unclasped by that\nloving and pious philosophy that seeks to draw thee from the feet of God\nonly to place thee in His bosom. Trustfully, though tremblingly, let go the\nrobe, and thou shalt rest upon the heart and clasp the very living soul of\nGod.\n\nJAMES HINTON.\n\n\n\nDecember 23\n\n\n_Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ_.--2\nTIM. ii. 3.\n\n  Where our Captain bids us go,\n  'T is not ours to murmur, \"No,\"\n    He that gives the sword and shield,\n    Chooses too the battle-field\n  On which we are to fight the foe.\n\nANON.\n\nOf nothing may we be more sure than this; that, if we cannot sanctify our\npresent lot, we could sanctify no other. Our heaven and our Almighty Father\nare there or nowhere. The obstructions of that lot are given for us to\nheave away by the concurrent touch of a holy spirit, and labor of strenuous\nwill; its gloom, for us to tint with some celestial light; its mysteries\nare for our worship; its sorrows for our trust; its perils for our courage;\nits temptations for our faith. Soldiers of the cross, it is not for us, but\nfor our Leader and our Lord, to choose the field; it is ours, taking the\nstation which He assigns, to make it the field of truth and honor, though\nit be the field of death.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nDecember 24\n\n\n_Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of\nthe inheritance of the saints in light_.--COL. i. 12.\n\n  The souls most precious to us here\n    May from this home have fled;\n  But still we make one household dear;\n    One Lord is still our head.\n  Midst cherubim and seraphim\n    They mind their Lord's affairs;\n  Oh! if we bring our work to Him\n    Our work is one with theirs.\n\nT. H. GILL.\n\nWe are apt to feel as if nothing we could do on earth bears a relation to\nwhat the good are doing in a higher world; but it is not so. Heaven and\nearth are not so far apart. Every disinterested act, every sacrifice\nto duty, every exertion for the good of \"one of the least of Christ's\nbrethren,\" every new insight into God's works, every new impulse given to\nthe love of truth and goodness, associates us with the departed, brings\nus nearer to them, and is as truly heavenly as if we were acting, not on\nearth, but in heaven. The spiritual tie between us and the departed is not\nfelt as it should be. Our union with them daily grows stronger, if we daily\nmake progress in what they are growing in.\n\nWM. E. CHANNING.\n\n\n\nDecember 25\n\n\n_That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with\nall saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to\nknow the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled\nwith all the fulness of God_.--EPH. iii. 17-19.\n\n  O love that passeth knowledge, thee I need;\n    Pour in the heavenly sunshine; fill my heart;\n  Scatter the cloud, the doubting, and the dread,--\n    The joy unspeakable to me impart.\n\nH. BONAR.\n\nTo examine its evidence is not to try Christianity; to admire its martyrs\nis not to try Christianity; to compare and estimate its teachers is not to\ntry Christianity; to attend its rites and services with more than Mahometan\npunctuality is not to try or know Christianity. But for one week, for one\nday, to have lived in the pure atmosphere of faith and love to God, of\ntenderness to man; to have beheld earth annihilated, and heaven opened\nto the prophetic gaze of hope; to have seen evermore revealed behind the\ncomplicated troubles of this strange, mysterious life, the unchanged smile\nof an eternal Friend, and everything that is difficult to reason solved by\nthat reposing trust which is higher and better than reason,--to have known\nand felt this, I will not say for a _life_, but for a single blessed hour,\n_that_, indeed, is to have made experiment of Christianity.\n\nWM. ARCHER BUTLER.\n\n\n\nDecember 26\n\n\n_The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts\nand minds through Christ Jesus_.--PHIL. iv. 7.\n\n_Let the peace of God rule in your hearts_.--COL. iii. 15.\n\n  Drop Thy still dews of quietness,\n    Till all our strivings cease;\n  Take from our souls the strain and stress,\n  And let our ordered lives confess\n    The beauty of Thy peace.\n\nJ. G. WHITTIER.\n\n\"These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.\" What is\nfulness of joy but _peace_? Joy is tumultuous only when it is not full; but\npeace is the privilege of those who are \"filled with the knowledge of the\nglory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.\" \"Thou wilt keep him in\nperfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.\"\nIt is peace, springing from trust and innocence, and then overflowing in\nlove towards all around him.\n\nJ. H. NEWMAN.\n\nTHROUGH the spirit of Divine Love let the violent, obstinate powers of\nthy nature be quieted, the hardness of thy affections softened, and thine\nintractable self-will subdued; and as often as anything contrary stirs\nwithin thee, immediately sink into the blessed Ocean of meekness and love.\n\nG. TERSTEEGEN.\n\n\n\nDecember 27\n\n\n_Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an\nheir of God through Christ_.--GAL. iv. 7.\n\n  Not by the terrors of a slave\n    God's sons perform His will,\n  But with the noblest powers they have\n    His sweet commands fulfil.\n\nISAAC WATTS.\n\nOur thoughts, good or bad, are not in our command, but every one of us has\nat all hours duties to _do_, and these he can do negligently, like a\nslave, or faithfully, like a true servant. \"_Do_ the duty that is nearest\nthee\"--that first, and that well; all the rest will disclose themselves\nwith increasing clearness, and make their successive demand. Were your\nduties never so small, I advise you, set yourself with double and treble\nenergy and punctuality, to do them, hour after hour, day after day.\n\nT. CARLYLE.\n\nWhatever we are, high or lowly, learned or unlearned, married or single, in\na full house or alone, charged with many affairs or dwelling in quietness,\nwe have our daily round of work, our duties of affection, obedience, love,\nmercy, industry, and the like; and that which makes one man to differ from\nanother is not so much what things he does, as his manner of doing them.\n\nH. E. MANNING.\n\n\n\nDecember 28\n\n\n_Now the God of peace make you perfect in every good work, to do His will,\nworking in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus\nChrist_.--HEB. xiii. 20, 21.\n\n_Be ready to every good work_.--TITUS iii. I.\n\n  So, firm in steadfast hope, in thought secure,\n    In full accord to all Thy world of joy,\n  May I be nerved to labors high and pure,\n    And Thou Thy child to do Thy work employ.\n\nJ. STERLING.\n\nBe with God in thy outward works, refer them to Him, offer them to Him,\nseek to do them in Him and for Him, and He will be with thee in them, and\nthey shall not hinder, but rather invite His presence in thy soul. Seek to\nsee Him in all things, and in all things He will come nigh to thee.\n\nE. B. PUSEY.\n\nNothing less than the majesty of God, and the powers of the world to come,\ncan maintain the peace and sanctity of our homes, the order and serenity of\nour minds, the spirit of patience and tender mercy in our hearts. Then will\neven the merest drudgery of duty cease to humble us, when we transfigure it\nby the glory of our own spirit.\n\nJ. MARTINEAU.\n\n\n\nDecember 29\n\n\n_Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are\nhonest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever\nthings are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report,--think on these\nthings_.--PHIL. iv. 8.\n\n_As he thinketh in his heart, so is he_.--PROV. xxiii. 7.\n\n  Still may Thy sweet mercy spread\n  A shady arm above my head,\n  About my paths; so shall I find\n  The fair centre of my mind\n  Thy temple, and those lovely walls\n  Bright ever with a beam that falls\n  Fresh from the pure glance of Thine eye,\n  Lighting to eternity.\n\nR. CRASHAW.\n\nMake yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. None of us yet know, for none\nof us have been taught in early youth, what fairy palaces we may build of\nbeautiful thought--proof against all adversity. Bright fancies, satisfied\nmemories, noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure--houses of precious\nand restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor\npoverty take away from us,--houses built without hands, for our souls to\nlive in.\n\nJ. RUSKIN.\n\n\n\nDecember 30\n\n\n_O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man\nthat walketh to direct his steps_.--JER. x. 23.\n\n_I will direct all his ways_.--ISA. xlv. 13.\n\n  Come, Light serene and still!\n  Our darkened spirits fill\n    With thy clear day:\n  Guide of the feeble sight,\n  Star of grief's darkest night,\n  Reveal the path of right,\n    Show us Thy way.\n\nROBERT II. OF FRANCE.\n\nThere had been solemn appointed seasons in Anna's life, when she was\naccustomed to enter upon a full and deliberate survey of her business\nin this world. The claims of each relationship, and the results of each\noccupation, were then examined in the light of eternity. It was then,\ntoo, her fervent prayer to be enabled to discern the will of God far more\nperfectly, not only in the indications given of it for her guidance through\neach day's occupations, but as it might concern duties not yet brought home\nto her conscience, and therefore unprovided for in her life.\n\nSARAH W. STEPHEN.\n\n\n\nDecember 31\n\n\n_Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those\nthings which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high\ncalling of God in Christ Jesus_.--PHIL. iii. 13, 14.\n\n    Yet I argue not\n  Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot\n  Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer\n  Right onward.\n\nJ. MILTON.\n\nIt is not by regretting what is irreparable that true work is to be done,\nbut by making the best of what we are. It is not by complaining that we\nhave not the right tools, but by using well the tools we have. What we are,\nand where we are, is God's providential arrangement,--God's doing, though\nit may be man's misdoing; and the manly and the wise way is to look your\ndisadvantages in the face, and see what can be made out of them. Life, like\nwar, is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor the best\ngeneral who makes the fewest false steps. He is the best who wins the most\nsplendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Forget mistakes; organize\nvictory out of mistakes.\n\nF. W. ROBERTSON.","title":"Daily Strength for Daily Needs","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":72606}