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 Presented byS^VT^VA. ^^r^3)vl^e^ ^^ 
 
 BV 4810 TtS 1891 
 
 Tileston, Mary Wilder, 1843 
 
 1934. 
 Daily strength for daily 
 

 
 (^aJ/oL /r 
 
 /. 
 
/ 
 
Daily Strength 
 
 FOR 
 
 Daily Needs, 
 
 As thy days, so shall thy strength be.''^ 
 
 SfUrtcti bg H}e EDitor of "©uirt |&ours. 
 
 \'\(X<\i Vv 
 
 ^ 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS. 
 
 1891. 
 
Copyright, 
 
 By Mary W. Tileston 
 
 Sntbfrsita J^rcgs: 
 John Wilson and Sox, Cambridge, U. S. A. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 'nr^HIS little book of brief selections in 
 -^ prose and verse, with accompanying 
 texts of Scripture, is intended for a daily- 
 companion and counsellor. These words 
 of the goodly fellowship of wise and holy 
 men of many times, it is hoped may help to 
 strengthen the reader to perform the duties 
 and to bear the 'burdens of each day with 
 cheerfulness and courage. 
 
 M. W. T. 
 
January 1, 
 
 They go frofn strength to strength. — Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. 
 First the blade., then the ear., after that the full 
 corn in the ear. — Mark iv 28. 
 
 Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, 
 
 As the swift seasons roll ! 
 
 Leave thy low-vaulted past ! 
 Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
 Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
 
 Till thou at length art free, 
 Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea ! 
 
 O. W. Holmes. 
 
 TIJIGH hearts are never long without hearing 
 some new call, some distant clarion of 
 God, even in their dreams ; and soon they are 
 observed to break up the camp of ease, and start 
 on some fresh march of faithful service. And, 
 looking higher still, we find those who never 
 wait till their moral work accumulates, and who 
 reward resolution with no rest ; with whom, there- 
 fore, the alternation is instantaneous and con- 
 stant ; who do the good only to see the better, 
 and see the better only to achieve it ; who are 
 too meek for transport, too faithful for remorse, 
 too earnest for repose ; whose worship is action, 
 and whose action ceaseless aspiration. 
 
 J. Martineau 
 
January 2. 
 
 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy 
 coming in from this tiuie forth^ and even for ever- 
 more. — Fs. cxxi. 8. 
 
 Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all 
 i^enerations. — Ps. xc. i. 
 
 With grateful hearts the past we own ; 
 The future, all to us unknown, 
 We to Thy guardian care commit, 
 And peaceful leave before Thy feet. 
 
 P. Doddridge. 
 
 TTTE are like to Him with whom there is no 
 ])ast or future, with whom a day is as a 
 thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, 
 when we do our work in the great present, leav- 
 ing both past and future to Him to whom they 
 are ever present, and fearing nothing, because He 
 is in our future as much as He is in our past, as 
 much as, and far more than, we can feel Him to 
 be in our present. Partakers thus of the divine 
 nature, resting in that perfect All-in-all in whom 
 our nature is eternal too, we walk without fear, 
 full of hope and courage and strength to do His 
 will, waiting for the endless good which He is 
 always giving as fast as He can get us able to 
 take it in. 
 
 G. MacDonalal 
 
January 3. 
 
 As thy days, so shall thy strength be. — Deut. 
 xxxiii. 25, 
 
 Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. — 
 Matt. vi. 34. 
 
 Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear 
 
 The burden of to-morrow ? 
 Sufificient for to-day, its care, 
 
 Its evil and its sorrow ; 
 God imparteth by the way 
 Strength sufficient for the day. 
 
 J. E. Saxby. 
 
 TUI E that hath so many causes of joy, and so 
 great, is very much in love with sorrow 
 and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, 
 and chooses to sit down upon his little handful 
 of thorns. Enjoy the blessings of this day, if 
 God sends them ; and the evils of it bear pa- 
 tiently and sweetly : for this day is only ours, we 
 are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet born 
 to the morrow. But if we look abroad, and bring 
 into one day's thoughts the evil of many, certain 
 and uncertain, what will be and what will never 
 be, our load will be as intolerable as it is unrea- 
 sonable. 
 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
January 4. 
 
 If we sin, we are Thine, knowing Thy power : 
 but we will not sin., knowing that we are counted 
 Thine. For to know 7hee is perfect righteousness : 
 yea, to know Thy power is the root of inimor- 
 tality. — Wisdom of Solomon xv. 2, 3. 
 
 Oh, empty us of self, the world, and sin, 
 
 And then in all Thy fulness enter in ; 
 
 Take full possession, Lord, and let each thought 
 
 Into obedience unto Thee be brought; 
 
 Thine is the power, and Thine the will, that we 
 
 Be wholly sanctified, O Lord, to Thee. 
 
 C. E. J. 
 
 " I^AKE steadily some one sin, which seems to 
 stand out before thee, to root it out, by 
 God's grace, and every fibre of" it. Purpose 
 strongly, by the grace and strength of God, 
 wholly to sacrifice this sin or sinful inclination to 
 the love of God, to spare it not, until thou leave 
 of it none remaining, neither root nor branch. 
 
 Fix, by God's help, not only to root out this 
 sin, but to set thyself to gain, by that same help, 
 the opposite grace. If thou art tempted to be 
 angry, try hard, by God's grace, to be very meek ; 
 if to be proud, seek to be very humble. 
 
 E. B. PUSFY 
 
January 5. 
 
 That He 7nz^ht present it to Himself a <zlorious 
 church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such 
 thing, but thiit it should be holy and without 
 blemish. — Eph. v. 27. 
 
 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
 house. — I Peter ii. 5. 
 
 One holy Church of God appears 
 
 Through every age and race, 
 Unwasted by the lapse of years, 
 
 Unchanged by changing place. 
 
 S. Longfellow. 
 
 A TEMPLE there has been upon earth, a 
 -^^ spiritual Temple, made up of living stones ; 
 a Temple, as I may say, composed of souls ; a 
 Temple with God for its light, and Christ for the 
 high priest ; with wings of angels for its arches, 
 with saints and teachers for its pillars, and. with 
 worshippers for its pavement. Wherever there is 
 faith and love, this Temple is. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 To whatever worlds He carries our souls when 
 ihey shall pass out of these imprisoning bodies, 
 in those worlds these souls of ours shall find 
 themselves part of the same great Temple ; for 
 it belongs not to this earth alone. There can be 
 no end of the universe where God is, to which 
 that growing Temple does not reach, — ihe Tem- 
 ple of a creation to be wrought at last into a per- 
 fect utterance of God by a perfect obedience to 
 God. 
 
 Phillips Brooks. 
 
January 6. 
 
 I 71 all as;es entering into holy souls, she [IVis- 
 dom] inaketh them friends of God, and prophets. — 
 Wisdom of Solomon vii. 27. 
 
 Meanwhile with every son and saint of Thine 
 
 Along the glorious line, 
 Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet 
 
 We '11 hold communion sweet, 
 Know them by look and voice, and thank them all 
 
 For helping us in thrall. 
 For words of hope, and bright examples given 
 To shew through moonless skies that there is light in 
 
 ^^^^^^"- J. Keble. 
 
 TF we cannot live at once and alone with Him, 
 ■*- we may at least live with those who have 
 lived with Him ; and find, in our admiring love 
 for their purity, their truth, their goodness, an 
 intercession with His pity on our behalf. To 
 study the lives, to meditate the sorrows, to com- 
 mune with the thoughts, of the great and holy 
 men and women of this rich world, is a sacred 
 discipline, which deserves at least to rank as the 
 forecourt of the temple of true worship, and may 
 train the tastes, ere we pass the very gate, of 
 heaven. . . . We forfeit the chief source of dig- 
 nity and sweetness in life, next to the direct com- 
 munion with God, if we do not seek converse 
 with the greater minds that have left their vestiges 
 
 on the world. t at 
 
 J. Martineau. 
 
 Do not think it wasted time to submit yourself 
 to any influence which may bring upon you any 
 noble feeling. 
 
 J. RUSKIN 
 
January 7. 
 
 The exceeding greatness of His power to us- 
 ward who believe, according to the working of His 
 mighty power. — Eph. i. 19. 
 
 The lives which seem so poor, so low, 
 
 The hearts which are so cramped and dull. 
 
 The baffled hopes, the impulse slow, 
 Thou takest, touchest all, and lo 1 
 
 They blossom to the beautiful. 
 
 Susan Coolidge. 
 
 A ROOT set in the finest soil, in the best cli- 
 mate, and blessed with all that sun and air 
 and rain can do for it, is not in so sure a way of 
 its growth to perfection, as every man may be, 
 whose spirit aspires after all that which God is 
 ready and infinitely desirous to give him. For 
 the sun meets not the springing bud that stretches 
 towards him with half that certainty, as God, the 
 source of all good, communicates Himself to the 
 soul that longs to partake of Him. 
 
 \Vm. Law. 
 
 If we stand in the openings of the present 
 
 moment, with all the length and breadth of our 
 
 /acuities unselfishly adjusted to what it reveals, 
 
 we are in the best condition to receive what God 
 
 is always ready to communicate. 
 
 T C. Upham. 
 
January 8. 
 
 As -we have therefore opportunity, let us do good 
 unto all men. — Gal. vi. lo. 
 
 Let brotherly love continue. — Heb. xiii. I. 
 
 I ASK Thee for a thoughtful love, 
 Through constant watching wise, 
 
 To meet the glad with joyful smiles, 
 And to w^ipe the weeping eyes, 
 
 And a heart at leisure from itself, 
 To soothe and sympathize. 
 
 A. L Waring. 
 
 OURELY none are so full of cares, or so poor 
 in gifts, that to them also, waiting patiently 
 and trustfully on God for His daily commands, 
 He will not give direct ministry for Him, increas- 
 ing according to their strength and their desire. 
 There is so much to be set right in the world, 
 there are so many to be led and helped and 
 comforted, that we must continually come in con- 
 tact with such in our daily life. Let us only take 
 care, that, by the glance being turned inward, or 
 strained onward, or lost in vacant reverie, we do 
 not miss our turn of service, and pass by those 
 to whom we might have been sent on an errand 
 straight from God. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles. 
 
 Look up and not down ; look forward and not 
 back ; look out and not in ; and lend a hand. 
 
 Edward E. Haie. 
 
January 9. 
 
 And in every work that he began in the service 
 of the house of God, and in the law, and in the 
 commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all 
 his heart, and prospered. — 2 Chrox. xxxi. 21. 
 
 What shall we do, that we might work the works 
 of God? — ]oii^ vi. 28. 
 
 Give me within the work which calls to-day, 
 To see Thy finger gently beckoning on ; 
 
 So struggle grows to freedom, work to play, 
 And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done. 
 
 J. F. Clarke. 
 
 r^ OD is a kind Father. He sets us all in the 
 places where He wishes us to be employed ; 
 and that employment is truly " our Father's busi- 
 ness." He chooses work for every creature which 
 will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and 
 humbly. He gives us always strength enough, 
 and sense enough, for what He wants us to do ; 
 if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it 
 is our own fault. And we may always be sure, 
 whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing 
 Him, if we are not happy ourselves. 
 
 J. Rusk IN. 
 
lo January 10. 
 
 Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, 
 my lips shall praise Thee. — Ps. Ixiii. 3. 
 
 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose 
 it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve 
 it. — Luke xvii. 33. 
 
 O Lord I my best desires fulfil. 
 
 And help me to resign 
 Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will. 
 
 And make Thy pleasure mine. 
 
 Wm. Cowper. 
 
 T17HAT do our heavy hearts prove but that 
 other things are sweeter to us than His 
 will, that we have not attained to the full mastery 
 of our true freedom, the full perception of its 
 power, that our sonship is yet but faintly realized, 
 and its blessedness not yet proved and known? 
 Our consent would turn all our trials into obedi- 
 ence. By consenting we make them our own, 
 and offer them with ourselves again to Him. 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
 Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now 
 God hath bound thy trouble upon thee, with a 
 design to try thee, and with purposes to reward 
 and crown thee. These cords thou canst not 
 break ; and therefore lie thou down gently, and 
 suffer the hand of God to do what He please. 
 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
January 11. 1 1 
 
 / will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy ; for 
 Thon hast considered my trouble; Thou hast 
 known my soul in adversities. — Ps. xxxi. 7, 
 
 Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned — 
 Each drop that fills my daily cup ; Thy hand 
 Prescribes for ills none else can understand. 
 All, all is known to Thee. 
 
 A. L. Newton. 
 
 /^OD knows us through and through. Not the 
 most secret thought, which we most hide 
 from ourseh^es, is hidden from Him. As then we 
 come to know ourselves through and through, we 
 come to see ourselves more as God sees us, and 
 then we catch some little ghmpse of His designs 
 with us, how each ordering of His Providence, 
 each check to our desires, each failure of our 
 hopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in 
 our own spiritual state, which others know not of, 
 and which, till then, we knew not. Until we 
 come to this knowledge, we must take all in faith, 
 believing, though we know not, the goodness of 
 God towards us. As we know ourselves, we, thus 
 far, know God. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
12 January 12. 
 
 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation 
 of my hearty be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, 
 my strength^ and my redeemer. — Ps. xix 14. 
 
 The thoughts that in our hearts keep place. 
 Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng, 
 
 And steep in innocence and grace 
 The issue of each guarded tongue. 
 
 T. H. Gill. 
 
 HTHERE is another kind of silence to be culti- 
 vated, besides that of the tongue as regards 
 others. I mean silence as regards one's self, — 
 restraining the imagination, not permitting it to 
 dwell overmuch on what we have heard or said, 
 not indulging in the phantasmagoria of picture- 
 thoughts, whether of the past or future. Be sure 
 that you have made no small progress in the spir- 
 itual life, when you can control your imagination, 
 so as to fix it on the duty and occupation actually 
 existing, to the exclusion of the crowd of thoughts 
 which are perpetually sweeping across the mind. 
 No doubt, you cannot prevent those thoughts 
 from arising, but you can prevent yourself from 
 dwelling on them ; you can put them aside, you 
 can check the self-complacency, or irritation, or 
 earthly longings which feed them, and by the 
 practice of such control of your thoughts you 
 will attain that spirit of inward silence which 
 draws the soul into a close intercourse with God. 
 
 Jean N. Grou. 
 
January 13. it, 
 
 Speak not evil one of another^ brethren. — James 
 Iv. II. 
 
 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and 
 clafnor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, 
 with all malice. — Eph. iv. 31. 
 
 If aught good thou canst not say 
 
 Of thy brother, foe, or friend, 
 Take thou, then, the silent way, 
 
 Lest in word thou shouldst offend. 
 
 AnOxV. 
 
 TF there is any person to whom you feel disUke, 
 that is the person of wliom you ought never 
 to speak. 
 
 R. Cecil. 
 
 To recognize with delight all high and gener- 
 ous and beautiful actions ; to find a joy even in 
 seeing the good qualities of your bitterest oppo- 
 nents, and to admire those qualities even in those 
 with whom you have least sympathy, — be it either 
 the Romanist or the Unitarian, — this is the only 
 spirit which can heal the love of slander and ol 
 calumny. 
 
 F. W. Robertson 
 
^4 January 14. 
 
 Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my 
 lord the king shall appoint. — 2 Sam. xv. 15. 
 
 I LOVE to think that God appoints 
 
 My portion day by day ; 
 Events of life are in His hand, 
 
 And I would only say, 
 Appoint them in Thine own good time, 
 
 And in Thine own best way. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 TF we are really, and always, and equally ready 
 to do whatsoever the King appoints, all the 
 trials and vexations arising from any change in 
 His appointments, great or small, simply do not 
 exist. If He appoints me to work there, shall I 
 lament that I am not to work here ? If He ap • 
 points me to wait in-doors to-day, am I to be 
 annoyed because I am not to work out-of-doors? 
 If I meant to write His messages this morning, 
 shall I grumble because He sends interrupting 
 visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am to speak 
 them, or " show kindness " for His sake, or at 
 least obey His command, " Be courteous " ? If 
 all my members are really at His disposal, why 
 should I be put out if to-day's appointment is 
 some simple work for my hands or errands for 
 my feet, instead of some seemingly more impor- 
 tant doing of head or tongue ? 
 
 F, R. Havercai. 
 
January 15. 15 
 
 For this is the will of God, even yoiir sancti" 
 ^cation. — i Thess. iv. 3. 
 
 Between us and Thyself remove 
 
 Whatever hindrances may be, 
 That so our inmost heart may prove 
 
 A holy temple, meet for Thee. 
 
 Latin Mss. of 15TH Century. 
 
 "OEAR, in the presence of God, to know thyself. 
 Then seek to know for what God sent thee 
 into the world ; how thou hast fulfilled it ; art 
 thou yet what God willed thee to be ; what yet 
 lacketh unto thee ; what is God's will for thee 
 now; what thing thou mayest nonf do, by His 
 grace, to obtain His favor, and approve thyseli 
 unto Him. Say to Him, "Teach me to do Thy 
 will, for Thou art my God," and He will say unto 
 thy soul, " Fear not ; I am thy salvation." He 
 will speak peace unto thy soul ; He will set thee 
 in the way ; He will bear thee above things of 
 sense, and praise of man, and things which per- 
 ish in thy grasp, and give thee, if but afar off. 
 some glimpse of His own, unfading, unsetting. 
 unperishing brightness and bliss and love. 
 
 E. B. PusEV 
 
1 6 January 16. 
 
 God^ even our Father, which haih loved us, and 
 hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope 
 through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish 
 you in every good wo'-d and work. — 2 Thess- ii- 
 16, 17. 
 
 When soitow all our heart would ask, 
 We need not shun our daily task, 
 
 And hide ourselves for calm ; 
 The herbs we seek :o heal our woe 
 Familiar by our pathway grow, 
 
 Our common air is balm. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 /^H, when we turn away from some duty or 
 ^^^ some fellow-creature, saying that our hearts 
 are too sick and sore with some great yearning 
 of our own, we may often sever the line on which 
 a divine message was coming to us. We shut out 
 the man, and we shut out the angel who had sent 
 him on to open the door. . . . There is a plan 
 working in our lives ; and if we keep our hearts 
 quiet and our eyes open, it all works together; 
 and, if we don't, it all fights together, and goes 
 on fighting till it comes right, somehow, some- 
 where. 
 
 Annie Keary 
 
January 17. 
 
 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
 trial which is to try you., as though some strange 
 thing happened ntito you : but rejoice., inasmuch 
 as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. — 
 I Peter iv. 12, 13. 
 
 We take with solemn thankfulness 
 Our burden up, nor ask it less, 
 And count it joy that even we 
 May suffer, serve, or wait for 'I'hee, 
 Whose will be done ! 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 O ECEIVE every inward and outward trouble, 
 every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, 
 temptation, darkness, and desolation, with both 
 thy hands, as a true oj^portunity and blessed oc- 
 casion of dying to self, and entering into a fuller 
 fellowship with thy self-denying, suffering Saviour. 
 Look at no inward or outward trouble in any 
 other view ; reject every other thought about it ; 
 and then every kind of trial and distress will 
 become the blessed day of thy prosperity. That 
 state is best, which exerciseth the highest faith in. 
 and fullest resignation to God. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
i8 January 18. 
 
 Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the 
 Lord thy God hath given unto thee. — Deut. xxvi. 
 II. 
 
 Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks. — 
 I Thess. v. 1 6, 1 8. 
 
 Grave on thy heart each past "red-letter day"! 
 Forget not all the sunshine of the way 
 By which the Lord hath led thee ; answered prayers, 
 And joys unasked, strange blessings, lifted cares, 
 Grand promise-echoes ! Thus thy life shall be 
 One record of His love and faithfulness to thee. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 /^^RATITUDE consists in a watchful, minute 
 ^-^ attention to tlie particulars of our state, and 
 to the multitude of God's gifts, taken one by 
 one. It fills us with a consciousness that God 
 loves and cares for us, even to the least event and 
 smallest need of life. It is a blessed thought, that 
 from our childhood God has been laying His fa- 
 therly hands upon us, and always in benediction ; 
 that even the strokes of His hands are blessings, 
 and among the chiefest we have ever received. 
 When this feeling is awakened, the heart beats 
 with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its 
 return of praise. It awakens an unceasing daily 
 converse with our Father, — He speaking to us 
 by the descent of blessings, we to Him by the 
 ascent of thanksgiving. And all our whole life 
 is thereby drawn under the light of His counte- 
 nance, and is filled with a gladness, serenity, and 
 peace which only thankful hearts can know. 
 
 H. E Manning- 
 
January 19. 19 
 
 Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. — 
 Ps. cv. 3. 
 
 The joy of the Lord is your strength. — Neh. 
 fiii. 10. 
 
 Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy, 
 
 Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy ; 
 
 Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright. 
 
 My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light. 
 
 Gerhard Tersteegen. 
 
 T DO not know when I have had happier times 
 in my soul, than when I have been sitting at 
 work, with nothing before me but a candle and a 
 white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my 
 own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my 
 eye. ... I rejoice in being exactly what I am, — 
 a creature capable of loving God, and who, as 
 long as God liv^es, must be happy. I get up and 
 look for a while out of the window, and gaze at 
 the moon and stars, the work of an Almighty 
 hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, 
 and then sit down, and think myself one of the 
 happiest beings in it. 
 
 A Poor Methodist Woman, fSih Century 
 
20 January 20. 
 
 The Lord taketh pleasure in His people : He will 
 beautify the meek with salvation. — Ps. cxlix. 4. 
 
 Send down Thy likeness from above, 
 
 And let this my adorning be : 
 Clothe me with wisdom, patience, love, 
 
 With lowliness and purity. 
 
 Joachim Lange. 
 
 TT is not in words explicable, with what divine 
 lines and lights the exercise of godliness and 
 charity will mould and gild the hardest and cold- 
 est countenance, neither to what darkness their 
 departure will consign the lovehest. For there 
 is not any virtue the exercise of which, even mo- 
 mentarily, will not impress a new fairness upon 
 the features ; neither on them only, but on the 
 whole body the moral and intellectual faculties 
 have operation, for all the movements and gest- 
 ures, however slight, are different in their modes 
 according to the mind that governs them — and 
 on the gentleness and decision of right feeling 
 follows grace of actions, and, through continu- 
 ance of this, grace of form. 
 
 J. RUSKIN. 
 
 There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, 
 or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not 
 pain around us. 
 
 K. W. Emerson. 
 
January 21. 21 
 
 Even the youths shall faint and be weary ^ and 
 the yuiuig men shaU utterly fall ; but they that wait 
 upon the Lord shall renew their strength j they shall 
 mount up with wings as eagles j they shall run, 
 and not be weary j and they shall walk and not 
 faint. — IsA. xl. 30, 31. 
 
 Lord, with what courage and delight 
 
 I do each thing, 
 When Thy least breath sustains my wing ! 
 
 I shine and move 
 
 Like those above, 
 
 And, with much gladness 
 
 Quitting sadness, 
 Make me fair days of every night. 
 
 H. Vaughan. 
 
 A/TAN, by living wholly in submission to the 
 Divine* Influence, becomes surrounded 
 with, and creates for himself, internal pleasures 
 infinitely greater than any he can otherwise attain 
 to — a state of heavenly Beatitude. 
 
 J. P. Greaves. 
 
 By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, 
 beyond what I can express, increase the inward 
 powers <jf the mind, and shall produce that cheer- 
 fulness and greatness of spirit as will fit us for all 
 good purposes ; and shall not have lost pleasure, 
 but changed it ; the soul being then filled with 
 its own intrinsic pleasures. 
 
 ITenry More, 
 
22 January 22. 
 
 Then shall we know^ if we follow on to know 
 the Lord. — Hose a vi. 3. 
 
 And, as the path of duty is made plain, 
 May grace be given that I may walk therein. 
 
 Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, 
 With backward glances and reluctant tread, 
 Making a merit of his coward dread, — 
 
 But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, 
 
 Walking as one to pleasant service led; 
 
 Doing God's will as if it were my own. 
 Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone! 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 TT is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. 
 So long as men dispute whether or no a thing 
 is their duty, they get never the nearer. Let 
 them set ever so weakly about doing it, and the 
 face of things alters. They find in themselves 
 strength which they knew not of. Difficulties 
 which it seemed to them they could not get over, 
 disappear. For He accompanies it with the in- 
 fluences of His blessed Spirit, and each perform- 
 ance opens our minds for larger influxes of His 
 grace, and places them in communion with Him. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 That which is called considering what is our 
 duty in a particular case, is very often nothing 
 but endeavoring to explain it away. 
 
 Bishop Butler. 
 
January 23. 23 
 
 If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry^ and 
 satisfy the afflitted soul ; then shall thy light rise in 
 obscurity^ and thy darkness be as the noonday ; and 
 the Lord shall guide thee continually. — ISA. Iviii, 
 10, II. 
 
 If thou hast Yesterday thy duty done, 
 
 And thereby cleared firm footing for To-day, 
 
 Whatever clouds make dark To-morrow's sun, 
 Thou shalt not miss thy solitary way. 
 
 J. W. VON Goethe. 
 
 f~\ LORD, who art our Guide even unto death, 
 ^"^ grant us, I pray Thee, grace to follow Thee 
 whithersoever Thou goest. In little daily duties 
 to which Thou callest us, bow down our wills to 
 simple obedience, patience n'-^der pain or prov- 
 ocation, strict truthfulness of word and manner, 
 humility, kindness ; in great acts of duty or per- 
 fection, if Thou shouldest call us to them, uplift 
 us to self-sacrifice, heroic courage, laying down 
 of life for Thy truth's sake, or for a brother. 
 Amen. 
 
 C. G. ROSSETTI 
 
24 January 24. 
 
 / will bless the Lord, who hath giveri me counsel. 
 — Fs. xvi. 7. 
 
 Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit; serv- 
 ing the Lord. — Rom. xii. 11. 
 
 Mine be the reverent, listening love 
 
 That waits all day on Thee, 
 With the service of a watchful heart 
 
 Which no one else can see. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 I^OTHING is small or great in God's sight; 
 whatever He wills becomes great to us, 
 however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice 
 of conscience tells us that He requires anything 
 of us, we have no right to measure its importance. 
 On the other hand, whatever He would not have 
 us do, however important we may think it, is as 
 nought to us. How do you know what you may 
 lose by neglecting this duty, which you think so 
 trifling, or the blessing which its faithful perform- 
 ance may bring? Be sure that if you do your 
 very best in that which is laid upon you daily, 
 you will not be left without sufficient help when 
 some weightier occasion arises. Give yourself to 
 Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen 
 to His voice, and then go on bravely and cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou. 
 
January 25. 25 
 
 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
 them. — John xiii. 17. 
 
 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and 
 doeth it not, to hi;ji it is sin. — James iv. 17. 
 
 We cannot kindle when we will 
 The fire that in the heart resides, 
 
 The spirit bloweth and is still, 
 In mystery our S(Hi1 abides : 
 
 But tasks in hours of insight willed 
 
 Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled. 
 
 Matthew Arnold. 
 
 TITURT not your conscience with any known 
 
 sin. 
 
 S. Rutherford. 
 
 Deep-rooted customs, though wrong, are not 
 easily altered ; but it is the duty of all to be firm 
 in that which they certainly know is right for 
 them. 
 
 John Woolman. 
 
 He often acts unjustly who does not do a 
 certain thing : not only he who does a certain 
 thing. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus. 
 
 Every duty we omit obscures some truth we 
 should have known. 
 
 John Ruskin 
 
26 January 26. 
 
 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
 knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are His jndg- 
 7nents, and His ways past finding out I — Rom. 
 xi. 33- 
 
 // doth not yet appear what we shall be. — i John 
 
 IVo star is ever lost we once have seen, 
 
 We always may be what we might have been. 
 
 Since Good, though only thought, has life and breath, 
 
 God's life — can always be redeemed from death ; 
 
 And evil, in its nature, is decay, 
 
 And any hour can blot it all away ; 
 
 The hopes that lost in some far distance seem. 
 
 May be the truer life, and this the dream. 
 
 A. A. Procter. 
 
 C T. BERNARD has said : '' Man, if thou desir- 
 *^ est a noble and holy life, and unceasingly 
 prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant 
 in this thy desire, it will be granted unto thee 
 without fail, even if only in the day or hour of 
 thy death ; and if God should not give it to thee 
 then, thou shalt find it in Him in eternity : of 
 this be assured." Therefore do not relinquish 
 your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, 
 or though ye may swerve from your aspirations, 
 or even forget them for a time. . . . The love 
 and aspiration which once really existed live for- 
 ever before God, and in Him ye shall find the 
 fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it shall be 
 better for you than if you had never felt them. 
 
 J. Tauler. 1 290-1361. 
 
January 27. 27 
 
 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhab- 
 zteth eterttity, whose name is Holy ; I dwell in the 
 high and holy place, with him also that is of a con- 
 trite and hutnble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
 hiunble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones, 
 — ISA. Ivii. 15. 
 
 Without an end or bound 
 Thy life lies all outspread in light ; 
 
 Our lives feel Thy life all around, 
 Making our weakness strong, our darkness bright ; 
 Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea, 
 But the calm gladness of a full eternity. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 r\ TRUTH who art Eternity ! And Love who 
 ^■^^ art Truth ! And Eternity who art Love ! 
 Thou art my God, to Thee do I sigh night and 
 day. When I first knew Thee, Thou liftedst me 
 up, that I might see there was somewhat for me 
 to see, and that I was not yet such, as to see. 
 And Thou streaming forth Thy beams of light 
 upon me most strongly, didst beat back the weak- 
 ness of my sight, and I trembled with love and 
 awe : and I perceived myself to be far off from 
 Thee in the region of unhkeness. 
 
 St. Augustine. 
 
January 28. 
 
 O fear the Lord, ye His saints : for there is no 
 want to thetn that fear Him. — Ps. xxxiv. 9. 
 
 Thoji o penes t Thine hand and satisficst the desire 
 of every living thitig. — Ps. cxlv. 16. 
 
 What Thou shalt to-day provide, 
 
 Let me as a child receive ; 
 What to-morrow ma}' betide, 
 
 Calmly to Thy wisdom leave. 
 'T is enough that Thou wilt care ; 
 Why should I the burden bear 1 
 
 J. Xewton. 
 
 TIJAVE we found that anxiety about possible 
 consequences increased the clearness of 
 our judgment, made us wiser and braver in meet- 
 ing the present, and arming ourselves for the 
 future? ... If we had prayed for this day's 
 bread, and left the next to itself, if we had not 
 huddled our days together, not allotting to each 
 its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the 
 future, and drawing upon the future for its own 
 troubles, which must be met when they come 
 whether we have anticipated them or not, we 
 should have found a simplicity and honesty in 
 our lives, a capacity for work, an enjoyment in 
 it, to which we are now, for the most part, 
 strangers. 
 
 ^. D. Maurfce. 
 
January 29. 29 
 
 / the Lord will hold thy right hattd^ saying unto 
 thee. Fear not; I will help thee. — Is A. xli. 13. 
 
 Show Thv marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou 
 that savest by Thy right hafid them which put their 
 trust in Thee. — Ps. xvii. 7. 
 
 I TAKE Thy hand, and fears grow still ; 
 
 Behold Thy face, and doubts remove ; 
 Who would not yield his wavering will 
 
 To perfect Truth and boundless Love ? 
 
 S. Johnson 
 
 T^O not look forward to the changes and 
 ^"^ chances of this Hfe in fear ; rather look 
 to them wdth full hope that, as they arise, God, 
 whose you are, will deliver you out of them. 
 He has kept you hitherto, — do you but hold fast 
 to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely 
 through all things ; and, when you cannot stand, 
 He will bear you in His arms. Do not look 
 forward to what may happen to-morrow ; the 
 same everlasting Father who cares for you to- 
 day, will take care of you to-morrow, and every 
 day. Either He will shield you from suffering, 
 or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. 
 Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious 
 thoughts and imaginations. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
30 January 30. 
 
 If I take the wings of the morni)ig^ and dwell m 
 the uttermost parts of the sea j even there shall Thy 
 hand lead fne, and Thy right hand shall hold me. — 
 Ps. cxxxix. 9, ro. 
 
 I CANNOT lose Thee ! Still in Thee abidmg, 
 The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam ; 
 
 The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding, 
 And I must rest at last in Thee, my home. 
 
 E. SCUDDER. 
 
 "LITOW can we come to perceive this direct 
 leading of God ? By a careful looking at 
 home, and abiding within the gates of thy own 
 soul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his 
 own heart, and cease from his restless chase of 
 and search after outward things. If he is thus 
 at home while on earth, he will surely come to 
 see what there is to do at home, — what God 
 commands him inwardly without means, and also 
 outwardly by the help of means ; and then let 
 him surrender himself, and follow God along 
 whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead 
 him : whether it be to contemplation or action, 
 to usefulness or enjoyment ; whether in sorrow 
 or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not 
 give him thus to feel His hand in all things, let 
 him still simply yield himself up, and go with- 
 out, for God's sake, out of love, and still press 
 forward. 
 
 J. Tauler. 
 
January 31. 31 
 
 In all thy ways acknowledge Him^ and He sha'i 
 direct thy paths. — Prov. iii. 6. 
 
 He leadeth 7ne. — Ps. xxiii. 2. 
 
 In " pastures green " ? Not always ; sometimes He 
 Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me 
 In weary ways, where heavy shadows be. 
 
 So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair 
 I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, w^here 
 The shadows lie, what matter ? He is there. 
 
 Henry H. Barry. 
 
 •T^HE Shepherd knows what pastures are best 
 for his sheep, and they must not question 
 nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps 
 He sees that the best pastures for some of us are 
 to be found in the midst of opposition or of 
 earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may 
 be sure they are green for you, and you will grow 
 and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps 
 He sees that the best waters for you to walk be- 
 side will be raging waves of trouble and sorrow. 
 If this should be the case. He will make them 
 still waters for you, and you must go and lie down 
 beside them, and let them have all their blessed 
 influences upon you. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
32 February 1. 
 
 Now the God of patience and consolation grant 
 you to be like-minded one toward another, according 
 to Christ Jesus. — Rom. xv. 5. 
 
 Let patience have her perfect work, — James 
 1. 4- 
 
 f Make me patient, kind, and gentle, 
 Day by day ; 
 Teach me how to live more nearly 
 As I pray. 
 
 Sharpe's Magazine. 
 
 nPHE exercise of patience involves a continual 
 practice of the presence of God ; for we 
 may be come upon at any moment for an almost 
 heroic display of good temper, and it is a short 
 road to unselfishness, for nothing is left to self ; 
 all that seems to belong most intimately to self, 
 to be self s private property, such as time, home, 
 and rest, are invaded by these continual trials of 
 patience. The family is full of such opportu- 
 nities. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
February 2. $2 
 
 Now ive exhort yoii^ bi'ethreii, ivarn them that 
 are unruly^ comfort the feeble-?ninded, support the 
 weak, be patient toward all men. — i Thess. Vc 14- 
 
 The little worries which we meet each day 
 May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way, 
 Or we may make them stepping-Stones to be 
 Of grace, O Lord, to Thee. 
 
 A. E. Hamilton. 
 
 "V\7E must be continually sacrificing our own 
 wills, as opportunity serves, to the will of 
 others ; bearing, without notice, sights and sounds 
 that annoy us ; setting f.bout this or that task, 
 when we had far rather be doing something very 
 different ; persevering in it, often, when we arc* 
 thoroughly tired of it; keeping company for 
 duty's sake, when it would be a great joy to us 
 to be by ourselves ; besides all the trilling unto- 
 ward accidents of life ; bodily pain and weakness 
 long continued, and perplexing us often when it 
 does not amount to illness ; losing what we value, 
 missing what we desire ; disappointment in other 
 persons, wilfulness, unkindness, ingratitude, folly, 
 in cases where we least expect it. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 3 
 
34 February 3. 
 
 Sea7'ch me, O God, and know my heart ; try me, 
 and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any 
 wicked way in me, afid lead me in the way ever- 
 lasting. — Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24. 
 
 Save us from the evil' tongue, 
 From the heart that thinketh wrong, 
 From the sins, whate'er they be, 
 That divide the soul from Thee. 
 
 Anon 
 
 OUCH as are thy habitual thoughts, such also 
 will be the character of thy mind ; for the 
 soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then with 
 a continuous series of such thoughts as these : 
 for instance, that where a man can live, there he 
 can also live well. But he must live in a palace : 
 well, then, he can also live well in a palace. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus. 
 
 Who is there that sets himself to the task of 
 steadily watching his thoughts for the space of 
 one hour, with the view of preserving his mind 
 in a simple, humble, healthful condition, but will 
 speedily discern in the multiform, self-reflecting, 
 self-admiring emotions, which, like locusts, are 
 ready to " eat up every green thing in his land," 
 a state as much opposed to simplicity and humility 
 as night is to day? 
 
 M. A. Keltv. 
 
February 4. 35 
 
 If any man offe?id not in word, the same is a 
 perfect jnan, and able also to bridle the whole body. 
 — James iii. 2. 
 
 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth ; keep the 
 door of fny lips. — Ps. cxli. 3. 
 
 What ! never speak one evil worcT, 
 
 Or rash, or idle, or unkind ! 
 Oh, how shall I, most gracious Lord, 
 
 This mark of true perfection find ? 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 \^7HEN we remember our temptations to give 
 quick indulgence to disappointment or 
 irritation or unsympatliizing weariness, . . . and 
 how hard a thing it is from day to day to meet 
 our fellow-men, our neighbors, or even our own 
 households, in all moods, in all discordances be- 
 tween the world without us and the frames within, 
 in all states of health, of solicitude, of preoccupa- 
 tion, and show no signs of impatience, ungentle- 
 ness, or unobservant self-absorption, — with only 
 kindly feeling finding expression, and ungenial 
 feeling at least inwardly imprisoned ; — we shall 
 be ready to acknowledge that the man who has 
 thus attained is master of himself, and in the 
 graciousness of his power is fashioned upon the 
 style of a Perfect Man, 
 
 ]. H. Thom 
 
36 February 5. 
 
 Blessed are they thai keep J2idgment, and he that 
 doeth righteousness at all times. — Ps. cvi. 3. 
 
 Thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear : be- 
 cause thou shalt forget thy misery^ and rerneviber 
 it as waters that pass away. — Job xi. 15, 16. 
 
 In the bitter waves of woe, 
 
 Beaten and tossed about 
 By the sullen winds that blow 
 
 From the desolate shores of doubt, 
 Where the anchors that faith has cast 
 
 Are dragging in the gale, 
 I am quietly holding fast 
 
 To the things that cannot fail. 
 
 Washington Gladden 
 
 TN the darkest hour through which a human 
 soul can pass, whatever else is doubtful, this 
 at least is certain. If there be no God and no 
 future state, yet, even then, it is better to be 
 generous than selfish, better to be chaste than 
 licentious, better to be true than false, better to 
 be brave than to be a coward. Blessed beyond all 
 earthly blessedness is the man who, in the tem- 
 pestuous darkness of the soul, has dared to hold 
 fast to these venerable landmarks. Thrice blessed 
 is he, who, when all is drear and cheerless within 
 and without, when his teachers terrify him, and 
 his friends shrink from him, has obstinately clung 
 to moral good. Thrice blessed, because hii 
 night shall pass into clear, bright day. 
 
 F. W. Robertson 
 
February 6. 37 
 
 Whoso pt4tteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe- 
 — Prov. xxix. 25. 
 
 / will cry u7ito God most high; unto God, that 
 perfonneth all things for me. — Ps. Ivii. 2. 
 
 Only thy restless heart keep still, 
 And wait in cheerful hope ; content 
 
 To take whate'er His gracious will, 
 His all-discerning love hath sent ; 
 
 Nor doubt our inmost wants are known 
 To Him who chose us for His own. 
 
 G. Neumarck. 
 
 f~^ OD has brought us into this time ; He, antl 
 not ourseh^es or some dark demon. It 
 we are not fit to cope with that which He has 
 prepared for us, we should have been utterly unfit 
 for any condition that we imagine for ourselves. 
 In this time we are to live and wrestle, and in no 
 other. Let us humbly, tremblingly, manfully look 
 at it, and we shall not wish that the sun could go 
 back its ten degrees, or that we could go back 
 with it. If easy times are departed, it is that the 
 difficult times may make us more in earnest ; that 
 they may teach us not to depend upon ourselves. 
 If easy belief is impossible, it is that we may 
 learn what belief is, and in whom it is to be 
 placed. 
 
 F. D. Maurice. 
 
38 February 7. 
 
 Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye 
 shall be my people : and walk ye in all the ways 
 that I have commanded yoic, that it may be well 
 unto you. — Jer. vii. 23. 
 
 And oft, when in my heart was heard 
 Thy timely mandate, I deferred 
 The task, in smoother walks to stray; 
 But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may. 
 
 W. Wordsworth. 
 
 TDRAY Him to give you what Scripture calls 
 " an honest and good heart," or " a perfect 
 heart ; " and, without waiting, begin at once to 
 obey Him with the best heart you have. Any 
 obedience is better than none. You have to seek 
 His face ; obedience is the only way of seeing 
 Him. All your duties are obediences. To do 
 what He bids is to obey Him, and to obey Him 
 is to approach Him. Every act of obedience is 
 an approach — an approach to Him who is not 
 far off, though He seems so, but close behind this 
 visible screen of things which hides Him from us. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 As soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, 
 we have enough light given us to guide our own 
 steps ; as the foot-soldier, who hears nothing of the 
 councils that determine the course of the great 
 battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of 
 command which he must himself obey. 
 
 George Eliot, 
 
February 8. 39 
 
 He leadeth 7ne beside the still waters. He resior- 
 eth my soul ; He leadeth me in the paths of Hi^ht- 
 eous7iess fo?- His naitie''s sake. — Ps. xxiii. 2, 3. 
 
 He leads me where the waters glide, 
 
 The waters soft and still, 
 And homeward He will gently guide 
 
 My wandering heart and will. 
 
 J. Keble 
 
 /^UT of obedience and devotion arises an 
 ^"'^ habitual faith, which makes Him, though 
 unseen, a part of all our Hfe. He will guide 
 us in a sure path, though it be a rough one : 
 though shadows hang upon it, yet He will be 
 with us. He will bring us home at last. Through 
 much trial it may be, and weariness, in much 
 fear and fainting of heart, in much sadness and 
 loneliness, in griefs that the world never knows, 
 and under burdens that the nearest never suspect. 
 Yet He will suffice for all. By His eye or by 
 His voice He will guide us, if we be docile and 
 gentle ; by His staff and by His rod, if we wan- 
 der or are wilful : any how, and by ail means, He 
 will bring us to His rest. 
 
 H. E. M. 'INNING 
 
40 February 9. 
 
 / was afraid^ afid went and hid thy talent in the 
 earth : lo, there thou hast that is thi?ie. — Matt. 
 XXV. 25. 
 
 Time was, I shrank from what was right, 
 
 From fear of what was wrong ; 
 I would'not brave the sacred fight, 
 
 Because the foe was strong. 
 
 But now I cast that finer sense 
 
 And sorer shame aside ; 
 Such dread of sin was indolence. 
 
 Such aim at heaven was pride. 
 
 J. H. Newman 
 
 TF he falls into some error, he does not fret ov.-^r 
 it, but rising up with a humble spirit, he goes 
 on his way anew rejoicing. Were he to fall a 
 hundred times in the day, he would not despair, 
 — he would rather cry out lovingly to God, ap- 
 pealing to His tender pity. The really devout 
 man has a horror of evil, but he has a still greater 
 love of that which is good ; he is more set on 
 doing what is right, than avoiding what is wrong 
 Generous, large-hearted, he is not afraid of dan 
 ger in serving God, and would rather run the 
 risk of doing His will imperfectly than not strive 
 to serve Him lest he fail in the attempt. 
 
 Jeam Nicolas Grol' 
 
February 10. 41 
 
 We have waited for Him, and He will save us : 
 this is the Lordj we have waited for Him, we will 
 be glad in His salvation. — Is A. xxv. 9. 
 
 Blest are the humble souls that wait 
 With sweet submission to His will; 
 
 Harmonious all their passions move, 
 And in the midst of storms are still. 
 
 P. Doddridge. 
 
 ir\0 not be discouraged at yoar faults ; bear 
 with yourself in correcting them, as you 
 would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor 
 of mind, which exhausts your body, and leads 
 you to commit errors. Accustom yourself grad- 
 ually to carry prayer into all your daily occupa- 
 tions. Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you 
 were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be. Do 
 everything without excitement, by the spirit of 
 grace. As soon as you perceive your natural im- 
 petuosity gliding in, retire quietly within, where is 
 the kingdom of God. Listen to the leadings of 
 grace, then say and do nothing but w^hat the Holy 
 Spirit shall put in your heart. You will find that 
 you will become more tranquil, that your words 
 will be fewer and more effectual, and that, with 
 ^ess effort, you will accomplish more good. 
 
 Fexelon 
 
I'ebruary 11. 
 
 / have finished the work which TJiou gavest me 
 to do. — John xvii. 4. 
 
 She hath done what she could. — Mark xiv. 8. 
 
 He who God's will has borne and done, 
 And his own restless longings stilled ; 
 
 What else he does, or has foregone, 
 His mission he has well fulfilled. 
 
 From the German. 
 
 r^HEERED by the presence of God, I will do 
 at each moment, without anxiety, according 
 to the strength which He shall give me, the work 
 that His Providence assigns me. I will leave the 
 rest without concern ; it is not my affair. I ought 
 to consider the duty to which I am called each 
 day, as the work that God has given me to do, 
 and to apply myself to it in a manner worthy of 
 His glory, that is to say, with exactness and in 
 peace. I must neglect nothing ; I must be vio- 
 lent about nothing. 
 
 FlfeNELON. 
 
 It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou 
 wouldst not \ thy duty, too, to leave undone what 
 thou wouldst do. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis 
 
February 12. 43 
 
 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth tis with 
 benefits. — Ps. Ixviii. 19. 
 
 N'or trust in uncertain riches, bnt in the living 
 God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. — • 
 I Tim. vi. 17. 
 
 Source of my life's refreshing springs, 
 Whose presence in m}- heart sustains me, 
 
 Thy love ordains me pleasant things. 
 Thy mercy orders all that pains me. 
 
 A. L. Wakin! 
 
 A ND to be true, and speak my soul, when I 
 survey the occurrences of my Hfe, and call 
 into account the finger of God, I can perceive 
 nothing but an abyss and mass of mercies, either 
 in general to mankind, or in particular to myself; 
 and whether out of the prejudice of my affection, 
 or an inverting and partial conceit of His mercies, 
 I know not ; but those which others term crosses, 
 afflictions, judgments, misfortunes, to me who 
 inquire farther into them than their visible effects, 
 they both appear, and in event have ever proved, 
 the secret and dissembled favors of His affection. 
 
 Sir T. Browne. 
 
44 February 13. 
 
 The will of the Lord be done. — Acts xxi. 14. 
 Let Htm do to me as seemeih good unto Him. — 
 2 Sam. XV. 26. 
 
 To have, each day, the thing I wish. 
 
 Lord, that seems best to me ; 
 But not to have the thing I wish, 
 
 Lord, that seems best to Thee. 
 Most truh', then, Thy will is done, 
 
 When mine, O Lord, is crossed; 
 'T is good to see my plans o'erthrown, 
 
 My ways in Thine all lost. 
 
 H. BONAR. 
 
 f~\ LORD, Thou knowest what is best for us ; 
 ^-^ let this or that be done, as Thou shalt 
 please. Give what Thou wilt, and how much 
 Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt. Deal with me 
 as Thou thinkest good. Set me where Thou wilt, 
 and deal with me in all things just as Thou wilt. 
 Behold, I am Thy servant, prepared for all things : 
 for I desire not to live unto myself, but unto 
 Thee ; and oh, that I could do it worthily and 
 
 P^^f^^t^y '' THOMAS A KeMPIS. 
 
 Dare to look up to God, and say, " Make use 
 of me for the future as Thou wilt. I am of the 
 same mind ; I am one with Thee. I refuse 
 nothing which seems good to Thee. Lead me 
 whither Thou wilt, clothe me in whatever dress 
 Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that I should be in a 
 public or a private condition, dwell here, or be 
 banished, be poor or rich? Under all these cir- 
 cumstances, I will testify unto Thee before men." 
 
 Epictetus. 
 
February 14. 45 
 
 / would have you without carefulness. — i CoR 
 di. 32. 
 
 O Lord, how happy should we be 
 If we could cast our care on Thee, 
 
 If we from self could rest ; 
 And feel at heart that One above, 
 In perfect wisdom, perfect love, 
 
 Is working for the best. 
 
 J. Anstice. 
 
 ^AST all thy care on God. See that all thy 
 cares be such as thou canst cast on God, 
 and then hold none back. Never brood over thy- 
 self; nsver stop short in thyself; but cast thy 
 whole self, even this very care which distresseth 
 thee, upon God. Be not anxious about httle 
 things, if thou wouldst learn to trust God with 
 thine all. Act upon faith in little things ; com- 
 mit thy daily cares and anxieties to Him ; and 
 He will strengthen thy faith for any greater trials. 
 Rather, give thy whole self into God's hands, 
 and so trust Him to take care of thee in all lesser 
 things, as being His, for His own sake, whose 
 thou art, 
 
 E. B. PusEv 
 
46 February 15. 
 
 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scrip- 
 ture^ Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself ye do 
 well. — James ii. 8. 
 
 Come, children, let us go! 
 
 We travel hand in hand ; 
 Each in his brother finds his joy 
 
 In this wild stranger land. 
 The strong be quick to raise 
 
 The weaker when they fall ; 
 Let love and peace and patience bloom 
 
 In ready help for all. 
 
 G. TersteegeN. 
 
 TT is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the 
 
 thought of a man's death hallows him anew 
 
 to us ; as if Hfe were not sacred too, — as if it 
 
 were comparatively a light thing to fail in love 
 
 and reverence to the brother who has to climb 
 
 the whole toilsome steep with us, and all our 
 
 tears and tenderness were due to the one who is 
 
 spared that hard journey. 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 Would we codify the laws that should reign in 
 households, and whose daily transgression annoys 
 and mortifies us, and degrades our household 
 [ife^ — we must learn to adorn every day with 
 sacrifices. Good manners are made up of petty 
 ^,acrifices. Temperance, courage, love, are made 
 ap of the same jewels. Listen to every prompt- 
 ing of honor. 
 
 R W Emerson 
 
February 16. 47 
 
 Serve Him with a perfect hearty and with a 
 willing miftd. — i Chron. xxviii. 9. 
 
 And if some things I do not ask, 
 
 In my cup of blessing be, 
 I would have my spirit filled the more 
 
 With grateful love to Thee, — 
 More careful, — not to serve Thee much, 
 
 But to please Thee perfectly. 
 
 A. L. War. ^. 
 
 T ITTLE things come daily, hourly, within our 
 reach, and they are not less calculated to 
 set forward our growth in holiness, than are the 
 greater occasions which occur but rarely. More- 
 over, fidelity in trifles, and an earnest seeking to 
 please God in little matters, is a test of real devo- 
 tion and love. Let your aim be to please our 
 dear Lord perfectly in little things, and to attain 
 a spirit of childlike simplicity and dependence. 
 In proportion as self-love and self-confidence are 
 weakened, and our will bowed to that of God, sc 
 will hindrances disappear, the internal troubles 
 and contests which harassed the soul vanish, and 
 it will be filled with peace and tranquillity. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
48 February 17. 
 
 My brethren^ count it all joy when ye fall into 
 divers teutplations \_or ^'■trials "], knowing this ^ that 
 the trying of your faith worketJi patie?ice. — James 
 
 For patience, when the rough winds blow ! 
 
 For patience, when our liopes are fading, — 
 When visible things all backward go. 
 
 And nowhere seems the power of aiding ! 
 God still enfolds thee with His viewless hand. 
 And leads thee surely to the Fatherland. 
 
 N. L. PROTHINGHAM, /?w« the German. 
 
 \T 7E have need of patience with ourselves and 
 with others ; with those below, and those 
 above us, and with our own equals ; with those 
 who love us and those who love us not ; for the 
 greatest things and for the least ; against sudden 
 inroads of trouble, and under our daily burdens ; 
 disappointments as to the weather, or the break- 
 ing of the heart ; in the weariness of the body, 
 or the wearing of the soul ; in our own failure of 
 duty, or others' failure toward us ; in every-day 
 wants, or in the aching of sickness or the decay 
 of age ; in disappointment, bereavement, losses, 
 injuries, reproaches ; in heaviness of the heart ; 
 or its sickness amid delayed hopes. In all these 
 things, from childhood's little troubles to the mar- 
 tyr's suffenngs, patience is the grace of God, 
 where])y we endure evil for the love of God. 
 
 E. B. TusEY 
 
February 18. 49 
 
 // is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I 
 mii^ht learn Thy statutes. — Ps. cxix. 71. 
 
 But though He cause grief, yet will He have com- 
 passion, according to the multitude of His mercies, 
 — Lam. iii. 32. 
 
 And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above ; 
 They do not come in anger, but in faithfuhiess and love •, 
 They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could 
 
 not 'yield. 
 And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose 
 
 is fulfilled. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 IIJ EED not distressing thoughts when they rise 
 ever so strongly in thee ; nay, though tliey 
 have entered thee, fear them not, but be still 
 awhile, not believing in the power which thou 
 feelest they have over thee, and it will fall on a 
 sudden. It is good for thy spirit, and greatly to 
 thy advantage, to be much and variously exer- 
 cised by the Lord. Thou dost not know what 
 the Lord hath already done, and what He is 
 yet doing for thee therein. 
 
 I. Pextngton. 
 
 Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, 
 that maketh deep furrows on my soul? I know 
 He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop 
 
 S. Rutherford. 
 
50 February 19. 
 
 My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, 
 and to finish His work. — John iv. 34. 
 
 I AM glad to think 
 I am not bound to make the world go right ; 
 But only to discover and to do, 
 With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints. 
 
 I will trust in Him, 
 That He can hold His own ; and I will take 
 His will, above the work He sendeth me. 
 To be my chiefest good. 
 
 J. Ingelow. 
 
 T~\ON'T object that your duties are so insig- 
 nificant ; they are to be reckoned of infinite 
 significance, and alone important to you. Were 
 it buc the more perfect regulation of your apart- 
 ments, the sorting-away of your clothes ana 
 trinkets, the arranging of your papers, — " What- 
 soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy 
 might," and all thy worth and constancy. Much 
 more, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider 
 scope j if you have brothers, sisters, a father, a 
 mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie upon 
 you, on behalf of each, and consider it as the 
 one thmg needful, to pay them more and more 
 honestly and nobly what you owe. What matter 
 how miserable one is, if one can do that ? That is 
 the sure and steady disconnection and extinction 
 of whatsoever miseries one has in this world. 
 
 T. Carlvi.e 
 
February 20. 51 
 
 Let us not therefore judge one another any more : 
 but judge this rather, that 710 man put a stumbling- 
 block, or an occasion to fall, in his brothers way. — 
 Rom. xiv. 13. 
 
 Them that were etttering in, ye hindered. — Luke 
 xi. 52. 
 
 My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day, 
 And I said pettish words, and did not keep 
 Long-suffering patience well, and now how deep 
 My trouble for this sin ! in vain I weep 
 For foolish words I never can unsay. 
 
 H. S. Sutton, 
 
 A VEXATION arises, and our expressions 
 of impatience hinder others frorn taking 
 it patiently. Disappointment, aihiient, or even 
 weather depresses us ; and our look or tone of 
 depression hinders others from maintaining a 
 cheerful and thankful spirit. We say an unkind 
 thing, and another is hindered in learning the 
 holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. We 
 say a provoking thing, and our sister or brother 
 is hindered in that day's effort to be meek. How 
 sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act ! 
 For \\Tong feeling is more infectious than wrong 
 doing ; especially the various phases of ill tem- 
 per, — gloominess, touchiness, discontent, irritabil- 
 ity, — do we not know how catching these are ? 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
52 Febniary 21. 
 
 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good 
 gifts tint o your children, how nnich more shall your 
 Father which is i7i heaven give good gifts to them 
 that ask Hi7n. — Matt. vii. 1 1. 
 
 For His great love has compassed 
 
 Our nature, and our need 
 We k'.iow not ; but He knoweth. 
 
 And He will bless indeed. 
 Therefore. O heavenly Father, 
 
 Give what is best to me ; 
 And take the wants unanswered. 
 
 As offerings made to Thee. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T\7HATS0EVER we ask which is not for our 
 good, He will keep it back from us. And 
 surely in this there is no less of love than in the 
 granting what we desire as we ought. Will not 
 the same love which prompts you to give a good, 
 prompt yov. to keep back an evil, thing? If, in 
 our blindness, not knowing what to ask, we pray 
 for things which would turn in our hands to sor- 
 row and death, will not our Father, out of His 
 very love, deny us? How awful would be our lot, 
 if our wishes should straightway pass into reali- 
 ties ; if we were endowed with a power to bring 
 about all that we desire ; if the inclinations of our 
 will were followed by fulfilment of our hasty 
 wishes, and sudden longings were always granted. 
 One day we shall bless Him, not more for what 
 He has granted than for what He has denied. 
 
 H. E, Manning. 
 
February 23. 5, 
 
 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by 
 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving lei your 
 requests be made known unto God. — Phil. iv. 6. 
 
 We tell Thee of our care, 
 Of the sore burden, pressing day by day, 
 And in the light and pity of Thy face, 
 
 The burden melts away. 
 
 We breathe our secret wish, 
 The importunate longing which no man may see j 
 We ask it humbly, or, more restful still, 
 
 We leave it all to Thee. 
 
 Susan Coolidge- 
 
 nPHAT prayer which does not succeed in mode- 
 rating our wish, in changing the passionate 
 desire into still submission, the anxious, tumul- 
 tuous expectation into silent surrender, is no true 
 prayer, and proves that we have not the spirit of 
 true prayer. That life is most holy in which there 
 is least of petition and desire, and most of wait- 
 ing upon God ; that in which petition most often 
 passes into thanksgiving. Pray till prayer makes 
 you forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it 
 in God's will. The Divine wisdom has given us 
 prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the 
 good things of earth, but as a means whereby we 
 learn to do without them ; not as a means where- 
 by we escape evil, but as a means whereby we 
 become strong to meet it. 
 
 F. W. Robertson 
 
54 February 23. 
 
 Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight. 
 — I Chron. xix. 13. 
 
 Let Thy mercy ^ O Lord, be zipoti us, according as 
 we hope in Thee. — Ps. xxxiii. 22. 
 
 I CANNOT feel 
 That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal 
 
 The shining sun ; 
 
 But then, I know 
 He lives and loves ; and say, since it is so, 
 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 S. G. Browning. 
 
 IVTO felt evil or defect becomes divine until it 
 is inevitable ; and only when resistance to 
 it is exhausted and hope has fled, does surrender 
 cease to be premature. The hardness of our 
 task lies here ; that we have to strive against the 
 grievous things of life, while hope remains, as if 
 they were evil ; and then, when the stroke has 
 fallen, to accept them from the hand of God, and 
 doubt not they are good. But to the loving, 
 trusting heart all things are possible ; and even 
 this instant change, from overstrained will to sor- 
 rowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete 
 surrender, is realized without convulsion. 
 
 Martineau 
 
February 24. 55 
 
 These thinos I have spoken unto you that in me 
 ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have 
 tribulation : but be of good cheer ; I have overcome 
 the world. — JOHX xvi. 33. 
 
 O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace, 
 Who shedd'st Thy breathing quiet all around, 
 
 In me command that pain and conflict cease. 
 And turn to music every jarring sound. 
 
 J. Sterling. 
 
 A CCUSTOM yourself to unreasonableness and 
 injustice. Abide in peace in the presence 
 of God, who sees all these evils more clearly than 
 ybu do, and who permits them. Be content with 
 doing with calmness the little which depends upon 
 yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were 
 not. 
 
 Fenelon. 
 
 It is rare when injustice, or slights patiently 
 borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the 
 day lilled with marvellous joy and peace. 
 
 Gold Dust 
 
56 February 25. 
 
 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee^ O 
 Jacobs a7id He that foruied thee ^ O Israel, Fear not ; 
 for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy 
 na/ne J thou art inine. — ISA. xliii. i. 
 
 Thou art as much His care as if beside 
 
 Nor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth ; 
 
 Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide, 
 To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 /^^OD beholds thee individually, whoever thoa 
 ^'^ art. " He calls thee by thy name." He 
 sees thee, and understands thee. He knows 
 what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feelings and 
 thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy strength 
 and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of 
 rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. He sympathizes 
 in thy hopes and in thy temptations ; He inter- 
 ests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remem- 
 brances, in all the risings and fallings of thy spirit. 
 He compasses thee round, and bears thee in His 
 arms ; He takes thee up and sets thee down. 
 Thou dost not love thyself better than He loves 
 thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more 
 than He dislikes thy bearing it ; and if He puts 
 it on thee, it is as thou wilt put it on thyself, if 
 thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards. 
 
February 26. 
 
 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon 
 Hi7n, to all that call upon Him in truth. — Ps. 
 ^xlv. 1 8. 
 
 / sou^^ht the Lord, and He heard nie, and deliv- 
 ired me from all my fears. — Ps. xxxiv. 4. 
 
 Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh! 
 
 So shall each murmuring thought be gone ; 
 And grief and fear and care shall fly, 
 
 As clouds before the mid-day sun. 
 
 C. WESLEY: 
 
 nPAKE courage, and turn your troubles, which 
 are without remedy, int-o material for spir- 
 it \al progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is 
 watching you, poor frail little being as you are, 
 arnid your labors and distractions. He sends you 
 nelp, and blesses your affliction. This thought 
 should enable you to bear your troubles patiently 
 and gently, for love of Him who only allows you 
 to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart 
 continually to God, seek His aid, and let the 
 foundation stone of your consolation be your hap- 
 piness ni being His. All vexations and annoy- 
 ances will be comparatively unimportant while 
 you know that you have such a Friend, such a 
 Stay, such a Refuge. May God be ever in your 
 heart. 
 
 Francis de Sai.es 
 
53 February 27. 
 
 Trust in the Lord^ and do good ; so shalt thou 
 dwell 171 the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. — 
 Ps. xxxvii. 3. 
 
 Build a little fence of trust 
 
 Around to-day ; 
 Fill the space with loving work, 
 
 And therein stay ; 
 Look not through the sheltering bars 
 
 Upon to-morrow, 
 God will help thee bear what comes, 
 
 Of joy or sorrow. 
 
 Mary Frances Butts. 
 
 T ET us bow our souls and say, " Behold the 
 handmaid of the Lord I " Let us lift up oui 
 hearts and ask, *' Lord, what wouldst thou have 
 me to do? " Then light from the opened heaven 
 shall stream on our daily task, revealing the grains 
 c'i gold, where yesterday all seemed dust ; a hand 
 shall sustain us and our daily burden, so that, 
 smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say, " This 
 is easy, this is light ;^' every " hon in the way," 
 as we come up to it, shall be seen chained, and 
 leave open the gates of the Palace Beautiful ; 
 and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as 
 we are, ministries shall be assigned, and through 
 our hands blessings shall be conveyed in which 
 the spirits of just men made perfect might 
 delight. 
 
 Klizabf.th Charles. 
 
February 28. 59 
 
 Beloved^ let us love one another : for love ts 0^ * 
 God; and every one that lo%>eth is borti of God^ 
 and knoweth God. — i John iv. 7. 
 
 So to the calmly gathered thought 
 The innermost of life is taught, 
 The mystery, dimly understood, 
 That love of God is love of good ; 
 That to be saved is only this, — 
 Salvation from our selfishness. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 T^HE Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its o\\x\. 
 blessing and happiness, because it is the 
 truth and reality of God in the soul ; and there- 
 fore is in the same joy of life, and is the same 
 good to itself everywhere and on every occasion. 
 Would you know the blessing of all blessings? 
 It is this God of Love dwelling in your soul, and 
 killing every root of bitterness, which is the pain 
 and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For 
 all wants are satisfied, all disorders of nature are 
 removed, no life is any longer a burden, every day 
 is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes 
 a help to you, because everything you see or do 
 IS all done in the sweet, gende element of Love. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
6o February 29. 
 
 Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun oj 
 Riohteous?iess arise with healing in his wings, — 
 Mal. iv. 2. 
 
 O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them 
 lead me. — Ps. xliii. 3. 
 
 Open our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness, 
 
 That we may see that glorious world of Thine I 
 It shines for us in vain, while drooping sadness 
 Enfolds us here like mist; come, Power benign, 
 Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile, 
 Our wintry course do Thou beguile. 
 Nor by the wayside ruins let us mourn, 
 Who have th' eternal towers for our appointed bourn. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 T^ECAUSE all those scattered rays of beauty 
 and loveliness which we behold spread up 
 and down over all the world, are only the emana- 
 tions of that inexnaasted light which is above ; 
 therefore should we love them all in that, and 
 climb up always by those sunbeams unto the eter- 
 nal Father of lights : we should look upon Him, 
 and take from Him the pattern of our lives, and 
 always eying Him, should, as Hierocles speaks, 
 "polish and shape our souls into the clearest 
 resemblance of Him ; '' and in all our behavior in 
 this world (that great temple of His) deport our- 
 selves decently and reverently, with that humility, 
 meekness, and modesty that becomes His house. 
 Dk. John Sai itu, d. 1652. 
 
March 1. 6i 
 
 Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat^ 
 or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body,, what 
 ye shall put on. — Matt. vi. 25. 
 
 OxK there lives whose guardian eye 
 Guides our earthly destiny ; 
 One there lives, who, Lord of all, 
 Keeps His children lest they fall ; 
 Pass we, then, in love and praise. 
 Trusting Him through all our days. 
 Free from doubt and faithless sorrow, — 
 God provideth for the morrow. 
 
 R. HE8ER= 
 
 TT hjs been well said that no man ever sank 
 under the burden of the day. It is when to- 
 morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day 
 that the weight is more than a man can bear. 
 Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you 
 find yourselves so loaded, at least remember 
 this : it is your own doing, not God's. He begs 
 you to leave the future to Him, and mind the 
 present. 
 
 G. MacDonald 
 
02 March 2. 
 
 But to do good and to co7ninumcate forget not: 
 for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. — 
 Heb. xiii. i6. 
 
 For this is the jnessage that ye heard from the 
 beginnings that we should love one another. — 
 I John iii. ii. 
 
 Be useful where thou livest, that they may 
 Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still. 
 
 . . . Find out men's wants and will, 
 And meet them there. All worldly joys go less 
 To the one joy of doing kindnesses. 
 
 G. Herbert, 
 
 T ET the weakest, let the humblest remember, 
 that in his daily course he can, if he will, 
 shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words, 
 sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against 
 wounding men's sensitiveness, - — these cost very 
 little, but they are priceless in their value. Are 
 they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? 
 PVom hour to hour, from moment to moment, we 
 are supported, blest, by small kindnesses. 
 
 F. W. Robertson, 
 
 Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small con- 
 siderations, habitually practised in our social in- 
 tercourse, give a greater charm to the character 
 than the display of great talents and accomplish- 
 ments. 
 
 M. A. Keltv. 
 
March 3. 
 
 I jnade haste, and delayed 7iot to keep Thy com- 
 mandments. — Ps. cxix. 60. 
 
 Ye know not what shall be on the morrow. — ■ 
 James iv. 14. 
 
 Never delay 
 To do the duty which the hour brings, 
 Whether it be in great or smaller things ; 
 
 For who doth know 
 What he shall do the coming day ? 
 
 Anon. 
 
 TT is quite impossible that an idle, floating spint 
 can ever look up with clear eye to God ; 
 spreading its miserable anarchy before the sym- 
 metry of the creative Mind ; in the midst of a 
 disorderly being, that has neither centre nor cir- 
 cumference, kneeling beneath the glorio-is sky, 
 that everywhere has both ; and for a life that is 
 all failure, turning to the Lord of the silent stars, 
 of whose punctual thought it is, that " not one 
 faileth." The heavens, with their everlasting 
 faithfulness, look down on no sadder contradic- 
 tion, than the sluggard and the slattern in their 
 prayers, 
 
 J. M.VRTINEAU 
 
64 March 4. 
 
 But the souls of the 7'ighteous are in the hand of 
 Cod^ and there shall no toi'ment touch them. In 
 the sight of the nnwise they seemed to die : and 
 their departure is taken for niisery, and their going 
 from us to be utter destruction : but they are in peace. 
 ' — Wisdom of Solomon iii. 1-3. 
 
 But souls that of His own good life partake, 
 He loves as His own self ; dear as His eye 
 They are to Him: He 'II never them forsake : 
 When they shall die, then God Himself shall die; 
 They live, they live in blest eternity. 
 
 Henry More 
 
 'T^ HOUGH every good man is not so logically 
 subtile as to be able by fit mediums to 
 demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in 
 a higher light : his soul, being purged and enlight- 
 ened by true sanctity, is more capable of those 
 divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in con- 
 junction with God. It knows that God will 
 never forsake His own life which He hath quick- 
 ened in it ; He will never deny those ardent 
 desires of a blissful fruition of Himself, which the 
 lively sense of His own goodness hath excited 
 within it : those breathings and gaspings after an 
 eternal participation of Him are but the energy 01 
 His own breath within us ; if He had had any 
 mind to destroy it, He would never have shown 
 it such things as He hath done. 
 
 Dr. Tohn Smith 
 
March 5. 
 
 And every man that hath this hope in him puri- 
 fieth himself^ even as He is pure. — i John iii. 3. 
 
 Now, Lord, what wait I for ? 
 
 On Thee alone 
 My hope is all rested, — 
 
 Lord, seal me Thine own ! 
 Only Thine own to be, 
 Only to live to Thee. 
 
 Thine, with each day begun, 
 Thine, with each set of sun. 
 Thine, till my work is done. 
 
 Anna Warner. 
 
 "VrOW, believe me, God hides some ideal in 
 ever,/ human soul. At some time in our 
 life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do 
 some good thing. Life finds its noblest spring of 
 excellence in this hidden impulse to do our best. 
 There is a time when we are not content to be 
 such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see 
 on the dead level or below it. The woman 
 longs to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, 
 or mother. . . . Here is God, — God standing 
 silendy at the door all day long, — God whisper- 
 ing to the soul, that to be pure and true is to 
 succeed in life, and whatever we get short of that 
 will bum up like stubble, though the whole world 
 try to save it. 
 
 Robert Collyer 
 
66 March 6. 
 
 The shadow of a great rock in a weary land. — 
 IsA. xxxii. 2. 
 
 In i'einr7iiiig and rest shall ye be saved j in 
 quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. 
 — IsA. XXX. 15. 
 
 O Shadow in a sultry land ! 
 
 We gather to Thv breast, 
 Whose love, enfolding like the night, 
 
 Brings quietude and rest, 
 Glimpse of the fairer life to be, 
 
 In foretaste here possessed. 
 
 C. M. Packard 
 
 OTRIVE to see God in all things without ex- 
 ception, and acquiesce in His will with 
 absolute submission. Do everything for God, 
 uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance, 
 or by the overflowing of your heart towards Him. 
 Never be in a hurry ; do everything quietly and 
 in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace 
 for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world 
 seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie 
 still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever 
 happens, abide steadfast in a determination to 
 cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love 
 for you ; and if you find that you have wandered 
 forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly 
 and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, 
 and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, 
 wishes, or longings, under any pretext. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
March 7. 67 
 
 There are diversities of operations, but it is the 
 same God which luorketh all in all. — i CoR. xii. 6. 
 
 T form the lights and create darkness ; I make 
 peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all these things. 
 
 — ISA. xlv. 7. 
 
 " Alt. is of God that is, and is to be ; 
 And God is good." Let this suffice us still, 
 Resting in childlike trust upon His will, 
 Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill. 
 
 J. G. Whittier 
 
 nPHIS, then, is of faith, that everything, the very 
 least, or what seems to us great, every 
 change of the seasons, everything which touches 
 us in mind body, or estate, whether brought about 
 through this outward senseless nature, or by the 
 will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of 
 us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. 
 Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we 
 must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us 
 through man's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, 
 still it is, in every the least circumstance, to us 
 the will of God. For if the least thing could 
 happen to us without God's permission, it would 
 be something out of God's control. God's provi- 
 dence or His love would not be what they are. 
 Almighty God Himself would not be the same 
 God ; not the God whom we believe, adore, and 
 lov-e 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
68 March 8. 
 
 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a 
 workman that needeth not to be ashamed. — 2 Tim. 
 ii. 15. 
 
 And let us not be weary in well-doing; for in 
 due season we shall reap if we faint not. — Gal. 
 ^d. 9. 
 
 The task Thy wisdom hath assigned, 
 
 Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil ; 
 In all my works Thy presence find, 
 
 And prove Thine acceptable will. 
 
 C. Wesley, 
 
 •* T1[7HAT is my next duty? What is the thing 
 ^^ that lies nearest to me ? " "That be- 
 longs to your every-day history. No one can 
 answer that question but yourself. Your next duty 
 is just to determine what your next duty is. Is 
 there nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you 
 know you ought not to do? You would know 
 your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and 
 were not ambitious of great things." " Ah, then," 
 responded she, " I suppose it is something very 
 commonplace, which will make life more dreary 
 than ever. That cannot help me." " It will, if it 
 be as dreary as reading the newspapers to an old 
 deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something 
 more. Your duty will begin to comfort you at 
 once, but will at length open the unknown foun- 
 tain of life in your heart." 
 
 G. MacDonai.d 
 
March 9. 69 
 
 Thou shall rejoice before the Lord thy God, in 
 all that thou puttest thine hands unto. — Deut. 
 xii. 18. 
 
 Beye thafikful. — Col. iii. 15. 
 
 Thju that hast given so much to me. 
 Give one thing more, a grateful heart. 
 Not thankful when it pleaseth me, 
 As if thy blessings had spare days ; 
 But such a heart, whose pulse may be 
 Thy praise. 
 
 G. Herbert. 
 
 TF any one would tell you the shortest, surest 
 way to all happiness and all perfection, he 
 must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to 
 thank and praise God for everything that hap- 
 pens to you. For it is certain that whatever 
 seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank 
 and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. 
 Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could 
 not do more for yourself than by this thankful 
 spirit; for it heals with a word speaking, and 
 turns all that it touches into happiness. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
yo March 10. 
 
 IV/uii thou passest through the waters^ I will be 
 with thee ; and through tJie rivers, they shall not 
 overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire. 
 thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame 
 kindle upon thee. — ISA. xliii 2. 
 
 J am with thee to deliver thee. — Jer. i. 8. 
 
 When through the deep waters I call thee to go, 
 The rivers of sorrow, shall not overflow ; 
 For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, 
 And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 nrURN it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to 
 -■■ suffer what is appointed thee. But if we 
 did that, God would bear us up at all times in all 
 our sorrows and troubles, and God would lay His 
 shoulder under our burdens, and help us to bear 
 them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we sub- 
 mitted ourselves to God. no suffering would be 
 unbearable. 
 
 J. Tauler. 
 
 Learn to be as the angel, who could descend 
 among the miseries of Bethesda without losing 
 his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. 
 Gain healing from troubled waters. Make up 
 your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain 
 measure of pain and trouble in your passage 
 through life. By the blessing of God this will 
 prepare you for it ; it will make you thoughtful 
 and resigned without interfering with your cheer- 
 fulness. 
 
 J. H Newman 
 
March 11. 71 
 
 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sus- 
 tain thee; He shall never sujfer the righteous to bt 
 moved. — Ps. Iv. 22. 
 
 Now our wants and burdens leaving, 
 
 To His care, who cares for all. 
 Cease we fearing, cease we grieving, 
 
 At His touch our burdens fall. 
 
 S. Longfellow. 
 
 'T^HE circumstances of her life she could not 
 alter, but she took them to the Lord, and 
 handed them over into His management ; and 
 then she believed that He took it, and she left all 
 the responsibility and the worry and anxiety with 
 Him. As often as the anxieties returned she 
 took them back ; and the result was that, although 
 the circumstances remained unchanged, her soul 
 was kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. 
 And the secret she found so effectual in her out- 
 ward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in 
 her inward ones, which were in truth even more 
 utterly unmanageable. She abandoned her whole 
 self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that 
 she had ; and, believing that He took that which 
 she had committed to Him, she ceased to fret and 
 worry, and her life became all sunshine in the 
 gladness of belonging to Him. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
'J 2 March 12, 
 
 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee j the Lord ?nake 
 His face shine upon thee, arid be gracious unto thee j 
 the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee^ and give 
 thee peace. — Num. vi. 24-26. 
 
 O Love, how cheering is Thy ray ! 
 
 All pain before Thy presence flies ; 
 Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away, 
 
 Where'er Thy healing beams arise. 
 O Father, nothing may I see, 
 Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 'T^HERE is a faith in God, and a clear percep- 
 tion of His will and designs, and provi- 
 dence, and glory, which gives to its possessor a 
 confidence and patience and sweet composure, 
 under every varied and troubling aspect of events, 
 such as no man can realize who has not felt its 
 influences in his own heart. There is a com- 
 munion with God, in which the soul feels the 
 presence of the unseen One, in the profound 
 depths of its being, with a vivid distinctness and 
 a holy reverence, such as no words can describe. 
 There is a state of union with God, I do not say 
 often reached, yet it has been attained in this 
 world, in which all the past and present and 
 future seem reconciled, and eternity is won and 
 enjoyed ; and God and man, earth and heaven, 
 with all their mysteries, are apprehended in truth 
 as they lie in the mind of the Infinite. 
 
 Samuel D. Robbins. 
 
March 13. 73 
 
 He that abideth in me, and I in him, hringeth 
 forth much fruit. — John xv. 5. 
 
 Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us 
 — Ps xc. 17 
 
 As some rare perfume in a vase of clay 
 Pervades it with a tragrance not its own, 
 
 So when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul, 
 
 All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown. 
 
 H. B. Stovve 
 
 OOME glances of real beauty may be seen in 
 ^ their faces, who dwell in true meekness. 
 There is a harmony in the sound of that voice 
 to which Divine love gives utterance, and some 
 appearance of right order in their temper and 
 conduct whose passions are regulated. 
 
 John Woolman. 
 
 I BELIEVE that no Divine truth can truly dwell 
 in any heart, without an external testimony in 
 manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach 
 the witness within the heart of the beholder, and 
 bear an unmistakable, chough silent, evidence to 
 the eternal principle from which it emanates. 
 
 M. A. SCHIMMELPEXNINCK 
 
74 March 14. 
 
 / have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, 
 O God: incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my 
 speech. — Ps. xvii. 6. 
 
 Ye people, pour out your heart before Him : God 
 ts arefiige for us. — Ps. Ixii. 8. 
 
 Whatf/er the care which breaks thy rest, 
 Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast ; 
 Spread bef(jre God that wish, that care, 
 And change anxiety to prayer. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 r 
 
 " I TROUBLE and perplexity drive us to prayer, 
 and prayer driveth away trouble and 
 perplexity. 
 
 P. Melancthon. 
 
 Whatsoevf.r it is that presses thee, go tell 
 thy Father ; put over the matter into His hand, 
 and so thou shaltbe freed from that dividing, per- 
 plexing care that the world is full of. When thou 
 art either to do or suffer anything, wlien thou art 
 about any purpose or business, go tell God of it, 
 and acquaint Him with it ; yea, burden Him with 
 it, and thou hast done for matter of caring ; no 
 more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy duty, 
 and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy 
 matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, 
 as one burden, all on thy God. 
 
 R I.KIGUTON 
 
March 15. 75 
 
 Hear 7ne. O Lord^ for Thy Iflvinn^-kindness is 
 good: turn ttnto nie according to the multitude oj 
 Thy tender mercies. — Ps. Ixix. i6. 
 
 Let, I pray Thee, Thy ?nerciful kindness be for my 
 co/nfort, according to Thy word unto Thy servant, 
 — Ps. cxix 76. 
 
 Love d-vine has seen and counted 
 
 Every tear it caused to fall ; 
 And the storm which Love appointed 
 
 Was its choicest gift of all. 
 
 Axox 
 
 C\ THAT thou coLildst dwell in the knowledge 
 and sense of this ! even, that the Lord be- 
 holds thy sufferings with an eye of pity ; and is 
 able, not only to uphold thee under them, but 
 also to do thee good by them. Therefore, grieve 
 not at thy lot, be not discontented, look not out 
 at the hardness of thy condition ; but, when the 
 storm and matters of vexation are sharp, look up 
 to Him who can give meekness and patience,. can 
 lift up thy head over all, and cause thy life to 
 grow, and be a gainer by all. If the Lord God 
 help thee proportionably to thy condition of 
 affliction and distress, thou wilt have no cause to 
 complain, but to bless Lli.i na-.ne. 
 
 1. Pi \:ngton 
 
Jb March 16. 
 
 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatso- 
 ever ye do, do all to the glory of God. — i CoR. x. 31. 
 
 With good will doing service, as to the Lord and 
 not unto men. — Eph. vi. 7. 
 
 A SERVANT, with this clause, 
 
 Makes drudgery divine : 
 Who sweeps a room; as for Thy laws, 
 
 Makes that and th' action fine. 
 
 G. Herbert. 
 
 O URELY the truth must be, that whatsoever in 
 our daily life is lawful and right for us to be 
 engaged in, is in itself a part of our obedience to 
 God ; a part, that is, of our very rehgion. When- 
 soever we hear people complaining of obstructions 
 and hindrances put by the duties of life in the 
 way of devoting themselves to God, we may be 
 sure they are under some false view or other. 
 They do no*^ look upon their daily work as the 
 task God has set them, and as obedience due to 
 Elim. We may go farther; and say, not only 
 that the duties of life, be they never so toilsome 
 and distracting, are no obstructions to a hfe of 
 any degree of inward holiness ; but that they are 
 even direct means, when rightly used, to promote 
 our sanctification. 
 
 II. E. Manning. 
 
March 17. 77 
 
 Where hast thou gleaned to-day? — Ruth ii. 19. 
 
 What have I learnt where'er I 've been, 
 From all I 've heard, from all I 've seen ? 
 What know I more that 's worth the knowing? 
 What have I clone that 's worth the doing ? 
 What have I sought that I should shun ? 
 What duties have I left undone ? 
 
 Pythagoras 
 
 A LL of this world will soon have passed away. 
 But God will remain, and thou, whatever 
 thou hast become, good or bad. Thy deeds 
 now are the seed-corn of eternity. Each single 
 act, in each several day, good or bad, is a portion 
 of that seed. Each day adds some line, making 
 thee more or less like Him, more or less capable 
 of His love. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 There is something very solemn in the thought 
 that that part of our work which we have left 
 undone may first be revealed to us at the end of 
 a life filled up, as we had fondly hoped, with 
 useful and necessary employments. 
 
 AxNA, OR Passages from Home Life 
 
•J?, March 18. 
 
 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having covipassion 
 one of another J love as brethren, be pitijul^ be 
 cotirteous. — i Peter iii. 8. 
 
 Make us of one heart and mind ; 
 Courteous, pitiful, and kind; 
 Lowly, meek, in thought and word, 
 Altogetlier like our Lord. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 A LITTLE thought will show you how vastly 
 your own happiness depends on the way 
 other people bear themselves toward you. The 
 looks and tones at your breakfast- table, the con- 
 duct of your fellow-workers or ^employers, the 
 faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what 
 people say to you on the street, the way )our 
 cook and housemaid do their work, the letters 
 you get, the friends or foes you meet, — these 
 things make up very much of the pleasure oi 
 misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and 
 remember that just so much are you adding to 
 the pleasure or the misery of other people's days. 
 And this is the half of the matter which you can 
 control. Whether any particular day shall bring 
 to you more of happiness or of suffering is largely 
 beyond your power to determine. Whether each 
 day of your life shall give happiness or suffering 
 
 rests with yourself. 
 
 Gi.oRGE S. P.Ierriam 
 
March 19. 79 
 
 Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn 
 the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. — 
 Titus ii. 10. 
 
 If on our daily course our mind 
 Be set to hallow all we find, 
 New treasures still, of countless price, 
 God will provide for sacrifice. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 TF content and thankfulness, if the patient bear- 
 -■- ing of evil, be duties to God, they are the 
 duties of every day, and in every circumstance 
 of our Hfe. If we are to follow Christ, it must be 
 in our common way of spending every day. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
 He who is faithful over a few things is a lord 
 of cities. It does not matter whether you preach 
 in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, 
 so you be faitliful. The faithfulness is all. 
 
 G. MacDonald. 
 
 I WOULD have you invoke God often through 
 the day, asking Him to kindle a love for your 
 vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, 
 '■''Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?' 
 Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the lowest 
 ministries of Thy house? too happy if I may but 
 serve Thee anyhow." And when any special 
 thing goes against you, ask " Wouldst Thou have 
 me do it? Then, unworthy though I be, I will 
 do it gladly." 
 
 Fkaxcis de Sales. 
 
So Maich 20. 
 
 T/ioie shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Hi7n 
 only shalt thou serve. — Matt. iv. lo. 
 
 Blessed are they that keep His testmtoiiies^ and 
 that seek Him with the ivhole heart. — Ps. cxix. 2. 
 
 The comfort of a mind at rest 
 From every care Thou hast not blest; 
 A heart from all the world set free, 
 To worshijD and to wait on Thee. 
 
 A.. L. Waring. 
 
 "D ESIGN every forbidden joy ; restrain every 
 wish that is not referred to His will ; ban- 
 ish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the 
 will of God ; seek Him alone, and you will find 
 peace. 
 
 F^NELON. 
 
 " I 'vE been a great deal happier since I have 
 given up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, 
 and being discontented because I could n't have 
 my own will. Our life is determined for us ; 
 and It makes the mind very free when we give up 
 wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid 
 upon us, and doing what is given us to do." 
 
 George Eliot 
 
March 21. 8i 
 
 Vaiir heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need 
 of all these things. — Matt. vi. 32. 
 
 All as God \vills, who wisely heeds 
 
 To give or to withhold ; 
 And knoweth more of all my needs 
 
 Than all my prayers have told. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 T ORD, I know not what I ought to ask of 
 ■^ Thee ; Thou only knowest what we need ; 
 Thou lovest me better than I know how to love 
 myself. O Father ! give to Thy child that which 
 he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not 
 ask either for crosses or consolations ; I simply 
 present myself before Thee ; I open my heart to 
 Thee. Behold my needs which I know not 
 myself; see, and do according to Thy tender 
 mercy. Smite, or heal ; depress me, or raise me 
 up ; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing 
 them ; I am silent ; I offer myself in sacrifice ; I 
 yield myself to Thee ; I would have no other 
 desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me 
 to pray ; pray Thyself in me. 
 
 Fenelon 
 
d>2 March 22. 
 
 He that cotitemneth small tilings shall fall by 
 little and little. — Ecclus. xix. i. 
 
 One finger's-breadth at hand \vi 
 
 A world of light in heaven afar, 
 
 A mote eclipse a glorious star, 
 
 An eyelid hide the sky. 
 
 J. Keele. 
 
 A SINGLE sin, however apparently trifling, 
 however hidden in some obscure corner 
 of our consciousness, — a sin luhich we do 7iot 
 intend to renounce, — is enough to render real 
 prayer impracticable. A course of action not 
 wholly upright and honorable, feelings not en- 
 tirely kind and loving, habits not spotlessly 
 chaste and temperate, — any of these are impas- 
 sable obstacles. If we know of a kind act which 
 we might, but do not intend to, perform, — if we 
 be aware that our moral health requires the 
 abandonment of some pleasure which yet we do 
 not intend to abandon, here is cause enough for 
 the loss of all spiritual power, 
 
 F. P. Coi:be. 
 
 It is astonishing how soon the whole con- 
 science begins to unravel, if a single stitch 
 drops ; one little sin indulged makes a hole you 
 could put your head through. 
 
 Charles Buxton 
 
March 23. 83 
 
 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou 
 doest. — 3 John 5. 
 
 And this also we wish^ even your perfection. — 
 2 Cor. xlii. 9. 
 
 In all the little things of life, 
 
 Thyself, Lord, may I see ; 
 In little and in great alike 
 
 Reveal Thy love to me. 
 
 So shall my undivided life 
 To Thee, my God, be given ; 
 
 And all this earthly course below 
 Be one dear path' to heaven. 
 
 H. BONAR. 
 
 TN order to mould thee into entire conformity 
 to His will, He must have thee pliable in 
 His hands, and this pliability is more quickly- 
 reached by yielding in the little things than even 
 by the greater. Thy one great desire is to follow 
 Him fully ; canst thou not say then a continual 
 "yes'' to all His sweet commands, whether small 
 or great, and trust Him to lead thee by the 
 shortest road to thy fullest blessedness ? 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
 With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply 
 yourself to the duties of your condition. They 
 are the seemingly little things which make no 
 noise that do the business. 
 
 Henry More. 
 
84 March 24. 
 
 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep j for 
 Thou, Lordf on/y niakest me dwell in safety, — 
 Ps. iv. 8. 
 
 He giveth His beloved sleep. — Ps. cxxvii. 2. 
 
 He guides our feet, He guards our way, 
 His morning smiles bless all the day; 
 He spreads the evening veil, and keeps 
 The silent hours while Israel sleeps. 
 
 I. Watts 
 
 n W/E sleep in peace in the arms of God, when 
 we yield ourselves up to His providence, 
 in a delightful consciousness of His tender mer- 
 cies ; no more restless uncertainties, no more 
 anxious desires, no more impatience at the place 
 we are in ; for it is God who has put us there, 
 and who holds us in His arms. Can we be 
 unsafe where He has placed us ? 
 
 Fi;NELON. 
 
 OxE evening when Luther saw a little bird 
 perched on a tree, to roost there for the night, he 
 said, " This little bird has had its supper, and 
 now it is getting ready to go to sleep here, quite 
 secure and content, never troubling itself what its 
 food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow. 
 Like David, it * abides under the shadow of the 
 Almighty.' It sits on its little twig content, and 
 lets God take care." 
 
March 25. 85 
 
 / will hear what God the Lord will speak : for 
 He will speak peace u?ito His people. — Ps. Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 There is a voice, " a still, small voice " of love.. 
 
 Heard from above ; 
 But not amidst the din of earthly sounds, 
 
 Which here confounds; 
 By those withdrawn apart it best is heard, 
 And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word. 
 
 Anonymous. 
 
 TJTE speaketh, but it is witli us to hearken or no. 
 It is much, yea, it is everything, not to 
 turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not 
 to drown His voice. " The secret of the Lord is 
 with them that fear Him." It is a secret, hushed 
 voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a 
 still, small voice, whispering to the inner ear. 
 How should we hear it, if we fill our ears and our 
 hearts with the din of this world, its empty- 
 tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, 01 
 cares, or passions, or anxieties, or show, 01 
 rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses? 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
S6 March 26. 
 
 Ar^i they not all ininistermg spirits? — -Y^v:^ 
 i- {4. 
 
 May I reach 
 That purest heaven, be to other souls 
 The cup of strength in some great agony, 
 Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
 Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, 
 And in diffusion ever more intense ! 
 So shall I join the choir invisible 
 Whose music is the gladness of the world. 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 /"^ERTAINLY, in our own little sphere, it is 
 ^"^ not tlie most active people to whom we 
 owe the most. Among the common people whom 
 we know, it is not necessarily those who are 
 busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever on the 
 rush after some visible charge and work. It is the 
 lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us 
 the calm light of their bright and faithful being, 
 up to which we look and out of which we gather 
 the deepest calm and couiage. It seems to me 
 that there is reassurance here for many of us who 
 seem to have no chance for active usefulness. 
 We can do nothing for our fellow-men. But still 
 it is good to know that we can be something for 
 them ; to know (and this we may know surely) 
 that no man or woman of the humblest sort can 
 really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, with- 
 out the world being better for it, without some- 
 body being helped and comforted by the very 
 existence of that goodness. 
 
 Phillips Brooks 
 
March 27. Sy 
 
 If we love one another^ God dwelleth in tcs, and 
 His love is perfected in ns. — i John iv. 12. 
 
 And he that kecpeth His commandments dwelleth 
 in Hitn, and He in him. And hereby we know 
 that He abidcth in 7is. by the Spirit which He hath 
 given lis. — i John iii. 24. 
 
 Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love 
 
 Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin ; 
 
 Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire, 
 
 And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine. 
 
 n. B. Stowe. 
 
 npHE Spirit of Love must work the works, and 
 speak the tones, of Love. It cannot exist 
 and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a 
 spirit of Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish 
 impatience. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and 
 at the same time make self the prominent object. 
 It cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of 
 others, and at the same time be seeking its own. 
 It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot 
 be sympathizing, and unseemly ; self-forgetful, and 
 vain-glorious. It cannot delight in the rectitude 
 and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual 
 elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily 
 suspect them. 
 
 J. H, Thom 
 
 '^ 
 
8S March 28. 
 
 Giving thanks always for all things unto God 
 — Eph. v. 20. 
 
 For blessings of the fruittui season, 
 
 For work and rest, for friends and home, 
 
 For the great gifts of thought and reason. — 
 To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come. 
 
 Yes, and for weeping and tor wailing, 
 
 For bitter hail and blighting frost, 
 For high hopes on the low earth trailing. 
 
 For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed. 
 
 E. vSc UDDER. 
 
 'M'OTWITHSTANDLNG all that I have suf- 
 fered, notwithstanding all the pain and 
 weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessa- 
 rily enter into life, and the inward errings that are 
 worse than all, I would end my record with 
 a devout thanksgiving to the great Author of my 
 being. For more and more am I unwilling to 
 make my gratitude to Him what is commonly 
 called "a thanksgiving for mercies," — for any 
 benefits or blessings that are peculiar to myself, 
 or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of 
 this, I would have it to be gratitude for all that 
 belongs to my life and being, — for joy and 
 sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and 
 disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for 
 life and death ; because I believe that all is meant 
 for good. 
 
 Orvtt,le Dewey 
 
March 29. 89 
 
 There shall no evil befall thee. — Ps. xci. 10. 
 
 Whoso hearkejiein unto 7ue shall dwell safely^ 
 and shall be quiet from fear of evil. — Prov. i. 33. 
 
 I ASK not, " Take away this weight of care ; " 
 No, for that love I pray that all can bear. 
 
 And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall 
 Must needs be good, and for my profit prove. 
 Since from my Father's heart most rich in love, 
 
 And from His bounteous hands it comethall. 
 
 C. J. P. Spiita. 
 
 T3E like the promontory, against which the 
 waves continually break ; but it stands firm, 
 and tames the fury of the water around it. Un- 
 happy am I, because this has happened to me ? 
 Not so, but happy am I, though this has hap- 
 pened to me, because I continue free from pain, 
 neither crushed by the present, nor fearing the 
 future. Will then this which has happened prevent 
 thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, 
 prudent, secure against inconsiderate opinions 
 and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occa- 
 sion which leads thee to vexation to apply thio 
 principle : that this is not a misfortune, but thai 
 to bear it nobly is good fortune. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus 
 
90 March 30. 
 
 Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel^ andaftcr- 
 ward receive me to glory . — Ps. Ixxiii. 24. 
 
 There remaitieth therefore a rest to the people oj 
 God. — Heb. iv, 9. 
 
 Guide us through life ; and when at last 
 
 We enter into rest, 
 Thy tender arms around us cast, 
 
 And fold us to Thy breast. 
 
 H. F. Lyte, 
 
 Cg 
 
 O forth to meet the solemnities and to con- 
 quer the trials of existence, believing in a 
 Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will 
 support you in duty, and duty firmly done will 
 strengthen faith ; till at last, when all is over here, 
 and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades 
 upon your dying ear, and you hear, instead 
 thereof, the deep and musical sound of the ocean 
 of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining 
 on its waters still and fair in their radiant rest, 
 your faith will raise the song of conquest, and in 
 its retrospect of the life which has ended, and 
 its forward glance upon the life to come, take 
 up the poetic inspiration of the Hebrew king, 
 " Surely goodness and mercy have followed me 
 all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the 
 house of the Lord forever." 
 
 Stopford a Brooke. 
 
March 31. 91 
 
 Thoii shalt be in league with the stones of the 
 fields and the beasts of the field shall be at peace 
 with thee. A nd thon shalt know that thy tabernacle 
 shall be in peace. — Job v. 23, 24. 
 
 Love had lie found in huts where poor men lie ; 
 His daily teachers had been woods and rills, 
 The silence that is in the starry sky, 
 The sleep that is among the lonely hills. 
 
 \V. Wordsworth. 
 
 ' I ^HAT spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which 
 seems to come forth to sucli from every 
 dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, 
 and half-embedded stone, on which the dull 
 March sun shines, comes forth to the poor and 
 hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. II 
 thou fill thy brain with Boston and New York, 
 with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate 
 thy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, 
 thou shalt find no radiance of wisdom in the 
 lonely waste of the pine-woods. 
 
 R. W. ElMERSOX 
 
April 1. 
 
 For Thou lovest all the things that are, and ab- 
 h arrest nothing which Thou hast made : for neiier 
 luouldest Thojt ha-'e made any thing, if Thou hadst 
 hated if. But Thou sparest all : for they are Thine, 
 O Lord, Thou lover of souls. — Wisdom of Solo- 
 mon xi. 24, 26. 
 
 He prayeth best who loveth best 
 All things both great and small ; 
 
 For the dear God who loveth us, 
 He made and loveth all. 
 
 S. T. Coleridge. 
 
 " I ^O know that Love alone was the beginning 
 of nature and creature, that nothing but 
 Love encompasses the whole universe of things, 
 that the governing Hand that overrules all, the 
 watchful Eye that sees through all, is nothing but 
 omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infin- 
 ity of wisdom, to save every misguided creature 
 from the miserable works of its own hands, and 
 make happiness and glory the perpetual inheri- 
 tance of all the creation, is a reflection that must 
 be quite ravishino; to every intelhgent creature 
 that is sensible of it. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
April 2. 93 
 
 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and 
 that the Spirit of God dwelleih in you ? — i CoR. 
 Ui. i6. 
 
 Father ! replenish with Thy grace 
 
 This longing heart of mine ; 
 Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place, 
 
 Thy sacred inmost shrine ! 
 
 Angelus SiLEsrus. 
 
 ^M'OT man's manifold labors, but his manifold 
 cares, hinder the presence of God. . . . 
 AVhatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine 
 own feverish vanities, and busy thoughts, and 
 cares ; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the 
 light of His countenance will stream down upon 
 thee. He will make a secret cell in thine heart, 
 and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou 
 find Him. And if thou hast found Him there, 
 all around shall reflect Him, all shall speak to 
 Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly 
 thou mayest be doing the work of thy calling ; 
 inwardly, if thou commend thy work to God, 
 thou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
94 April 3. 
 
 As for t/iee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered 
 thee so to do. — Deut. xviii. 14. 
 
 Lord, for the erring thought 
 Not into evil wrought ; 
 Lord, for the wicked will 
 Betrayed and baffled still ; 
 Por the heart from itself kept, 
 Our Thanksgiving accept. 
 
 W. U. How ELLS. 
 
 T17HAT an amazing, what a blessed dispropor- 
 ^ ^ tion between the evil we do, and the evil 
 we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on 
 the very verge of doing ! If my soul has grown 
 tares, when it was full of the seeds of nightshade, 
 how happy ought 1 to be 1 And that the tares 
 have not wholly strangled the wheat, what a 
 wonder it is ! We ought to thank God daily for 
 the sins we have not committed. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful 
 voice, for our spiritual mexQit?, positive ; but what 
 an almost infinite field there is for mercies nega- 
 tive ! We cannot even imagine all that God has 
 suffered us 7iot to do, 7iot to be. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 You are surprised at your imperfections — 
 why? I should infer from that, that your self- 
 knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be 
 astonished that you do not fall into more frequent 
 and more grievous faults, and thank God for His 
 upholding grace. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
April 4. 95 
 
 Well done, ^s^^od atid faithful servant : thou hasl 
 been faithfil over a few things, I ivill make thc( 
 ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of 
 thy Lord. — Matt. xxv. 23. 
 
 O Father ! help us to resign 
 
 Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee ; 
 Then even lowliest work of Thine 
 
 MoR.t noble, blest, and sweet will be. 
 
 li. M. Kimball. 
 
 NOTHING is too little to be ordered by our 
 Father ; nothing too little in which to see 
 His hand ; nothing, which touches our souls, too 
 little to accept from Him ; nothing too little to 
 be done to Him. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 A SOUL occupied with great ideas best performs 
 small duties ; the divinest views of life penetrate 
 most clearly into the meanest emergencies ; so 
 far from petty principles being best proportioned 
 to petty trials, a heavenly spirit taking up its 
 abode with us can alone sustain well the daily 
 toils, and tranquilly pass the humiliations of our 
 condition. 
 
 J. Martineau, 
 
 Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he 
 ought to do, because it seems to him too small a 
 thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, 
 but too great for him, that he doeth it not. 
 
 E. B PuSEY. 
 
96 April 5. 
 
 Vet I liave left vte seven thousand ht Israel^ all the 
 knees ivJiich have not boived nnio Baal, and evcrv 
 month which hath not kissed him. — i Kings xix. i8. 
 
 Back then, complainer ; loathe thy life no more, 
 Nor deem thyself upon a desert shore, 
 
 Because the rocks the nearer prospect close. 
 Yet in fallen Israel are there hearts and eyes 
 That day by day in prayer like thine arise : 
 
 Thou know'st them not, but their Creator knows. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 T_T E went down to the great school with a glim- 
 -*■ -*• mering of another lesson in his heart, — 
 the lesson that he who has conquered his own 
 coward spirit has conquered the whole outward 
 world ; and that other one which the old prophet 
 learnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid 
 his face, and the still small voice asked, " What 
 doest thou here, Elijah ? " that however we 
 may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, 
 the King and Lord of men is nowhere without 
 His witnesses ; for in every society, how^ever 
 seemmgly corrupt and godless, there are those 
 who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 
 
 Thomas Hughes. 
 
 So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after 
 all. Seven thousand at least in Israel had been 
 braced and encouraged by his example, and 
 silently blessed hnn, perhaps, for the courage 
 which they felt. In God's world, for those who 
 are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly 
 done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacrifice 
 freely made, was ever made in vain. 
 
 F. W. Robertson, 
 
April 6. 97 
 
 In the multitude of my thoui^hts within rne Thy 
 comforts delight my soul. — Ps. xciv. 19. ^ 
 
 Perplexed, but not in despjirj cast down, but not 
 destroyed. — 2 CoR. iv. 8, 9. 
 
 Discouraged in the work of life, 
 
 Disheartened by its load, 
 Shamed by its failures or its fears, 
 
 I sink beside the road ; — 
 But let me only think of Thee, 
 And then new heart springs up in me. 
 
 S. Longfellow. 
 
 T^ISCOURAGEMENT is an inclination to 
 
 give up all attempts after the devout life, 
 
 in consequence of the difficulties by which it is 
 
 beset, and our already numerous failures in it. 
 
 We lose heart ; and partly in ill-temper, partly in 
 
 real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we 
 
 first grow querulous and peevish with God, and 
 
 then relax in our efforts to mortify ourselves and 
 
 to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, 
 
 and will lead us into numberless venial sins the 
 
 first half-hour we give way to it. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 Never let us be discouraged with ourselves ; 
 it is not when we are conscious of our faults that 
 we are the most wicked ; on the contrary, we are 
 less so. We see by a brighter light ; and let us 
 remember, for our consolation, that we never per- 
 ceive our sins till we begin to cure them. 
 
 Fenelon 
 
98 April 7. 
 
 That xe may prove what is that good, and accept- 
 able, and perfect will oj God. — Rom. xii. 2. 
 
 Tiiou knowest what is best ; 
 
 And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know ? 
 In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest; 
 
 Beneath that will my humble head shall bow. 
 
 T. C. Upham. 
 
 npO those who are His, all things are not only 
 -^ easy to be borne, but even to be gladly 
 chosen. Their will is united to that will which 
 moves heaven and earth, which gives laws to 
 angels, and rules the courses of the world. It is 
 a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that 
 know so little must needs speak little. To be at 
 the centre of that motion, where is everlasting 
 rest ; to be sheltered in the peace of God ; even 
 now to dwell in heaven, where all hearts are 
 stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. " Thou shalt 
 keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
 on Thee." 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
 Study to follow His will in all, to have no will 
 but His. This is thy duty, and thy wisdom. 
 Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but 
 to hurt and vex thyself; but by complying all is 
 gained — sweet peace. It is the very secret, the 
 mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His 
 will, to be disposed of at His pleasure, without 
 the least contrary thought. 
 
 R. Leighton. 
 
April 8. 99 
 
 The Lord is my shepherd j I shall not want. — 
 Ps. xxiii. I. 
 
 They that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
 thins:. — Ps. xxxiv. lo. 
 
 God, who the universe doth hold 
 
 111 his fold, 
 Is my shepherd kind and heedful, 
 Is my shepherd, and doth keep 
 
 Me, his sheep. 
 Still supplied with all things needful. 
 
 F. Davison. 
 
 TJ/HO is it that is your shepherd ? The Lord 1 
 Oh, my friends, what a wonderful an- 
 nouncement ! The Lord God of heaven and 
 earth, the ahnighty Creator of all things, He who 
 holds the universe in His hand as though it were 
 a very little thing, — He is your shepherd, and 
 has charged Himself with the care and keeping 
 of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and 
 keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really 
 take in this thought, you would never have a fear 
 or a care again ; for with such a shepherd, how 
 could it be possible for you ever to want any good 
 thing? 
 
 H. W S 
 
lOO April 9. 
 
 Watch and pray ^ that ye enter not into temptation. 
 — Matt. xxvi. 41. 
 
 I WANT a sober mind, 
 
 A self-renouncing will, 
 That tramples down and casts behind 
 
 The baits of pleasing ill ; 
 A spirit still prepared. 
 
 And armed with jealous care. 
 Forever standing on its guard, 
 
 And watching unto prayer. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 ■\17HEN you say, " Lead us not into tempta- 
 tion," you must in good earnest mean to 
 avoid in your daily conduct those temptations 
 which you have already suffered from. When 
 you say, " Deliver us from evil," you must mean 
 to struggle against that evil in your hearts, which 
 you are conscious of, and which you pray to be 
 forgiven. ... To watch and pray are surely in 
 our power, and by these means we are certain of 
 getting strength. You feel your weakness ; you 
 fear to be overcome by temptation : then keep 
 out of the way of it. This is watching. Avoid 
 society which is likely to mislead you ; flee from 
 the very shadow of evil ; you cannot be too care- 
 ful ; better be a litde too strict than a litde toG 
 easy, — it is the safer side. Abstain from reading 
 books which are dangerous to you. Turn from 
 bad thoughts when they arise. 
 
 T. T^. Newman 
 
April 10. loi 
 
 Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, 
 and not unto men. — Col. iii. 23. 
 
 Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in 
 singleness of heart, fearing God. — Col. iii. 
 
 '>? 
 
 Teach me, my God and King, 
 
 In all things Thee to see, 
 And what I do in anything. 
 
 To do it as for Thee. 
 
 G. Herbert. 
 
 'T^HERE is no action so slight nor so mean but 
 it may be done to a great purpose, and 
 ennobled therefore ; nor is any purpose so great 
 but that slight actions may help it, and may be so 
 done as to help it much, most especially, that 
 chief of all purposes — the pleasing of God. 
 
 J. RUSKLV 
 
 Every duty, even the least duty, involves the 
 whole principle of obedience. And little duties 
 make the will dutiful, that is, supple and prompt 
 to obey. Little obediences lead into great. The 
 daily round of duty is full of probation and of dis- 
 cipline ; it trains the will, heart, and conscience. 
 We need not to be prophets or apostles. The 
 commonest life may be full of perfection. The 
 duties of home are a discipline for the ministries 
 of heaven. 
 
 H. E. Manning 
 
02 April 11. 
 
 Wherefore^ beloved . . . be diligent that ye may 
 be found of Him in peace ^ ivithoiit spot, and blame- 
 less. — 2 Peter iii. 14. 
 
 His conscience knows no secret stings, 
 
 While grace and joy combine 
 To form a life whose holy springs 
 
 Are hidden and divine. 
 
 I. Watts. 
 
 "p^VEN the smallest discontent of conscience 
 may render turbid the whole temper of the 
 mind ; but only produce the effort that restores 
 its peace, and over the whole atmosphere a breath 
 of unexpected purity is spread ; doubt and irrita- 
 bility pass as clouds away ; the withered sympa- 
 thies of earth and home open their leaves and 
 live ; and through the clearest blue the deep is 
 seen of the heaven where God resides. 
 
 J. Martin EAU. 
 
 The state of mind which is described as meek- 
 ness, or quietness of spirit, is characterized in a 
 high degree by inward harmony. There is not, 
 as formerly, that inward jarring of thought con- 
 tending with thought, and conscience asserting 
 rights which it could not maintain. 
 
 T. C. Ul'HAM 
 
April 12. 103 
 
 Be perfect^ be of oood comfort, be of oiie miiid^ 
 live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall 
 be with you. — 2 CoR. xiii. 1 1. 
 
 He that lo-jeih not his brother whom he hath 
 seen^ how can he love God 7uho?n he hath not seen ? 
 — I John iv . 20. 
 
 Lord ! subdue our selfish will ; 
 
 Each to each our tempers suit, 
 By Thy modulating skill, 
 
 Heart to heart, as lUte to lute. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 TT requires far more of the constraining love of 
 Christ to love our cousins and neighbors as 
 members of the heavenly family, than to feel the 
 heart warm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany 
 or Madeira. To love the whole Church is one 
 thing ; to love — that is, to delight in the graces 
 and veil the defects — of the person who misun- 
 derstood me and opposed my plans yesterday, 
 whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sen- 
 sitive feelings, or whose natural faults are precisely 
 those from which my natural character most re- 
 volts, is quite another. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles. 
 
04 April 13. 
 
 /;/ all these things we are more than conquerors 
 through Him that loved us. — Rom. viii. 37. 
 
 Thus my soul before her God 
 
 Lieth still, nor speaketh more, 
 Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong, 
 
 That once smote her to the core ; 
 Like a silent ocean, bright 
 "With her God's great praise and light. 
 
 Winkler, 17 13. 
 
 ly/TY mind is forever closed against embarrass- 
 ment and perplexity, against uncertainty,- 
 doubt, and anxiety ; my heart against grief and 
 desire. Calm and unmoved, I look down on all 
 things, for I know that I cannot explain a sin- 
 gle event, nor comprehend its connection with 
 that which alone concerns me. In His world 
 all things prosper ; this satisfies me, and in this 
 belief I stand fast as a rock. ... My breast is 
 steeled against annoyance on account of per-, 
 sonal offences and vexations, or exultation in 
 personal merit ; for my whole personality has 
 disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose 
 of my being. 
 
 J. G. FiCIITE 
 
April 14. 
 
 All things are yotirs J whether Paul, or Apollos, 
 or Cephas^ or the world, or life, or death, or things 
 p7'esent, or things to come ; all are yonrs. — i CoR. 
 iii. 21, 22. 
 
 As having 7tothi?ig, and yet possessing all 
 thittgs. — 2 Cor. vi. lo. 
 
 Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, 
 As more of Heaven in each we see : 
 Some softening gleam of love and prayer 
 Shall dawn on every cross and care. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 /^UT of love and hatred, out of earnings, and 
 ^^^ borrowings, and lendings, and losses ; out 
 of sickness and pain ; out of wooing and wor- 
 shipping ; out of travelling, and voting, and watch- 
 ing, and caring ; out of disgrace and contempt, 
 comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful 
 laws. Let him not slur his lesson ; let him learn 
 it by heart. Let him endeavor exactly, bravely, 
 and cheerfully, to solve the problem of that life 
 which is set before hi7?i. And this, by punctual 
 action, and not by promises or dreams. Believ- 
 ing, as in God, in the presence and favor of the 
 grandest iniiuences, let him deserve that favor, 
 and learn how to receive and use it, by fidelity 
 also to the lower observances. 
 
 R. W. Emerson 
 
io6 April 15. 
 
 IVc know that all thin<^s work together for good 
 to them that love Goa. — Ro.vi. viii. 28. 
 
 As for yoii,ye thought evil aji^aiust ifie ; but God 
 meant it nnto good. — Gen. 1. 20. 
 
 Ill that He blesses is our good, 
 
 And unblesi good is ill ; 
 And all is right that seems most wrong, 
 
 If it be His 3vveet Will. 
 
 F. W. Facer. 
 
 T^O those who know themselves, all things 
 -*■ work together for good, and all things 
 seem to be, as they are to them, good. The 
 goods which God g'ves seem " very good," and 
 God Himself in them, because they know that 
 they deserve them not. The evils which God 
 allows and overrules seem also "very good," be- 
 cause they see in them His loving hand, put 
 forth to heal them of what shuts out God from 
 the soul. They love God intensely, in that He 
 is so good to them in each, and every, the least 
 good, because it is more than they deserve ; 
 how much more in the greatest ! They love 
 God for every, and each, the very greatest of 
 what seem evils, knowing them to be, from His 
 love, real goods. For He by whom "all the 
 hairs of our head are numbered," and who 
 " knoweth whereof we are made," directs every- 
 thing which befalls us in life, in perfect wisdom 
 and love, to the well-l)eing of our souls. 
 
 E B. PUSEY. 
 
April 16. 107 
 
 The very God of peace sanctify you wholly^ and 
 I pray God yoiir whole spirit, and soul, and hody^ 
 be preserved blameless. Faithful is He that calletk 
 you, who also will do it. — i Thess. v. 23, 24. 
 
 Be still, my soul ! — the Lord is on thy side ; 
 
 Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain ; 
 Leave to thy God to order and provide, — 
 
 In every change He faithful will remain. 
 
 Hymns from the Land of Luther. 
 
 TT was no relief from temporal evils that the 
 Apostle promised. . . . No ; the mercy of 
 God might send them to the stake, or the lions ; 
 it was still His mercy," if it but kept them "un- 
 spotted from the world." It might expose them 
 to insult, calumny, and wrong ; they received it 
 still as mercy, if it " established them in every 
 good word and work." O brethren ! how many 
 of you are content with such faithfulness as this 
 on the part of your heavenly Father? Is this, 
 indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers ? 
 
 Wm. Archer Butler. 
 
io8 April 17. 
 
 Blessed is that mail that maketh the Lord his 
 trust. — Ps. xl. 4. 
 
 That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. — 
 I Tim. ii. 2. 
 
 Just to let thy Father do 
 
 What He will ; 
 Just to know that He is true, 
 And be still ; 
 Just to trust Him, this is all ! 
 Then the day will surely be 
 Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, 
 
 Bright and blessed, calm and free. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 "pVERY morning compose your soul for a 
 tranquil day, and all through it be careful 
 often to recall your resolution, and bring your- 
 self back to it, so to say. If something discom- 
 poses you, do not be upset, or troubled ; but 
 having discovered the fact, humble yourself 
 gently before God, and try to bring your mind 
 into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, "■ Well, I 
 have made a false step ; eow I must go more 
 carefully and watchfully." Do this each time, 
 however frequently you fall. When you are at 
 peace use it profitably, making constant acts of 
 meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the 
 most trifling things. Above all, do not be dis- 
 couraged ; be patient ; wait ; strive to attain a 
 calm, gende spirit. 
 
 i'RANCis DE Sales 
 
ZLpnl 18 109 
 
 What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but 
 to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, 
 and to love Hii/i, and to serve the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart and with all thy sou-t? — Deut- 
 X. 12. 
 
 What asks our Father of His children save 
 Justice and mercy and humility, 
 A reasonable service of good deeds, 
 Pure living, tenderness to human needs, 
 Reverence, and trust, and prayer for light to see 
 The Master's footprints in our daily ways ? 
 No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife, 
 But the calm beauty of an ordered life 
 Whose every breathing is unworded praise. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 /^ IVE up yourself to God without reserve ; in 
 
 ^^^ singleness of heart, meeting everything 
 
 that every day brings forth, as something that 
 
 comes from God, and is to be received and gone 
 
 through by you, in such an heavenly use of it, as 
 
 you would suppose the holy Jesus would have 
 
 done, in such occurrences. This is an attainable 
 
 degree of perfection. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
 We ought to measure our actual lot, and to 
 fulfil it ; to be with all our strength that which 
 our lot requires and allows. What is beyond it, 
 is no calling of ours. How much peace, quiet, 
 confidence, and strength, would people attain, if 
 they would go by this plain rule. 
 
 H. E Manning. 
 
no April 19. 
 
 The hand of 07ir God is upon all them for good 
 that seek Him. — Ezra viii. 22. 
 
 Into Thy hand I commit my spirit. — Ps. xxxi. 5. 
 
 Thou layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart, 
 
 And sayest, " Be still ! " 
 The silence and shadow are only a part 
 
 Of Thy sweet will ; 
 Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art 
 
 1 fear no ill. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 "DE Still and cool in thy own mind and spirit 
 from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt 
 feel the principle of God, to turn thy mind to the 
 Lord God, from whom life comes ; whereby thou 
 may est receive His strength, and power to allay 
 all blustering storms and tempests. That is it 
 which works up into patience, into innocency, 
 into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness, into 
 quietness, up • to God with His power. . . . 
 Therefore be still awhile from thy own thoughts, 
 searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and 
 be stayed in the principle of God in thee, that it 
 may raise thy mind up to God, and stay it upon 
 God ; and thou wilt find strength from Him, 
 and find Him to be a God at hand, a present 
 help in the time of trouble and need. 
 
 George Fox. 
 
April 20. Hi 
 
 / waited patiently for the Lord ; and He in- 
 clined imto me, and heard my cry. — Ps. xl. i. 
 
 Tribiilation worketh patience ; and patience., ex- 
 perience ; and experie7tce, hope. — Rom. v. 3, 4, 
 
 Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow, 
 And Thou hast made each step an onward one ; 
 
 And we will ever trust each unknown morrow, — 
 Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done. 
 
 S. Johnson. 
 
 TT is possible, when the future is dim, when our 
 depressed faculties can form no bright ideas 
 of the perfection and happiness of a better world, 
 — it is possible still to cling to the conviction of 
 God's merciful purpose towards His creatures, of 
 His parental goodness even in suffering ; still to 
 feel that the path of duty, though trodden with a 
 heavy heart, leads to peace ; still to be true to 
 conscience ; still to do our work, to resist 
 temptation, to be useful, though with diminished 
 energy, to give up our wills when we cannot 
 rejoice under God's mysterious providence. In 
 this patient, though uncheered obedience, we 
 become prepared for light. The soul gathers 
 force. 
 
 Wm. E. Channing. 
 
112 April 21, 
 
 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, 
 though noiv ye see Him not, ye 7'ejoice with joy un- 
 speakable, aiid full of glory. — I Peter i. 8. 
 
 If ye love jhj, keep ?ny comjnandments. — John 
 xiv. 15. 
 
 Blest be Thy love, dear Lord, 
 That taught us this sweet way, 
 
 Only to love Thee for Thyself, 
 And for that love obev. 
 
 J. Austin. 
 
 'T^O love God is to love His character. For 
 instance, God is Purity. And to be pure 
 in thought and look, to turn away from unhal- 
 lowed books and conversation, to abhor the mo- 
 ments in which we have not been pure, is to love 
 God. God is Love ; and to love men till pri- 
 vate attachments have expanded into a philan- 
 thropy which embraces all, — at last even the evil 
 and enemies with compassion, — that is to love 
 God. God is Truth. To be true, to hate every 
 form of falsehood, to live a brave, true, real life, — 
 that is to love God. God is Infinite ; and to 
 love the boundless, reaching on from grace to 
 grace, adding charity to faith, and rising upwards 
 ever to see the Ideal still above us, and to die 
 with it unattained, aiming insatiably to be perfect 
 even as the Father is perfect, — that is to love 
 
 God. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
April 22. 1 13 
 
 Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. — Matt. 
 XXV. 23. 
 
 Serving the Lord ; rejoicing in hope. — Rom. 
 xii. II, 12. 
 
 If our love were but more simple, 
 We should take Him at His word; 
 
 And our lives would be all sunshine 
 In the sweetness of our Lord. 
 
 F. \V. Faber. 
 
 V\7HAT would it be to love absolutely a Being 
 absolutely lovely, — to be able to give our 
 whole existence, every thought, every act, every 
 desire, to that adored One, — to know that He ac- 
 cepts it all, and loves us in return as God alone 
 can love? . . . This happiness grows forever. 
 The larger our natures become, the wider our 
 scope of thought, the stronger our will, the more 
 fervent our affections, the deeper must be the 
 rapture of such God-granted prayer. Every sac- 
 rifice resolved on opens wide the gate ; every 
 sacrifice accomplished is a step towards the para- 
 dise within. Soon it will be no transitory glimpse, 
 no rapture of a day, to be followed by clouds and 
 coldness. Let us but labor, and pray, and wait, 
 and the intervals of human frailty shall grow 
 shorter and less dark, the days of our delight in 
 God longer and brighter, till at last life shall be 
 nought but His love ; our eyes shall never grow 
 dim, His smile never turn away. 
 
 Y. P. CoBl'.E 
 
 8 
 
14 April 23. 
 
 These were the potters^ and those thai dwelt 
 ai}tong plants and hedges : there they dwelt with 
 the ki?ig for his work. — i Chron. iv. 23. 
 
 A LOWLIER task on them is laid, 
 With love to make the labor light; 
 
 And there their beauty they must shed 
 On quiet homes, and lost to sight. 
 
 Changed are their visions high and fair, 
 
 Yet, calm and still, they labor there. 
 
 Hymns of the Ages. 
 
 A NYWHERE and everywhere we may dwell 
 '^ " with the King for His work." We may 
 
 be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for 
 this ; it may be in a literal country life, with 
 little enough to be seen of the "goings" of the 
 King around us ; it may be among hedges of all 
 sorts, hindrances in all directions ; it may be, 
 furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of 
 pottery for our daily task. No matter I The 
 King who placed us " there " will come and dwell 
 therewith us ; the hedges are all right, or He would 
 soon do away with them ; and it does not follow 
 that what seems to hinder our way may not be 
 for its very protection ; and as for the pottery, 
 why, that is just exacdy what He has seen fit to 
 put into our hands, and tlierefoVe it is, for the 
 present, " His work." 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
April 24. 115 
 
 Bear ye one another's burdens^ and so fulfil the 
 law of Christ. — Gal. vi. 2. 
 
 Is thy cruse of comfort wasting ? 
 
 Rise and share it with another. 
 And through all the years of famine, 
 
 It shall serve thee and thy brother. 
 Is thy burden hard and heavy ? 
 
 Do thv steps drag heavily ? 
 Help to bear thy brother's burden ; 
 
 God will bear both it and thee. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles. 
 
 TJOWEVER perplexed you may at any hour 
 become about some question of truth, one 
 refuge and resource is ahvays at hand : you can 
 do something for some one besides yourself. 
 When your own l:)urden is heaviest, you can 
 always lighten a little some other burden. At 
 the times when you cannot see God, there is still 
 open to you this sacred possibility, to show God ; 
 for it is the love and kindness of human hearts 
 through which the divine reality comes home to 
 men, whether they name it or not. Let this 
 thought, then, stay with you : there may be times 
 when you cannot find help, but there is no time 
 vvhen you cannot give help. 
 
 George S. Merrlam. 
 
ii6 April 25. 
 
 Surely^ I have behaved and quieted ?nyself^ as a 
 child that is iveaned of his fnother ; my soul is 
 ^ven as a iveajicd child. — Ps. cxxxi. 2. 
 
 Quiet, Lord, my fro ward heart, 
 Make me teachable and mild. 
 Upright, simple, free from art, 
 Make me as a weaned child ; 
 From distTust and envy free, 
 Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee. 
 
 J. Newton 
 
 /^H ! look not after great things : small breath- 
 ^^ ings, small desires after the Lord, if true 
 and pure, are sweet beginnings of life. Take 
 heed of despising " the day of small things," by 
 looking after some great visitation, proportion- 
 able to thy distress, according to thy eye. Nay, 
 thou must become a child ; thou must lose thy 
 own will quite by degrees. Thou must wait for 
 life to be measured out by the Father, and be 
 content with what proportion, and at what time. 
 He shall please to measure. 
 
 I. Penixgton. 
 
 " When Israel was a child, then I loved him " 
 (Hosea xi. i). Aim to be ever this little child, 
 contented with what the Father gives of pleas- 
 ure or of play ; and when restrained from pleas- 
 ure or from play, and led for a season into the 
 chamber of sorrow, rest quiet on His bosom, 
 and be patient, and smile, as one who is nestled 
 in a sweet and secure asylum. 
 
 Anon 
 
April 26. 
 
 If we hope for that ive see 7tot, then do we with 
 patiefice wait for it. — Rom. viii. 25. 
 
 One day is with the Lord as a thousand years,^ 
 and a thousand years as one day. — 2 i'ETER iii. 8. 
 
 Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait 
 
 To work the thousandth part 
 Of Thy vast plan, for us create 
 
 With zeal a patient heart. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 T BELIEVE that if we could only see beforehand 
 what it is that our heavenly Father means 
 us to be, — the soul beauty and perfection and 
 glory, the glorious and lovely spiritual body that 
 this soul is to dwell in through all eternity, — if 
 we could have a glimpse of this, we should not 
 grudge all the trouble and pains He is taking 
 with us now, to bring us up to that ideal, which 
 is His thought of us. We know that it is God's 
 way to work slowly, so we must not be surprised 
 if He takes a great many years of discipline to 
 turn a mortal being into an immortal, glorious 
 angel 
 
 Annie Keary 
 
ii8 April 27. 
 
 Speak ye every man the truth to his neigJibor. — 
 Zech. viii. i6. 
 
 For our rejoicing is this^ the testimony of our con- 
 science, that in simplicity and godly sincerity . , . 
 we have had our conversatioti in the world. — 
 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 Appear I always what I am ? 
 
 And am I what I am pretending ? 
 
 Know I what way my course is bending ? 
 And sound my word and thought the same ? 
 
 Anon. 
 
 AMI acting in simplicity, from a germ of the 
 Divine life within, or am I shaping my 
 path to obtain some immediate result of expe- 
 diency? Am I endeavoring to compass effects, 
 amidst a tangled web of foreign influences I can- 
 not calculate ; or am I seeking simply to do what 
 is right, and leaving the consequences to the 
 good providence of God? 
 
 M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK. 
 
 Let it not be in any man's power to say truly 
 of thee that thou art not simple, or that thou art 
 not good ; but let him be a liar whoever shall 
 think anything of this kind about thee ; and this 
 is altogether in thy power. For who is he that 
 shall hinder thee from being good and simple ? 
 
 Marcus Antoninus 
 
April 28. 119 
 
 The Lord is thy keeper ; the Lord is thy shade 
 upon thy right hand. — Ps. cxxi. 5. 
 
 Great peace have they which love Thy law; and 
 nothing shall offend them. — Ps. cxix. 165 
 
 I REST beneath the Ahnighty's shade, 
 My griefs expire, my troubles cease ; 
 
 Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed, 
 Wilt -keep me still in perfect peace. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 /^'\NE great sign of the practical recognition 
 
 ^^ of tlie "divine moment,"' and of onr find- 
 ing God's liabitation in it, is constant calmness 
 and peace of mind. Events and things come 
 with the moment : but God comes with them 
 too. So that if He comes in the sunshine, we 
 find rest and joy ; and if He comes in the storm, 
 we know He is King of the storms, and our 
 heart: are not troubled. God Himself, though 
 possessing a heart filled with the tenderest feel- 
 ings, is, nevertheless, an everlasting tranquillity ; 
 and when we enter into His holy tabernacle, 
 our souls necessarily enter into the tabernacle of 
 
 ^^^^' T. C. Upham. 
 
 My soul was not only brought into harmony 
 with itself and with God, but with God's provi- 
 dences. In the exercise of faith and love, I en- 
 dured and performed whatever came in God's 
 providence, in submission, in thankfulness, and 
 silence. 
 
 Madame Guyon 
 
I20 April 29. 
 
 I ivill arise afid go to jny Father. — Luke xv. i8 
 
 MV God, my Father ! hear. 
 And help me to believe ; 
 
 Weak and weary I draw near ; 
 Thy child, O God, receive. 
 
 1 so oft have gone astray ; 
 
 To the perfect Guide I flee ; 
 Thou wilt turn me not away, 
 Thy love is pledged to me. 
 
 Hymns of the Spirit. 
 
 /^ CHILD, hast thou fallen? arise, and go, with 
 ^■^^ childlike trust, to thy Father, like the prod- 
 igal son, and humbly say, with heart and mouth, 
 " Father, I have sinned against hea\'en, and before 
 Thee, and am no more \vorthy to be called Thy 
 son ; make me as one of Thy hired senants." 
 And what will thy heavenly Father do but what thai 
 father did in the parable ? Assuredly He will not 
 change His essence, which is love, for the sake 
 of thy misdoings. Is it not His own precious 
 treasure, and a small thing with Him to forgive 
 thee thy trespasses, if thou believe in Him ? for 
 His hand is not shortened that it cannot make 
 tliee fit to be saved. 
 
 John Tauler 
 
April 30. 121 
 
 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go 
 forward. — Ex. xiv. 15. 
 
 A^o man, having put his hand to the plough, and 
 looking back, is Jit for the kingdom of God. — Luke 
 ix. 62. 
 
 Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee. 
 Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord, — 
 
 Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee, 
 Simply believing the truth of His word. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 'T^HE soul ceases to weary itself with planning 
 and foreseeing, giving itself up to God's 
 Holy Spirit within, and to the teachings of His 
 providence without. . . . He is not forever -fret- 
 ting as to his progress, or looking back to see 
 how far he is getting on ; rather he goes steadily 
 and quietly on, and makes all the more progress 
 because it is unconscious. So he never gets 
 troubled and discouraged ; if he falls he humbles 
 himself, but gets up at once, and goes on with 
 renewed earnestness. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
122 May 1 
 
 / will bless the Lord at all tunes : His praise 
 ihall cojitimtally be in my niottth. — Ps. xxxiv. i. 
 
 I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart ; 
 I will show forth all Thy ?narvellous works. — 
 Ps. ix. I. 
 
 Thrice blest will all cur blessings be, 
 When we can look through them to Thee; 
 When each glad heart its tribute pays 
 Of love and gratitude and praise. 
 
 M. J. COTTERILL 
 
 T^HAT which befits us, embosomed in beauty 
 and wonder a? we are, is cheerfulness, and 
 courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspira- 
 tions. Shall not the heart which has received so 
 much, trust the Power by which it hves? May it 
 not quit other leadings, and listen to the Soul that 
 has guided it so gently, and taught it so much, 
 secure that the future will be worthy of the past ? 
 
 R. \V. Emerson. 
 
 I HAVE experienced that the habit of taking out 
 of the hand of our Lord every little blessing and 
 brightness on our path, confirms us. in an especial 
 manner, in communion with His love. 
 
 M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK 
 
May 2. 123 
 
 The ornajnent of a meek a7id qmet spirit^ ivhich 
 is in the sight oj God of great price. — i Peter 
 iii. 4. 
 
 To present you holy, and iinblameahle^ and un- 
 reproveable in His sight. — Col. i. 22. 
 
 Thy sinless mind in us reveal, 
 
 Thy spirit's plenitude impart ! 
 Till all my spotless lite shall tell 
 
 The abundance of a loving heart. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 IIJOLINESS appeared to me to be of a sweet, 
 pleasant, charming, serene, calm nature. 
 It seemed to me, it brought an inexpressible pu- 
 rity, brightness, peacefulness, and ravishment to 
 the soul ; and that it made the soul like a field 
 or garden of (jod, with all manner of pleasant 
 flowers, that !.s all pleasant, delightful, and un- 
 disturbed ; enjoying a sweet cahn, and the 
 gently vivifying beams ot the sun. The soul of 
 a true Christian appeared like such a litde 
 white flower, as we see in the spring of the year, 
 low and humble on the ground, opening its 
 bosom to receive the pleasant beams of the sun's 
 glory , rejoicing, as it were, m a calm rapture ; 
 diftusmg around a sweet fragrancy ; standing 
 peacefully and lovingly in the midst of other 
 flowers round about, all m like manner opening 
 their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun. 
 
 ToNATHAN Edwards. 
 
124 ^^7 3. 
 
 T/ie Lord is good, a strong-hold In the day of 
 trouble; and He kiioweth them that trust in 
 Him. — Nahum i. 7. 
 
 Leave God to order all thy ways, 
 And hope in Him, whate'er betide. 
 
 Thou 'It find Him in the evil days 
 Thy all-sufficient strength and guide , 
 
 Who trusts in God's unchanging iove, 
 
 Builds on the rock that nought can move. 
 
 G. Neumarck. 
 
 (^UR whole trouble in our lot in this world 
 rises from the disagreement of our mind 
 therewith. Let the mind be brought to the lot, 
 and the whole tumult is instantly hushed ; let it 
 be kept in that disposition, and the man shall 
 stand at ease, in his affliction, like a rock un- 
 moved with waters beating upon it. 
 
 T. Boston. 
 
 How does our will become sanctified? By 
 conforming itself unreservedly to that of God. 
 We will all that He wills, and will nothing that 
 He does not will ; we attach our feeble will to 
 that all-powerful will which performs everything. 
 Thus, nothing can ever come to pass against our 
 will ; for nothing can happen save that which 
 God wills, and we find in His good pleasure an 
 inexhaustible source of peace and consolation. 
 
 F^NELON 
 
May 4. 125 
 
 Who through faith subdued kingdoms^ wrought 
 righteousness^ obtained pro7nises^ stopped the 
 mouths of lions, out of weakness were made 
 strong. — Heb. xi. 2>1>^ 34. 
 
 She met the hosts of Sorrow with a look 
 
 That altered not beneath the frown they wore, 
 And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took. 
 
 Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more. 
 Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath. 
 And calmly broke in twain 
 The fiery shafts of pain, 
 And rent the nets of passion from her path. 
 
 By that victorious hand despair was slain ; 
 
 With love she vanquished hate, and overcame 
 
 Evil with good, in her great Master's name. 
 
 W. C. Bryant. 
 
 A S to what may befall us outwardly, in this 
 •^ confused state of things, shall we not trust 
 our tender Father, and rest satisfied in His will? 
 Shall anything hurt us ? Can tribulation, distress, 
 persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, 
 come between the love of the Father to the 
 child, or the child's rest, content, and delight in 
 His love ? And doth not the love, the rest, the 
 peace, the joy felt, swallow up all the bitterness 
 and sorrow of the outward condition ? 
 
 I. Penington 
 
26 May 5. 
 
 // thou hast run with the footmen^ and they 
 have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend 
 with horses? and if in the land of peace wherein 
 thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt 
 thou do in the swelling offordan ? — Jer. xii. 5. 
 
 How couldst thou hang upon the cross, 
 To whom a weary hour is loss ? 
 Or how the thorns and scourgmg brook, 
 Who shrinkest from a scornful look ? 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 A HEART unloving among kindred has no 
 love towards God's saints and angels. If 
 we have a cold heart towards a servant or a 
 friend, why should we wonder if we have no fer- 
 vor towards God ? If we are cold in our private 
 prayers, we should be earthly and dull in the 
 most devout religious order ; if we cannot bear 
 the vexations of a companion, how should we^ 
 bear the contradiction of sinners ? if a little pain * 
 overcomes us, how could we endure a cross? if 
 we have no tender, cheerful, affectionate love to 
 those with whom our daily hours are spent, how 
 should we feel the pulse and ardor of love to 
 the unknown and the evil, the ungrateful and 
 repulsive ? 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
May 6. 127 
 
 Be kindly aff~ectioned one to another with broth- 
 erly love. — Rom. xii. 10. 
 
 ht her tongue is the law of kindness. — Prov 
 xxxi. 26. 
 
 Since trifles make the sum of human things, 
 And half our misery from our foibles springs ; 
 Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease, 
 And though but few can serve, yet all can please ; 
 Oh, let the ungentle spirit learn from hence, 
 A small unkindness is a great offence. 
 
 Hannah More. 
 
 A LL usefulness and all comfort may be pre- 
 vented by an unkind, a sour, crabbed 
 temper of mind, — a mind that can bear with no 
 difference of opinion or temperament, k spirit 
 of fault-finding ; an unsatisfied temper ; a con- 
 stant irritability ; little inequalities in the look, 
 the temper, or the manner ; a brow cloudy and 
 dissatisfied — your husband or your wife cannot 
 tell why — will more than neutralize all the good 
 you can do, and render life anything but a 
 blessing. 
 
 Albert Barnes 
 
 You have not fulfilled every duty, unless you 
 have fulfilled that of being pleasant. 
 
 Charles Buxton 
 
128 May 7. 
 
 He healeth the broken in hearty and bindeth up 
 their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars ; 
 He calleth them all by their na^nes. — Ps. cxlvii. 
 3.4- 
 
 Teach me your mood, O patient stars ! 
 
 Who climb each night the ancient slcy, 
 Leaving on space no shade, no scars, 
 
 No trace of age, no fear to die. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 T LOOKED up to the heavens once more, and 
 the quietness of the stars seemed to reproach 
 me. " We are safe up here," they seemed to say ; 
 "we shine, fearless and confident, for the God 
 who gave the primrose its rough leaves to hide 
 it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in 
 the awful hollows of space. We cannot fall out 
 of His safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and 
 behold ! Who hath created these things — that 
 bringeth out their host by number ? He calleth 
 them all by names. By the greatness of His 
 might, for that He is strong in power, not one 
 faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob ! and speak- 
 est, O Israel ! my way is hid from the Lord, and 
 my judgment is passed over from my God? " 
 
 G. MacDonalik 
 
May 8. 129 
 
 This is the day which the Lord hath made ; we 
 will rejoice and be glad in it — Ps. cxviii. 24. 
 
 Why stand ye here all the day idle? — Matt. 
 XX. 6. 
 
 So here hath been dawning another blue day; 
 Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away? 
 Out of eternity this new day is born; 
 Into eternity at night will return. 
 
 T. Carlyle. 
 
 OMALL cares, some deficiencies in the mere 
 *^ arrangement and ordering of our lives, 
 daily fret our hearts, and cross the clearness of 
 our faculties ; and these entanglements hang 
 around us, and leave us no free soul able to give 
 itself up, in power and gladness, to the true work 
 of life. The severest training and self-denial, — a 
 superiority to the servitude of indulgence, — are 
 the indispensable conditions even of genial 
 spirits, of unclouded energies, of tempers free 
 from morbidness, — much more of the practised 
 and vigorous mind, ready at every call, and 
 thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
 True, we can never be at peace till we have 
 performed the highest duty of all, — till we have 
 arisen, and gone to our Father ; but the perform- 
 ance of smaller duties, yes, even of the small- 
 est, will do more to give us temporary repose, 
 will act more as healthful anodynes, than the 
 greatest joys that can come to us from any other 
 quarter. 
 
 G. MacDonald 
 9 
 
I30 May 9. 
 
 The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away j 
 blessed be the name of the Lord. — Job i. 21. 
 
 What Thou hast given, Thou canst take, 
 And when Thou wilt new gifts can make. 
 
 All flows from Thee alone ; 
 When Thou didst give it, it was Thine ; 
 When Thou retook'st it, *t was not mine. 
 
 Thy will in all be done. 
 
 John Austin. 
 
 TT7E are ready to praise when all shines fair; 
 but when life is overcast, when all things 
 seem to be against us, when we are in fear for 
 some cherished happiness, or in the depths of 
 sorrow, or in the solitude of a life which has no 
 visible support, or in a season of sickness, and 
 with the shadow of death approaching, — then 
 to praise God ; then to say, This fear, loneliness, 
 affliction, pain, and trembling awe are as sure 
 tokens of love, as life, health, joy, and the gifts 
 of home : " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away ; " on either side it is He, and all is 
 love alike ; " blessed be the name of the Lord, " — 
 this is the true sacrifice of praise. What can 
 come amiss to a soul which is so in accord with 
 God? What can make so much as one jarring 
 tone in all its harmony? In all the changes of 
 this fitful life, it ever dwells in praise. 
 
 H. E. Manning, 
 
May 10. 131 
 
 The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; 
 and none of them that trust in Him shall bz 
 desolate. — Ps. xxxiv. 22. 
 
 Though He slay me^ yet will I trust in Him. — 
 Job xiii. 15. 
 
 I PRAISE Thee while my days go on ; 
 
 I love Thee while iiiy days go on : 
 
 Through dark and dearth, through fire and frosty 
 
 With emptied arms and treasure lost, 
 
 I thank Thee while my days go on. 
 
 E. B. Browning. 
 
 'T^HE sickness of the last week was fine medi- 
 cine ; pain disintegrated the spirit, or be- 
 came spiritual. I rose, — I felt that I had given 
 to God more perhaps than an angel could, — had 
 promised Him in youth that to be a blot on this 
 fair world, at His command, would be acceptable. 
 Constantly offer myself to continue the obscurest 
 and loneliest thing ever heard of, with one pro- 
 viso, — His agency. Yes, love Thee, and all Thou 
 dost, while Thou sheddest frost and darkness on 
 ev^ery path of mine. 
 
 Mary Moody Emerson 
 
132 May 11. 
 
 Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and 
 shall we not receive evil? — Job ii. lo. 
 
 Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, 
 accordinj^ to Thy word. — Ps. cxix. 6$. 
 
 Whatsoe'er our lot may be, 
 
 Calmly in this thought we '11 rest, — 
 
 Could we see as Thou dost see, 
 We should choose it as the best. 
 
 Wm. Gaskell 
 
 TT is a proverbial saying, that every one makes 
 his own destiny; and this is usually inter- 
 preted, that every one, by his wise or unwise con- 
 duct, prepares good or evil for himself: but we 
 may also understand it, that whatever it be that 
 he receives from the hand of Providence, he may 
 so accommodate himself to it, that he will find 
 his lot good for him, however much may seem 
 to others to be wanting. 
 
 Wm. von Humboldt. 
 
 Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be 
 evil ; there is generous battle-hope in place 
 of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has be- 
 come a kind of good. 
 
 T- Carlylr 
 
May 12. 133 
 
 Fear none of those things which thou shall 
 suffer : , . . ye shall have tribulation ten days : be 
 thou faithful unto death, and J will give thee a 
 crown of life. — Rev. ii. 10. 
 
 Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid, 
 On Him who thee and all things made 
 
 Do thou all calmly rest ; 
 Whatever may come, where'er we go. 
 Our Father in the heavens must know 
 
 In all things what is best. 
 
 Paul Flemming. 
 
 /^^UIDE me, O Lord, in all the changes and 
 varieties of the world ; that in all things 
 that shall happen, I may have an evenness and 
 tranquillity of spirit ; that my soul may be wholly 
 resigned to Thy divinest will and pleasure, never 
 murmuring at Thy gentle chastisements and 
 fatherly correction. Amen. 
 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 Thou art never at any time nearer to God 
 than when under tribulation ; which He permits 
 for the purification and beautifying of thy soul. 
 
 M. M CLIN OS. 
 
 Prize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles ; 
 and let faith and patience have their perfect 
 work in them. 
 
 I. Penington 
 
134 May 13. 
 
 / pray not that Thoti skojildest take them out oj 
 the world, but that Thoit shoiildest keep them from 
 the evil. — John xvii. 15. 
 
 In busy mart and crowded street, 
 No less than in the still retreat, 
 Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless, 
 With all a Father's tenderness. 
 
 I. Williams. 
 
 /^NLY the individual conscience, and He 
 who is greater than the conscience, can 
 tell where vvorldliness prevails. Each heart 
 must answer for itself, and at its own risk. That 
 our souls are committed to our own keeping, at 
 our own peril, in a world so mixed as this, is the 
 last reason we should slumber over the charge, 
 or betray the trust. If only that outlet to the 
 Infinite is kept open, the inner bond with eter- 
 nal life preserved, while not one movement of 
 this world's business is interfered with, nor one 
 pulse-beat of its happiness repressed, with all 
 natural associations dear and cherished, with all 
 human sympathies fresh and warm, we shall yet 
 be near to the kingdom of heaven, within the or- 
 der of the Kosmos of God — in the world, but 
 not of the world — not taken out of it, but kept 
 from its evil. 
 
 [. H. Thom. 
 
May 14. 135 
 
 And ivhat doth the Lord 7'equire of thee, but to 
 do justly, and to love inei'cy, and to walk humbly 
 with thy God? — MiCAH vi. 8. 
 
 Pttt on therefore . . . kindness, humbleness of 
 mind^ meekness, long-stiffering. — CoL. iii 12. 
 
 Plant in us an humble mind, 
 Patient, pitiful, and kind ; 
 Meek and lowly let us be, 
 Full of goodness, full of Thee. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 T^HERE is no true and constant gentleness 
 without humility ; while we are so fond of 
 ourselves, we are easily offended with others. 
 Let us be persuaded that nothing is due to us, 
 and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often 
 think of our own infirmities, and we shall become 
 indulgent towards those of others. 
 
 FlfeNELON. 
 
 Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the 
 defects and infirmities of others, of what sort so- 
 ever they be ; for that thyself also hast matiy 
 failings which must be borne with by others. 
 If thou canst not make thyself such an one as 
 thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have 
 mother in all things to thy liking? 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. 
 
136 May 15. 
 
 My presence shall go with thee^ and I will give 
 thee rest. — Ex. xxxiii. 14. 
 
 Thou wilt show me the path of life : in Thy 
 presence is fulness of joy j at Thy right hand there 
 are pleasures for evermore. — Ps. xvi. 11. 
 
 Thy presence fills my mind with peace, 
 Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile, 
 
 Bids cares and sad forebodings cease, 
 Makes all things smile. 
 
 Charlotte Elliott. 
 
 TITOW shall we rest in God? By giving our- 
 selves wholly to Him. If you give your- 
 self by halves, you cannot find full rest ; there 
 will ever be a lurking disquiet in that half which 
 is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints have 
 tasted this rest, and " counted themselves happy 
 in that they endured." A countless host of 
 God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it 
 under the daily burden of a weary life, — dull, 
 commonplace, painful, or desolate. All that 
 God has been to them He is ready to be to you. 
 The heart once fairly given to God, with a clear 
 conscience, a fitting rule of Hfe, and a steadfast 
 purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful 
 sense of rest coming over you. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
May 16. 137 
 
 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and 
 i?i the power of His might. — Eph. vi. lo. 
 No man ca7i serve two masters. — Matt. vi. 24. 
 
 Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach 
 
 In many a fearful place, 
 Where the poor timid heir of God 
 
 Lies blindly on his face ; 
 Lies languishing for grace divine 
 
 That he shall never see 
 Till he go forward at Thy sign, 
 
 And trust himself to Thee, 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 "D ESERVATIONS lie latent in the mind con- 
 cerning some unhallowed sentiments or 
 habits in the present, some possibly impending 
 temptations in the future ; and thus do we cheat 
 ourselves of inward and outward joys together. 
 We give up many an indulgence for conscience' 
 sake, but stop short at that point of entire 
 faithfulness wherein conscience could reward us. 
 If we would but give ourselves wholly to God, 
 — give up, for the present and the future, every 
 act, and, above all, every thought and every 
 feeling, to be all purified to the uttermost, and 
 rendered the best, noblest, holiest we can con- 
 ceive, — then would sacrifice bear with it a 
 peace rendering itself, I truly believe, far easief 
 than before. 
 
 F. P. COBBE. 
 
138 May ir. 
 
 Wherefore comfort yourselves together^ and edify 
 one another^ even as also ye do. — i Thess. v. ii. 
 
 Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself — Matt. 
 XIX. 19. 
 
 So others shall 
 Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, 
 From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, 
 And God's grace fructify through thee to all. 
 The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, 
 And share its dewdrop with another near. 
 
 E. B. Browning. 
 
 VI7HAT is meant by our neighbor we cannot 
 doubt ; it is every one with whom we are 
 brought into contact. First of all, he is literally 
 our neighbor who is next to us in our own family 
 and household ; husband to wife, wife to hus- 
 band, parent to child, brother to sister, master 
 to servant, servant to master. Then it is he 
 who is close to us in our own neighborhood, in 
 our own town, in our own parish, in our own 
 street. With these all true charity begins. To 
 love and be kind to these is the very beginning 
 of all true rehgion. But, besides these, as our 
 Lord teaches, it is every one who is thrown 
 across our path by the changes and chances of 
 life ; he or she, whosoever it be, whom we have 
 any mxcans of helping, — the unfortunate stranger 
 whom we may meet in travelling, the deserted 
 friend whom no one else cares to look after. 
 
 A. P. Stanley 
 
Hay 18. 139 
 
 We know that we have passed from death icnto 
 life^ because we love the brethren. — i John iii. 14. 
 
 He that loveih not knoweth not Godj for God 
 is love. — I John iv. 8. 
 
 Mutual love the token be, 
 Lord, that we belong to Thee ; 
 Love, Thine image, love impart; 
 Stamp it on our face and heart j 
 Only love to us be given ; 
 Lord, we ask no other heaven. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 /^H, how many times we can most of us re- 
 ^^ member when we would gladly have made 
 any compromise with our consciences, would 
 gladly have made the most costly sacrifices to 
 God, if He would only have excused us from 
 this duty of loving, of which our nature seemed 
 utterly incapable. It is far easier to feel kindly, 
 to act kindly, toward those with whom we are 
 seldom brought into contact, whose tempers 
 and prejudices do not rub against ours, whose 
 interests do not clash with ours, than to keep up 
 an habitual, steady, self-sacrificing love towards 
 those whose weaknesses and faults are alwa3^s 
 forcing themselves upon us, and are stirring up 
 our own. A man may pass good muster as a 
 philanthropist who makes but a poor master to 
 his servants, or father to his children. 
 
 F. D. Maurice. 
 
I40 May 19. 
 
 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. — 
 Ps. xxxvii. 7. 
 
 Trust in Him at all times. — Ps. Ixii. 8. 
 
 Dost thou ask when comes His hour ? 
 
 Then, when it shall aid thee best. 
 Trust His faithfulness and power, 
 
 Trust in Him, and quiet rest. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 r HAD found [communion with God] to con- 
 sist, not only in the silencing of the outward 
 man, but in the silencing also of every thought, 
 and in the concentration of the soul and all its 
 powers into a simple, quiet watching and waiting 
 for the food which its heavenly Father might 
 see fit either to give or to withhold. In no case 
 could it be sent empty away : for, if comfort, 
 light, or joy were withheld, the act of humble 
 waiting at the gate of heavenly wisdom could 
 not but work patience in it, and thus render it, 
 by humility and obedience, more " meet to be a 
 partaker of the inheritance of the saints in hght," 
 
 and also more blessed in itself. 
 
 M. A. Kelty. 
 
 "Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for 
 Him." In Hebrew, " be silent to God, and let 
 Him mould thee." Keep still, and He will 
 mould thee to the right shape. 
 
 Martin Luther. 
 
May 20. 141 
 
 To be spiritually minded is life and peace* — 
 Rom. viii. 6. 
 
 Stilled now be every anxious care ; 
 See God's great goodness everywhere ; 
 Leave all to Him in perfect rest : 
 He will do all things for the best. 
 
 From the German. 
 
 VI7E should all endeavor and labor for a 
 
 calmer spirit, that we may the better 
 
 serve God in praying to Him and praising Him ; 
 
 and serve one another in love, that we may be 
 
 fitted to do and receive good; that we may 
 
 make our passage to heaven more easy and 
 
 cheerful, without drooping and hanging the wing. 
 
 So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good 
 
 ground, so much we live, and are, as it were, in 
 
 heaven. 
 
 R. Sibbes. 
 
 Possess yourself as much as you possibly can 
 in peace ; not by any effort, but by letting all 
 tilings fall to the ground which trouble or excite 
 you. This is no work, but is, as it were, a set- 
 ting down a fluid to settle that has become tur- 
 bid through agitation. 
 
 Madame Guyon, 
 
142 May 21. 
 
 The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by 
 Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day 
 long. — Deut. xxxiii. 12. 
 
 Whate'er events betide, 
 
 Thy will they all perform ; 
 Safe in Thy breast my head I hide, 
 
 Nor fear the coming storm. 
 
 H. F. Lyte. 
 
 T HAVE seemed to see a need of everything God 
 gives me, and want nothing that He denies 
 me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, 
 but either in it, or after it, I find that I could 
 not be without it. Whether it be taken from or 
 not given me, sooner or later God quiets me in 
 Himself without it. I cast all my concerns on 
 the Lord, and live securely on the care and wis- 
 dom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you 
 know, are, in a sense, hedged up with thorns, 
 and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I 
 distrust not my good God in the least, and live 
 more quietly in the absence of all by faith, than 
 I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed 
 
 them. 
 
 Anon, 1810, 
 
May 22. 143 
 
 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
 High shall abide under the shadow of the 
 Almighty. — Ps. xci. i. 
 
 They who on the Lord rely, 
 Safely dwell though danger 's nigh ; 
 Lo ! His sheltering wings are spread 
 O'er each faithful servant's head. 
 When they wake, or when they sieep, 
 Angel guards their vigils keep ; 
 Death and danger may be near, 
 Faith and love have nought to fear. 
 
 Harriet Auber. 
 
 ^"T^HERE shall no evil befall thee, neither 
 shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," 
 is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the 
 case of all " who dwell in the secret place of the 
 Most High." To them sorrows are not "evils,'' 
 sicknesses are not " plagues ; " the shadow of 
 the Almighty extending far around those who 
 abide under it, alters the character of all things 
 which come within its influence. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 It is faith's work to claim and challenge lov- 
 ing-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of 
 God. 
 
 S. Rutherford. 
 
44 "^^7 23. 
 
 Be content with such things as ye have. — Heb. 
 xiii. 5. 
 
 / have learned^ in whatsoever state I a?n, there-' 
 with to be content. — Phil. iv. 11. 
 
 No longer forward nor behind 
 
 I look in hope or fear ; 
 But, grateful, take the good I find, 
 
 The best of now and here. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 TF we wished to gain contentment, we might 
 try such rules as these : — 
 
 1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not 
 even of the weather. 
 
 2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any 
 circumstances in which thou art not. 
 
 3. Never compare thine own lot with that of 
 another. 
 
 4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish 
 that this or that had been, or were, otherwise 
 than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee bet- 
 ter and more wisely than thou dost thyself. 
 
 5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember 
 that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of 
 sorrow often is to look forward to it. " The Lord 
 will provide." 
 
 E. B. PUSEY, 
 
May 24. 145 
 
 N^ow no chastening for the present seemeth to be 
 joyous^ but grievous: nevertheless afterward it 
 yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
 ihetn which are exercised thereby. — Heb. xii. 11. 
 
 I CANNOT say, 
 Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, 
 
 I joy in these ; 
 
 But I can say 
 That I had rather walk this rugged way, 
 
 If Him it please. 
 
 S. G. Browning. 
 
 ''T^HE particular annoyance which befell you 
 this morning ; the vexatious words which 
 met your ear and " grieved " your spirit ; the 
 disappointment which was His appointment for 
 to-day ; the slight but hindering ailment ; the 
 presence of some one who is " a grief of mind '* 
 to you, — whatever this day seemeth not joyous, 
 but grievous, is linked in " the good pleasure of 
 His goodness '' with a corresponding afterward 
 of *' peaceable fruit," the very seed from which, 
 if you only do not choke it, this shall spring and 
 ripen. 
 
 F. R. Haver GAL 
 
 10 
 
14C) May 25. 
 
 O my Father^ if it be possible^ let this atp pass 
 from me ; nevertheless not as I will^ but as Thou 
 wilt. — Matt. xxvi. 39. 
 
 Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will, — 
 
 I will lie still. 
 
 1 will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, 
 
 And break the charm 
 Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast, 
 In perfect rest. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 "DESIGNATION to the will of God is the 
 whole of piety ; it includes in it all that is 
 good ; and is a source of the most settled quiet 
 and composure of mind. Our resignation to the 
 will of God may be said to be perfect, when our 
 will is lost and resolved up into His ; when we 
 rest in His will as our end, as being itself most 
 just, and right, and good. And where is the im- 
 possibility of such an affection to what is just 
 and right and good, such a loyalty of heart to 
 the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail 
 over all sinister indirect desires of our own ? 
 
 Joseph Butler. 
 
 There are no disappointments to those whose 
 
 wills are buried in the will of God. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, 
 child, in everything and everywhere ; without a 
 reserve, without a but, an if, or a limit. 
 
 Francis de Sales. 
 
May 26, 147 
 
 The Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye 
 murmur against Him, — Ex. xvi. 8. 
 
 Without murmur, uncomplaining, 
 
 In His hand, 
 Leave whatever things thou canst not 
 
 Understand. 
 
 K. R. Hagenbach 
 
 ^^NE great characteristic of holiness is never 
 to be exacting — never to complain. 
 Each complaint drags us down a degree, in our 
 upward course. If you would discern in whom 
 God's spirit dwells, watch that person, and notice 
 whether you ever hear him murmur. 
 
 Gold Dust. 
 
 When we wish things to be otherwise than 
 they are, we lose sight of the great practical parts 
 of the life of godliness. We wish, and wish — 
 when, if we have done all that lies on us, we 
 should fall quietly into the hands of God. Such 
 wishing cuts the very sinews of our privileges and 
 consolations. You are leaving me for a time ; 
 and you say that you wish you could leave me 
 better, or leave me with some assistance : but, if 
 it is right for you to go, it is right for me to meet 
 what lies on me, without a wish that I had less to 
 meet, or were better able to meet it. 
 
 R Cecil 
 
148 May 27. 
 
 He that is faithful in that which is least i^ 
 faithful also in much. — Luke xvi. 10. 
 
 The Lord preserve th the faithful. — Ps. xxxi. 23, 
 
 The trivial round, the common task, 
 Would furnish all we ought to ask; 
 Room to deny ourselves ; a road 
 To bring us, daily, nearer God. 
 
 J. Keble; 
 
 "PXACTNESS in little duties is a wonderful 
 source of cheerfulness. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 The unremitting retention of simple and high 
 sentiments in obscure duties is hardening the 
 character to that temper which will work with 
 honor, if need be, in the tumult or on the 
 scaffold. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 We are too fond of our own will. We want to 
 be doing what we fancy mighty things ; but the 
 great point is, to do small things, when called to 
 them, in a right spirit. 
 
 R. Cecil 
 
 It is not on great occasions only that we are 
 required to be faithful to the will of God ; occa- 
 sions constandy occur, and we should be sur- 
 prised to perceive how much our spiritual 
 advancement depends on small obediences. 
 
 Madame Swetciiine 
 
May 28. 149 
 
 Strengthened with all 7night, according to His 
 glorious power, unto all patience and long-sitffering 
 with joyficlness. — Col. i. ii. 
 
 God doth not need 
 Either man's works or His own gifts ; who best 
 Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best ; His state 
 Is kingly ; thousands at His bidding speed, 
 And post o'er land and ocean without rest; 
 They also serve who only stand and wait. 
 
 J. MlLTO!9. 
 
 TX/E cannot always be doing a great work, 
 but we can always be doing sometbing 
 that belongs to our condition. To be silent, to 
 suffer, to pray when we cannot act, is acceptable 
 to God. A disappointment, a contradiction, a 
 harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and 
 endured as in His presence, is worth more than 
 a long prayer ; and we do not lose time if we 
 bear its loss with gentleness and patience, pro- 
 vided the loss was inevitable, and was not caused 
 by our own fault. 
 
 F^NELON 
 
50 May 29. 
 
 Be not slothful, but followers of them who 
 through faith and patience inherit the promises. 
 — Heb. vi. 12 
 
 Where now with pain thou treadest, trod 
 The whitest of the saints of God ! 
 To show thee where their feet were set, 
 The light which led them shineth yet. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 T ET us learn from this communion of saints 
 "^ to live in hope. Those who are now at 
 rest were once like ourselves. They were once 
 weak, faulty, sinful ; they had their burdens and 
 hindrances, their slumbering and weariness, their 
 failures and their falls. But now they have over- 
 come. Their life was once homely and common- 
 place. Their day ran out as ours. Morning and 
 noon and night came and went to them as to us. 
 Their life, too, was as lonely and sad as yours. 
 Little fretful circumstances and frequent disturb- 
 ing changes wasted away their hours as yours. 
 There is nothing in your life that was not in 
 theirs ; there was nothing in theirs but may be 
 also in your own. They have overcome, each 
 one, and one by one ; each in his turn, when 
 the day came, and God called him to the trial. 
 And so shall you likewise. 
 
 II. E. Manning. 
 
May 30. 151 
 
 And thus this man died, leaving his death for 
 an example of a nobie courage, atid a tnemorial of 
 virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his 
 nation. — 2 Mac. vi. 31. 
 
 Zebulo7i and Naphtali were a people that jeop- 
 arded their lives unto the death in the high places 
 ofthejield. — Judges v. 18. 
 
 Though Love repine, and Reason chafe, 
 There came a voice without reply, — 
 
 'Tis man's perdition to be safe, 
 
 When for the truth he ought to die. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 OOME say that the age of chivalry is past. 
 The age of chivalry is never past, so long 
 as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth, or 
 a man or woman left to say, " I will redress that 
 wrong, or spend my life in the attempt." The 
 age of chivalry is never past, so long as we have 
 faith enough to say, " God will help me to re- 
 dress that wrong ; or, if not me. He will help 
 those that come after me, for His eternal Will is 
 to overcome evil with good." 
 
 C. Kings LEY. 
 
 Thus man is made equal to ever}^ event. He 
 can face danger for the right. A poor, tender, 
 painful body, he can run into flame or bullets 01 
 pestilence, with duty for his guide. 
 
 R. W. Emerson 
 
152 May 31. 
 
 Let all those that put their trust in Thee re- 
 joice : . . . let them also that lo7'e Thy name be joy- 
 ful in Thee. — Ps. v. 1 1 . 
 
 He maketh Die to lie down in green pastures. — 
 Ps. xxiii. 2. 
 
 I CAN hear these violets chorus 
 To the sky's benediction above ; 
 
 And we all are togeiher lying 
 On the bosom of Infinite Love. 
 
 Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature 1 
 Oh, the light that is not of day ! 
 
 Why seek it afar forever, 
 
 When it cannot be lifted away ? 
 
 W. C. Gannett. 
 
 TTTHAT inexpressible joy for me, to look up 
 ^^ through the apple-blossoms and the flut- 
 tering leaves, and to see God's love there ; to 
 listen to the thrush that has built his nest among 
 them, and to feel God's love, who cares for the 
 birds, in every note that swells his Httle throat ; 
 to look beyond to the bright blue depths of the 
 sky, and feel they are a canopy of blessing, — • 
 the roof of the house of my Father; that if 
 clouds pass over it, it is the unchangeable light 
 they veil ; that, even when the day itself passes, 
 I shall see that the night itself only unveils new 
 worlds of light; and to know that if I could un- 
 wrap fold after fold of God's universe, I should 
 only unfold more and more blessing, and see 
 deeper and deeper into the love which is at the 
 heart of all. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles 
 
June 1. 153 
 
 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will 1 
 seek after J that I may dwell in the house of the 
 Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty 
 pf the Lord^ and to enquire in His temple. — Ps- 
 xxvii. 4. 
 
 Thy beauty, O my Father! All is Thine; 
 
 But there is beauty in Thyself, from whence 
 The beauty Thou hast made doth ever flow 
 
 In streams of never-failing affluence. 
 
 Thou art the Temple ! and though I am lame, — 
 Lame from my birth, and shall be till I die, — 
 
 I enter through the Gate called Beautiful, 
 
 And am alone with Thee, O Thou Most High ! 
 
 J. W. Chadwick. 
 
 /^ONSIDER that all which appears beautiful 
 outwardly, is solely derived from the invisi- 
 ble Spirit which is the source of that external 
 beauty, and say joyfully, " Behold, these are 
 streamlets from the uncreated Fountain ; behold, 
 these are drops from the infinite Ocean of all 
 good ! Oh ! how does my inmost heart rejoice 
 at the thought of that eternal, infinite Beauty, 
 which is the source and origin of all created 
 beauty ! " 
 
 L. SCUPOLI 
 
154 June 2. 
 
 We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass 
 the glory of the Lord, are changed into the saine 
 image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord. — 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 
 Then every tempting form of sin, 
 Shamed in Thy presence, disappears, 
 
 And all the glowing, raptured soul 
 The likeness it contemplates wears. 
 
 P. Doddridge. 
 
 'T^HEN does a good man become the taber- 
 nacle of God, wherein die divine Shechinah 
 does rest, and which the divine glory fills, when 
 the frame of his mind and life is wholly accord- 
 ing to that idea and pattern which he receives 
 from the mount. We best glorify Him when 
 we grow most Hke to Him : and we then act 
 most for His glory, when a true spirit of sanctity, 
 justice, meekness, etc., runs through all our ac- 
 tions ; when we so live in the world as becomes 
 those that converse with the great Mind and 
 Wisdom of the whole world, with that Almighty 
 Spirit that made, supports, and governs all things, 
 with that Being from whence all good flows, and 
 in which there is no spot, stain, or shadow of 
 evil ; and so being captivated and overcome by 
 the sense of the Divine loveliness and goodness, 
 endeavor to be like Him, and conform ourselves, 
 as much as may be, to Hmi. 
 
 Dr. John Smith. 
 
June 3. 155 
 
 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and 
 shall trtist in Him.— Ps. Ixiv. 10. 
 
 Whoso trusteih in the Lord, hapPy is he. — 
 Prov. xvi. 20. 
 
 The heart that trusts forever sings, 
 And feels as light as it had wings, 
 A well of peace within it springs, — 
 
 Come good or ill, 
 Whate'er to-day, to-morrow brings, 
 
 It is His will. 
 
 I. Williams. 
 
 "U E will weave no longer a spotted life of 
 shreds and patches, but he will live with 
 a divine unity. He will cease from what is base 
 and frivolous in his life, and be content with all 
 places, and with any service he can render. He 
 will calmly front the morrow, in the negligency 
 of that trust which carries God with it, and so 
 hath already the whole future in the bottom of 
 the heart. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 He who believes in God is not careful for the 
 morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great 
 heart. " For He giveth His beloved, as in sleep." 
 They must work and watch, yet never be careful 
 or anxious, but commit all to Him, and live in 
 serene tranquillity ; with a quiet heart, as one 
 who sleeps safely and quietly. 
 
 Martin Luther 
 
15© June 4. 
 
 Therefore^ my beloved brethren^ be ye stedfast^ 
 xinmoveable^ always aboiindiuiJ in the work of the 
 Lord^forastnuch as ye know that you f labor is not 
 in vain in the Lord. — I CoR. xv. 58. 
 
 Say not, 'T was all in vain, 
 
 The anguish and the darkness and the strife ; 
 Love thrown upon the waters comes again 
 
 In quenchless yearnings for a nobler life. 
 
 Anna Shipton. 
 
 "IPVID you ever hear of a man who had striven 
 all his life faithfully and singly toward an 
 object and in no measure obtained it? If a man 
 constantly aspires, is he not elevated ? Did ever 
 a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, 
 and find that there was no advantage in them, — 
 that it was a vain endeavor ? 
 
 H. D. Thoreau. 
 
 Do right, and God's recompense to you will 
 be the power of doing more right. Give, and 
 God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving 
 more : a blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God 
 himself, whose Life is the blessedness of giving. 
 Love, and God will pay you with the capacity 
 of more love ; for love is Heaven — love is God 
 within you. 
 
 F. W, Robertson. 
 
June 5. 157 
 
 speak, Lord; for IJiy servant hearetk. — i Sam. 
 iii. 9. 
 
 Though heralded with nought of fear. 
 
 Or outward sign or show : 
 Though only to the inward ear 
 
 It whispers soft and 1o\y ; 
 Though dropping, as the manna fell, 
 
 Unseen, yet from above, 
 Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well, — 
 
 Thy Father's call of love. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 npHIS is one result of the attitude into which 
 we are put by humihty, by disinterested- 
 ness, by purity, by calmness, that we have the 
 opportunity, the disengagement, the silence in 
 which we may watch what is the will of God con- 
 cerning us. If we think no more of ourselves 
 than we ought to think, if we seek not our own 
 but others' welfare, if we are prepared to take all 
 things as God's dealings with us, then we may 
 have a chance of catching from time to time 
 what God has to tell us. In the Mussulman de- 
 votions one constant gesture is to put the hands 
 to the ears, as if to listen for the messages from 
 the other world. This is the attitude, the posture 
 which our minds assume, if we have a standing- 
 place above and beyond the stir and confusion 
 and dissipation of this mortal world. 
 
 A. P. Stanley 
 
158 June 6. 
 
 Him that overcometh will T make a pillar in the 
 temple of my God. — Rev. iii. 12. 
 
 In whom ye also are builded together for an habi- 
 tation of God through the Spirit. — Eph. ii, 22. 
 
 None the place ordained refuseth, 
 They are one, and they are all, 
 
 Living stones, the Builder chooseth 
 For the courses of his wall. 
 
 Jean Ingelow. 
 
 Q^ LOWLY, through all the universe, that temple 
 of God is being built. Wherever, in any 
 world, a soul, by free-willed obedience, catches 
 the fire of God's likeness, it is set into the grow- 
 ing walls, a living stone. When, in your hard 
 fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or in your terri- 
 ble temptation, you catch the purpose of your 
 being, and give yourself to God, and so give 
 Him the chance to give Himself to you, your life, 
 a hving stone, is taken up and set into that grow- 
 ing wall. . . . Wherever souls are being tried and 
 ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely 
 ways ; — there God is hewing out the pillars for 
 His temple. Oh, if the stone can only have some 
 vision of the temple of which it is to lie a part 
 forever, what patience must fill it as it feels the 
 blows of the hammer, and knows that success for 
 it is simply to let itself be wrought into what 
 shape the Master wills. 
 
 Phillips Brooks 
 
June 7. 159 
 
 Ve are all the children of light, and the children 
 of the day. — i Thess. v. 5. 
 
 Light is sow7ifor the righteous, and gladness for 
 the upright in heart. — Ps. xcvii. 1 1. 
 
 Serene will be our days and bright, 
 
 And happy will our nature be, 
 When love is an unerring light, 
 
 And joy its own security. 
 
 W. Wordsworth. 
 
 "VrOTHING can produce so great a serenity 
 of life, as a mind free from guilt, and kept 
 untainted, not only from actions, but purposes 
 that are wicked. By this means the soul will be 
 not only unpolluted, but not disturbed ; the foun- 
 tain will run clear and unsullied, and the streams 
 that flow from it will be just and honest deeds, 
 ecstasies of satisfaction, a brisk energy of spirit^ 
 which makes a man an enthusiast in his joy, and 
 a tenacious memory, sweeter than hope. For as 
 shrubs which are cut down with the morning 
 dew upon them do for a long time after retain 
 their fragrancy, so the good actions of a wise 
 man perfume his mind, and leave a rich scent 
 behind them. So that joy is, as it were, watered 
 with these essences, and owes its flourishing to 
 them. 
 
 Plutarch 
 
:5o June 8. 
 
 Who hath despised the day of S7nall things ? — 
 Zech. iv. lo. 
 
 Little things 
 On little wings 
 Bear little souls to heaven. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 AN occasional effort even of an ordinary holi- 
 ness may accomplish great acts of sacri- 
 fice, or bear severe pressure of unwonted trial, 
 specially if it be the subject of observation. But 
 constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and the 
 spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the hidden 
 habit of the life, give to it its true saintly beauty, 
 and this is the result of care and lowly love in 
 little things. Perfection is attained most readily 
 by this constancy of religious faithfulness in all 
 minor details of life, consecrating the daily efforts 
 of self-forgetting love. 
 
 T. T. Carter. 
 
 Love's secret is to be always doing things for 
 God, and not to mind because they are such 
 very little ones. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 There may be living and habitual conversa- 
 tion in heaven, under the aspect of the most 
 simple, ordinary life. Let us always remember 
 that holiness does not consist in doing uncommon 
 things, but in doing everything with purity of 
 heart. 
 
 n. E. Man.mng 
 
June 9. i6i 
 
 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty j 
 and he that riileth his spirit than he that taketJi a 
 city. — Prov. xvi. 32. 
 
 Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul. 
 
 Of wrath and pride and care ; 
 Send Thine own holy cahn upon the soul, 
 
 And bid it settle there ! 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T ET this truth be present to thee in the ex- 
 citement of anger, — that to be moved by 
 passion is not manly, but that mildness and gen- 
 tleness, as they are more agreeable to human 
 nature, so also are they more manly. . . . For in 
 the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer 
 to freedom from all passion, in the same degree 
 also is it nearer to strength. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus. 
 
 It is no great matter to associate with the 
 good and gentle, for this is naturally pleasing to 
 all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and 
 loveth those best that agree with him. But to 
 be able to live peaceably with hard and penerse 
 persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as 
 go contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most 
 commendable and manly thing. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. 
 
1 62 June 10. 
 
 Who is ajjiong you that feareth the Lord, that 
 obeyeth the voice of His servajit, that walketh in 
 aarkness, and hath no light ? let hi7n trust in the 
 name of the Lord, a?id stay icpon his God. — Is A. 
 1. lo. 
 
 The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness 
 — Ps. xviii. 28. 
 
 When we in darkness walk, 
 
 Nor feel the heavenly flame, 
 Then is the time to trust our God, 
 
 And rest upon His name. 
 
 A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 T_TE has an especial tenderness of love towards 
 thee for that thou art in the dark and hast 
 no light, and His heart is glad when thou dost 
 arise and say, " I will go to my Father." For He 
 sees thee through all the gloom through which 
 thou canst not see Him. Say to Him, " My 
 God, I am very dull and low and hard ; but 
 Thou art wise and high and tender, and Thou 
 art my God. I am Thy child. Forsake me net." 
 Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in 
 vjuietness until light goes up in the darkness. 
 Fold the arms of thy Faith, I say, but not of thy 
 Action : bethink thee of something that thou 
 oughtest to do, and go and do it, if it be but the 
 sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, 
 or a visit to a friend ; heed not thy feelings : do 
 thy work. 
 
 G. MacDonald 
 
June 11. 163 
 
 In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, 
 and stre7igthenedst me with strength in my soul. — 
 Ps. cxxxviii. 3. 
 
 It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou 
 Wilt be my strength ; it is not that I see 
 Less sin ; but more of pardoning love with Thee, 
 
 And all-sufificient grace. Enough ! And now 
 All fluttering thought is stilled ; I only rest, 
 And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 'VT'EA, though thou canst not believe, yet be 
 not dismayed thereat ; only do thou sink 
 into, or at least pant after the hidden measure of 
 life, which is not in that which distresseth, dis- 
 turbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts, fears, 
 troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and the 
 like ; no, no ! but in that which inclines to the 
 patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the wait- 
 ing, to the silence before the Father. 
 
 I. Penington. 
 
 We have only to be patient, to pray, and to 
 do His will, according to our present light and 
 strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. 
 The plant grows in the mist and under clouds as 
 truly as under sunshine. So does the heavenly 
 principle within. 
 
 W. E. Channing 
 
164 June 12. 
 
 Then answered he me^ and said ^ This is the cofi- 
 dition of the battle ivhich man that is born npo?i the 
 earth shall fight ; that, if he be overcome^ he shall 
 suffer as thou hast said : but if he get the victory, 
 he shall receive the thing that I say. — 2 EsDRAS 
 vii. IT, 58. 
 
 One holy Church, one army strong, 
 
 One steadfast high intent, 
 One working band, one harvest-song, 
 
 One King omnipotent. 
 
 S. Johnson, 
 
 TXT^E listened to a man whom we felt to be, 
 with all his heart and soul and strength, 
 striving against whatever was mean and unmanly 
 and unrighteous in our little world. It was not 
 the cold clear voice of one giving advice and 
 warning from serene heights to those who were 
 struggling and sinning below, but the warm living 
 voice of one who was fighting for us and by our 
 sides, and calling on us to help him and ourselves 
 and one another. And so, wearily and little by 
 little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was 
 brought home to the young boy, for the first time, 
 the meaning of his life ; that it was no fool's or 
 sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered 
 by chance, but a battle-field ordained from of 
 old, where there are no spectators, but the 
 youngest must take his side, and the stakes are 
 life and death. 
 
 Thomas Hughss 
 
June 13. 165 
 
 If we walk ill the light as He is in the light, 7ue 
 have felloiuship one with another. — i JOHX i. 7. 
 
 God is not tinrighteons to forget yojir work and 
 labor of love^ which ye have showed toward His 
 name, iti that ye hai'e ininistertd to tne saints^ and 
 do minister. — Heb. vi. 10. 
 
 Wherever in the world I am, 
 
 In whatsoe'er estate, 
 I have a fellowship with hearts, 
 
 To keep and cultivate, 
 And a work of lowlv love to do 
 
 For the Lord on whom I wait. 
 
 A. L, Waring. 
 
 TT/E do not always perceive that even the 
 writing of a note of congratulation, the 
 fabrication of something intended as an offering 
 of affection, our necessary intercourse with char- 
 acters which have no congeniality with our own, 
 or hours apparently trifled away in the domestic 
 circle, may be made by us the performance of a 
 most sacred and blessed work ; even the carry- 
 ing out, after our feeble measure, of the design of 
 God for the increase of happiness. 
 
 Anna, or Passages from Home Life. 
 
 Definite Avork is not always that which is cut 
 and squared for us, but that which comes as a 
 claim upon the conscience, whether it 's nursing 
 in a hospital, or hemming a handkerchief. 
 
 Elizabeth M. .Sewell 
 
1 66 June 14. 
 
 The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow^ 
 and from thy fear^ and from the hard bondage 
 wherein thou wast made to serve. — IsA. xiv. 3. 
 
 ^ Today, beneath Thy chastening eye, 
 I crave alone for peace and rest ; 
 Submissive in Thy hand to lie, 
 And feel that it is best. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 (~\ LORD, who art as the Shadow of a great 
 ^-^^ Rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy 
 weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, 
 weary of hope deferred, weary of self; in Thine 
 abundant compassion, and unutterable tenderness, 
 bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen. 
 
 Christina G. Rossetti. 
 
 Grant to me above all things that can be de- 
 sired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have my 
 heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of 
 the heart, Thou its only rest ; out of Thee all 
 things are hard and restless. In this very peace, 
 that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, 
 I will sleep and rest. Amen. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord ; and 
 our heart is restless until it rests in Thee. 
 
 St. Aur.usTiNE. 
 
June 15. 167 
 
 God is our refuge and sti'ength, a very present 
 help in trozible. Therefore will not we fear ^ ihoiigh 
 the earth be removed^ and though the mountains be 
 carried into the 7nidst of the sea. — Ps. xlvi. i, 2. 
 
 Though waves and storms go o'er my head, 
 
 Though strength and health and friends be gone. 
 
 Though joys be withered all, and dead, 
 Though every comfort be withdrawn. 
 
 On this my steadfast soul relies, — 
 Father ! Thy mercy never dies. 
 
 JOHANN A. ROTHE. 
 
 \/'OUR external circumstances may change, toil 
 may take the place of rest, sickness of 
 health, trials may thicken within and without. 
 Externally, you are the prey of such circum- 
 stances ; but if your heart is stayed on God, no 
 changes or chances can touch it, and all that 
 may befall you will but draw you closer to Him. 
 Whatever the present moment may bring, your 
 knowledge that it is His will, and that your 
 future heavenly life will be influenced by it, will 
 make all not only tolerable, but welcome to you, 
 while no vicissitudes can affect you greatly, know- 
 ing that He who holds you in His powerful hand 
 cannot change, but abideth forever. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
1 68 June 16. 
 
 N'oTV ititto Him that is able to do exceeding abun- 
 dantly above all that we ask or think, according to 
 the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory.^ 
 throughout all ages, world witho2it eiid. Amen. — 
 Epii. iii. 20, 21. 
 
 AVe would not meagre gifts down-call 
 When Thou dost yearn to yield us all ; 
 But for this life, this little hour, 
 Ask all Thy love and care and power. 
 
 J. Ingelow 
 
 G 
 
 OD so loveth us that He would make all 
 things channels to us and messengers ot 
 His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and 
 He will give thee His love. Still thyself, thy 
 own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and He 
 will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and 
 He will give thee Himself. Truly, a secret 
 hidden thing is the love of God, known only to 
 them who seek it, and to them also secret, for 
 what man can have of it here is how slight a 
 foretaste of that endless ocean of His love ! 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
June 17. 169 
 
 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. — 
 Matt. vi. 28. 
 
 They do not toil : 
 Content with their allotted task 
 They do but grow ; they do not ask 
 A richer lot, a higher sphere, 
 But in their loveliness appear, 
 And grow, and smile, and do their best, 
 And unto God they leave the rest. 
 
 Marianne Farningham. 
 
 TNTERPOSE no barrier to His mighty life- 
 giving power, working in you all the good 
 pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly 
 to His sweet control. Put your growing into 
 His hands as completely as you have put all your 
 other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He 
 will. Do not concern yourself about it, nor even 
 think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always. 
 Accept each moment's dispensation as it comes 
 to you from His dear hands, as being the needed 
 sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say 
 a continual " yes " to your Father's wtII. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
 Thine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry and 
 labor, disturb thy peace and prevent Me from 
 working in thee. Look at the little flowers, in 
 the serene summer days; they quietly open 
 their petals, and the sun shines into them wqth 
 his gentle influences. So will I do for thee, if 
 thou wilt yield th\ self to Me. 
 
 G. Tersteegen 
 
I/O June 18. 
 
 Wherefore^ if God so clothe the grass of the field, 
 which to-day is, and to-jnorrow is cast into the. 
 oven, shall He not mnch more clothe you^ O ye of 
 little fait k ?— Matt. vi. 30. 
 
 / trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. — 
 Ps. lii. 8. 
 
 Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past, 
 We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well a.. 
 
 last; 
 Calmly we look before us, — we fear no future ill, 
 Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us 
 
 still. 
 
 Jane Borthwick. 
 
 "^EITHER go back in fear and misgiving to 
 the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to 
 the future ; but He quiet under His hand, having 
 no will but His. 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
 I saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet 
 high, between the horses' path and the wheel- 
 track. An inch more to right or left had sealed 
 its fate, or an inch higher ; and yet it lived to 
 flourish as much as if it had a thousand acres of 
 untrodden space around it, and never knew the 
 danger it incurred. It did not borrow trouble, 
 nor invite an evil fate by apprehending it. 
 
 Fenrv D. Thoreai' 
 
June 19. 17 
 
 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: Hi> 
 shall preserve thy soul. — Ps. cxxi. 7. 
 
 Under Thy wings, my God, I rest, 
 
 Under Thy shadow safely lie ; 
 By Thy own strength in peace possessed, 
 
 While dreaded evils pass me by. 
 
 A. L. Waring, 
 
 A HEART rejoicing in God delights in all 
 His will, and is surely provided with the 
 most firm joy in all estates ; for if nothing can 
 come to pass beside or against His will, then 
 cannot that soul be vexed which delights in Him 
 and hath no will but His, but follows Him in all 
 times, in all estates ; not only when He shines 
 bright on them, but when they are clouded. 
 That flower which follows the sun doth so even 
 in dark and cloudy days : when it doth not shine 
 forth, yet it follows the hidden course and motion 
 of it. So the soul that moves after God keeps 
 that course when He hides His face ; is content, 
 yea, even glad at His will in all estates or condi- 
 tions or events. 
 
 R. Leighton. 
 
 Let God do with me what He will, anything 
 He will ; whatever it be, it will be either heaven 
 itself or some beginning of it. 
 
 Wm. Mountford 
 
1/2 June 20. 
 
 Be ?fierciful unto me, O God, be merciful un(o 
 me: for my soul trustetli in Thee: yea, in the 
 shadow of Thy wings will I make my rejuge, until 
 these calamities be overpast. — Ps. Ivii. i. 
 
 My God ! in whom are all the springs 
 Of boundless love and grace unknown, 
 
 Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings, 
 Till the dark cloud is overblown. 
 
 I. Watts 
 
 TN time of trouble go not out of yourself to 
 seek for aid ; for the whole benefit of trial 
 consists in silence, patience, rest, and resigna- 
 tion. In this condition divine strength is found 
 for the hard warfare, because God Himself 
 fights for the soul. 
 
 M. MOLINOS. 
 
 In vain will you let your mind run out after 
 help in times of trouble ; it is like putting to sea 
 in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your princi- 
 ples ; and, if you find none that furnish you with 
 somewhat of a stay and prop, and which point 
 you to quietness and silent submission, depend 
 upon it you have never yet learned Truth from 
 the Spirit of Truth, whatever notions thereof you 
 may have picked up from this and the other 
 description of it. 
 
 M. A Kei.ty. 
 
June 21. 173 
 
 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee. — 
 Ps. Ixxxi. 7. 
 
 Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, tior 
 be dismayed. — i Chrox. xxii. 13. 
 
 Thou canst calm the troubled mind, 
 
 Thou its dread canst still ; 
 Teach me to be all resigned 
 
 To my Father's will. 
 
 Heinrich Puchta. 
 
 ^T^ HOUGH this patient, meek resignation is to 
 be exercised with regard to all outward 
 things and occurrences of hfe, yet it chiefly re- 
 spects our own inward state, the troubles, per- 
 plexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our own 
 souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, 
 humble resignation to God, when your own im- 
 patience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack 
 yourself, is a higher and more beneficial per- 
 formance of this duty, than when you stand 
 turned to meekness and patience, when attacked 
 by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly passions of 
 other jDeopIe. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
1/4 
 
 June 22. 
 
 There hath no temptation taken you, but such as 
 is common to man : but God is faithful, who will 
 not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; 
 but will with the temptation also make a way to 
 escape, that ye may be able to bear it. — i CoR. x. 
 13, 14- 
 
 Not so, not so, no load of woe 
 Need bring despairing frown ; 
 
 For while we bear it, we can bear, 
 Past that, we lay it down. 
 
 Sarah Williams. 
 
 PVERYTHING which happens, either hap- 
 ■"^ pens in such wise that thou art formed by 
 nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by 
 nature to bear it. If then, it happens to thee in 
 such way that thou art formed by nature to bear 
 it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art 
 formed by nature to bear it. But, if it happens 
 in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do 
 not complain ; for it will perish after it has con- 
 sumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art 
 formed by nature to bear everything, with respect 
 to which it depends on thy own opinion to make 
 it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is 
 either thy interest or thy duty to do this. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus. 
 
June 23. 175 
 
 Why art ihou cast down, O my soul? and why 
 art thou disquieted within me ? hope thou in God ; 
 for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my 
 countenance, and my God. — Ps. xlii. 1 1. 
 
 ^ Ah ! why by passing clouds oppressed, 
 Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast ; 
 Turn thou to Him in every pain, 
 Whom never suppliant sought in vain ; 
 Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day, 
 Thy hope, when jov has passed away. 
 
 H. F. Lyte. 
 
 T3EWARE of letting your care degenerate into 
 ■■-^ anxiety and unrest ; tossed as you art 
 amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, 
 keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and say, " Oh, 
 my God, I look to Thee alone ; be Thou my 
 guide, my pilot ; " and then be comforted. 
 AVhen the shore is gained, who will heed the toi) 
 and the storm ? And we shall steer safely through 
 every storm, so long as our heart is right, our in- 
 tention fer\'ent, our courage steadfast, and our 
 trust fixed on God. If at times we are some- 
 what stunned by the tempest, never fear ; let us 
 take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be dis- 
 concerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness 
 which are sometimes produced by the multiplicity 
 of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest 
 child, all these are but opportunities of strength- 
 ening yourself in the loving, forbearing graces 
 which our dear Lord sets before us. 
 
 Francis de Sales. 
 
i^C June 24. 
 
 Ei'en so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy 
 sight. — Matt. xi. 26. 
 
 Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, 
 Or too regretful ; 
 Be still ; 
 What God hath ordered must be right, 
 Then find in it thine own delight, 
 My will. 
 
 P. P'lemming. 
 
 TF we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate 
 -*■ our lot less by what it is, than by what it is 
 not ; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind 
 to its possibilities ; and, comparing it only with 
 imaginary hves, shall indulge in flattering dreams 
 of what we should do, if we had but power ; and 
 give, if we had but wealth ; and be, if we had no 
 temptations. We shall be forever querulously 
 pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses 
 for our unloving temper and unfruitful life ; and 
 fancying ourselves injured beings, virtually frown- 
 ing at the dear Providence that loves us, and 
 chafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. 
 If we yield ourselves unto God, and sincerely 
 accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall 
 count up its contents, and disregard its omissions ; 
 and be it as feeble as a cripple's, and as narrow 
 as a child's, shall find in it resources of good 
 surpassing our best economy, and sacred claims 
 that may keep awake our highest will. 
 
 J. Marti NEAU 
 
June 25. 177 
 
 My times' are iii Thy hand. — Ps. xxxi. 15. 
 Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed. 
 ■ — Jer. li. 29. 
 
 I AM SO glad ! It is such rest to know 
 
 That Thou hast ordered and appointed all, 
 
 And wilt yet order and appoint my lot. 
 
 For though so much I cannot understand, 
 
 And would not choose, has been, and yet may be, 
 
 Thou choosest, Thou performest, Thou, my Lord. 
 
 This is enough for me. * 
 
 F. R. Haverg/\l. 
 
 " W/E mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose 
 our own lot ; we must wait to be guided. 
 We are led on, like the little children, by a way 
 that we know not. It is a vain thought to flee 
 from the work that God appoints us, for the sake 
 of finding a greater blessing to our own souls ; as 
 if we could choose for ourselves where we shall 
 find the fulness of the Divine Presence, instead 
 of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in 
 loving obedience." 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 Everywhere and at all times it is in thy 
 power piously to acquiesce in thy present con- 
 dition, and to behave justly to those who are 
 about thee. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus 
 12 
 
178 June 26. 
 
 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have 
 alight against any ; that your Father also which is 
 in heave7i may forgive you your trespasses. But 
 if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which 
 is in heaven, forgive your trespasses. — Mark xi. 
 25, 26. 
 
 'T IS not enough to weep my sins, 
 'T is but one step to heaven : — 
 
 When I am kind to others, — then 
 I k.iow mvself forgiven. 
 
 F. W. Faher. 
 
 "pVERY relation to mankind, of hate or scorn 
 "^ or neglect, is full of vexation and torment. 
 There is nothing to do with men but to love 
 them ; to contemplate their virtues with admira- 
 tion, their faults with pity and forbearance, and 
 their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the in- 
 genuity of your mind to devise some other thing, 
 but you never can find it. To hate your adver- 
 sary will not help you ; to kill him will not help 
 you ; nothing within the compass of the universe 
 can help you, but to love him. But let that love 
 flow out upon all around you, and what could 
 harm you ? How many a knot of mystery and 
 misunderstanding would be untied by one word 
 spoken in simple and confiding truth of heart ! 
 How many a solitary place would be made glad 
 if love were there ; and how many a dark dwell- 
 ing would be filled with light ! 
 
 Orville Dewky. 
 
June 27. 179 
 
 The kingdom of God is within yoti. — Luke 
 xvii. 21. 
 
 Oh, take this heart that I would give 
 
 Forever to be all Thine own ; 
 I to myself no more would live, — 
 
 Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone. 
 
 G. Tersteegen. 
 
 "UEREIN is the work assigned to the individ- 
 ■*- -*- ual soul, to have life in itself, to make our 
 sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of 
 God within ourselves, for a true and full reign of 
 our Fathers abounding spirit, — thankful, unut- 
 terably thankful, if with the place and the com- 
 panionship assigned to us we are permitted to 
 build an earthly tabernacle of grace and good- 
 ness and holy love, a home like a temple ; but, 
 should this be denied us, resolved for our own 
 souls that God shall reign there, for ourselves at 
 least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or 
 impious distrust, break with our own wills our 
 filial connection with our Father, — that whether 
 joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity 
 and foulness of circumstance, or in an atmos- 
 phere of peace, whether in dear fellowship or 
 alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God 
 may have in us a realm where His will is law, and 
 where obedience and submission spring, not from 
 calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from 
 communion of spirit, ever humble aspiration, 
 and ever loving trust. 
 
 J. H. Thom 
 
i8o June 28. 
 
 The Lord preserveth tJie simple. — Ps. cxvio 6. 
 
 Thy home is with the humble, Lord I 
 
 The simple are Thy rest ; 
 Thy lodging is in childlike hearts ; 
 
 Thou makest there Thy nest. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 'T^HIS deliverance of the soul from all useless 
 and selfish and unquiet cares, brings to it 
 an unspeakable peace and freedom \ this is 
 true simplicity. This state of entire resignation 
 and perpetual acquiescence produces true lib- 
 erty ; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. 
 The soul which knows no self-seeking, no inter- 
 ested ends, is thoroughly candid ; it goes straight 
 forward without hindrance ; its path opens daily 
 more and more to " perfect day," in proportion 
 as its self-renunciation and its self-forgetfulness 
 increase ; and its peace, amid whatever troubles 
 beset it, will be as boundless as the depths of the 
 sea. 
 
 Fenelon. 
 
June 29. iSi 
 
 Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast 
 himself as he that putteth itoff.— \ Kings xx. i r. 
 Put on the whole armor of God. — Eph. vi. 1 1 . 
 
 Was I not girded for the battle-field ? 
 Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword ? 
 Behold the fragments of my broken shield, 
 And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord ! 
 
 Anon. 
 
 /^H, be at least able to say in that day, — • 
 ^-^ Lord, I am no hero. I have been care- 
 less, cowardly, sometimes all but mutinous. 
 Punishment I have deserved, I deny it not. 
 But a traitor I have never been ; a deserter I 
 have never been. I have tried to fight on Thy 
 side in Thy battle against evil. I have tried to 
 do the duty which lay nearest me ; and to leave 
 whatever Thou didst commit to my charge a 
 little better than I found it. 1 have not been 
 good, but I have at least tried to be good. 
 Take the will for the deed, good Lord. Strike 
 not my unworthy name off the roll-call of the 
 noble and victorious army, which is the blessed 
 company of all faithful people ; and let me, too, 
 be found wTitten in the Book of Life ; even though 
 1 stand the lowest and last upon its list. Amen. 
 
 C. KlNGSLLY. 
 
82 June 30. 
 
 And the work of righteousness shall be pence j 
 and the effect of rightcoicsness, quietness and assur- 
 ance forever. — ■ IsA. xxxii. 17. 
 
 The heart that ministers for Thee 
 
 In Thy own work will rest ; 
 And the subject spirit of a child 
 
 Can serve Thy children best. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 TT matters not where or what we are, so we be 
 His servants. They are happy who have a 
 wide field and great strength to fulfil His mis- 
 sions of compassion ; and they, too, are blessed 
 who, in sheltered homes and narrow ways ot 
 duty, wait upon Him in lowly services of love. 
 Wise or simple, gifted or slender in knowledge, 
 in the world's gaze or in hidden ■ paths, high 
 or low, encompassed by affections and joys of 
 home, or lonely and content in God alone, what 
 matters, so that they bear the seal of the living 
 God? Blessed company, unknown to each 
 other, unknowing even themselves ! 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
July 1. 183 
 
 In the viornins^, then ye shall see the glory of the 
 Lord. — Ex. xvi. 7. 
 
 Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope. — RoM. 
 xii. II, 12. 
 
 Every day is a fresh beginning, 
 
 Every morn is the world made new. 
 
 You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, 
 
 Here is a beautiful hope for you -, 
 
 A hope for me and a hope for you. 
 
 Susan Cooi.idge. 
 
 "DE patient with every one, but above all with 
 yourself. I mean, do not be disturbed be- 
 cause of your imperfections, and always rise up 
 bravely from a fall. I am glad that you make a 
 daily new beginning ; there is no better means 
 of progress in the spiritual life than to be contin- 
 ually beginning afresh, and never to think that 
 we have done enough. 
 
 Francis de Sales. 
 
 Because perseverance is so difficult, even 
 when supported by the grace of God, thence is 
 the value of new beginnings. For new begin- 
 nings are the life of perse\^erance. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
1 84 Jnly 2. 
 
 Herein do I exercise inyself, to have always a 
 conscience void of offence toward God, and toward 
 men. — Acts xxiv. i6. 
 
 / will i?istruct thee and teach thee in the way 
 which thou shall go; I will guide thee with mine 
 eye. — Ps. xxxii. 8. 
 
 Oh, keep thy conscience sensitive ; 
 
 No inward token miss ; 
 And go where grace entices thee ; — 
 
 Perfection lies in this. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 TT/E need only obey. There is guidance for 
 each of us, and by lowly listening we 
 shall hear the right word. 
 
 R. \V. Emerson. 
 
 The heights of Christian perfection can only 
 be reached by faithfully each moment following 
 the Guide who is to lead you there, and He re- 
 veals your way to you one step at a time, in the 
 little things of your daily lives, asking only on 
 your part that you yield yourselves up to His 
 guidance. If then, in anything you feel doubt- 
 ful or troubled, be sure that it is the voice of 
 your Lord, and surrender it at once to His bid- 
 ding, rejoicing with a great joy that He has be- 
 gun thus to lead and guide you. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
July 3. 185 
 
 He shall redeem Israel fro7n all his iniquities. 
 — Ps. cxxx 8. 
 
 Be it according to Thy word ; 
 
 Redeem me from all sin ; 
 My heart would now receive Thee, Lord, 
 
 Come in, my Lord, come in ! 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 \17HEN you wake, or as soon as you are 
 dressed, offer up your whole self to God, 
 soul and body, thoughts and purposes and de- 
 sires, to be for that day what He wills. Think 
 of the occasions of the sin likely to befall you, 
 and go, as a child, to your Father which is in 
 heaven, and tell Him in childlike, simple words, 
 your trials — in some such simple words as 
 these — " Thou knowest, good Lord, that I am 
 tempted to — \^then name the temptations to it, 
 and the ways in which you sin, as well as you 
 know the77i\. But, good Lord, for love of Thee, 
 1 would this day keep wholly from all \iiamtng 
 the- sin'\ and be very \jiaming the opposite 
 grace\. I will not, by Thy grace, do one [N.] 
 act, or speak one [N.] word, or give one [N.] 
 look, or harbor one [N.] thought in my soul. If 
 Thou allow any of these temptations to come 
 upon me this day, I desire to think, speak, and 
 do only what Thou wiliest. Lord, without Thee 
 1 can do nothing; with Thee I can do all." 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
1 86 July 4. 
 
 Look at the generations of old, and see ; did ei'er 
 any trust in the Lord, and was confounded ? or 
 did any abide in His fear, and was forsaken ? or 
 whom did He ever despise, that called upon Him f 
 — ECCLUS. ii. TO. 
 
 Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies, and 
 Thy loving-kindnesses ; for they have been ever of 
 old. — Ps. XXV. 6. 
 
 My Father ! see 
 I trust the faithfulness displayed of old, 
 I trust the love that never can grow cold — 
 
 I trust in Thee. 
 
 Christian Intelligencer, 
 
 "DE not so much discouraged in the sight of 
 what is yet to be done, as comforted in 
 His good-will towards thee. 'T is true, He hath 
 chastened thee with rods and sore afflictions ; 
 but did He ever take away His loving-kindness 
 from thee? or did His faithfulness ever fail in 
 the sorest, blackest, thickest, darkest night that 
 ever befell thee ? 
 
 I. Penington. 
 
 We call Him the '*' God of our fathers ; " and 
 we feel that there is some stabiHty at centre, 
 while we can tell our cares to One listening at 
 our right hand, by whom theirs are remembered 
 and removed. 
 
 f. Martineau. 
 
July 5. 187 
 
 He slayeth His rough wind in the day of the 
 east wind. — IsA. xxvii. 8. 
 
 A bruised reed shall He not break. — IsA. xlii. 3. 
 
 All my life I still have found, 
 
 And I will forget it never ; 
 Every sorrow hath its bound, 
 
 And no cross endures forever. 
 All things else have but their day, 
 God's love only lasts for aye. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 T17E never have more than we can bear. 
 The present hour we are ahvays able to 
 endure. As our day, so is our strength. If the 
 trials of many years were gathered into one, they 
 would overwhelm us ; therefore, in pity to our 
 little strength, He sends first one, then another, 
 then removes both, and lays on a third, heav- 
 ier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely 
 measured to our strength that the bruised reed 
 is never broken. \\'e do not enough look at our 
 trials in this continuous and successive view. 
 Each one is sent to teach us something, and al- 
 together they have a lesson which is beyond the 
 power of any to teach alone. 
 
 H. E. MANNiNa 
 
1 88 July 6. 
 
 / the Lord ha7>e called thee in righteousness^ and 
 will hold thine hand, and will keep thee. — Is A. 
 xlii. 6. 
 
 O keep my sonl, and deliver me: for I pnt 
 my trust in Thee. — Ps. xxv. 20. 
 
 ' I DO not ask my cross to understand, 
 
 My way to see ; 
 Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand, 
 And follow Thee. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
 /^ LORD, if only my will may remain right 
 and lirm towards Thee, do with me what- 
 soever it shall please Thee. For it cannot be 
 anything but good, whatsoever Thou shalt do 
 with me. If it be Thy ^yill I should be in dark- 
 ness, be Thou blessed ; and, if it be Thy will I 
 should be in light, be Thou again blessed. If 
 Thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be Thou blessed ; 
 and, if Thou wilt have me afflicted, be Thou 
 equally blessed. O Lord ! for Thy sake I will 
 cheerfully suffer whatever shall come on me with 
 Thy permission. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 My soul could not inchne itself on the one 
 side or the other, since another will had taken 
 the place of its own ; but only nourished itselt 
 with the daily providences of God. 
 
 aIadame Guyon. 
 
July 7. 189 
 
 The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom 
 shall I fear f The Lord is the strength of my lifej 
 of 'who7n shall I be afraid? — Ps. xxvii. i. 
 
 Thou hidden Source of calm repose, 
 
 Thou all sufficient Love divine, 
 My Help and Refuge from my foes, 
 
 Secure I am while Thou art mine : 
 And lo ! from sin, and grief, and shame, 
 I hide me. Father, in Thy name. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 \^I7HATEVER troubles come on you, of 
 ' • mind, body, or estate, from within or 
 from without, from chance or from intent, from 
 friends or foes — whatever your trouble be, though 
 you be lonely, O children of a heavenly Father, 
 be not afraid ! 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 Whatsoever befalleth thee, receive it not 
 from the hand of any creature, but from Him 
 alone, and render back all to Him, seeking in all 
 things His pleasure and honor, the purifying and 
 subduing of thyself. What can harm thee, when 
 all must first touch God, within whom thou hast 
 enclosed thyself ? 
 
 R. Leighton. 
 
 How God rejoices over a soul, w^hich, sur- 
 rounded on all sides by suffering and misery, 
 does that upon earth which the angels do in 
 heaven; namely, loves, adores, and praises 
 God! 
 
 G. TERSTEEGEWr 
 
190 July 8. 
 
 Be ye kind one to another. — Eph. iv. 32. 
 
 C She doeth little kindnesses 
 
 Which most leave undone or despise ; 
 For nought which sets one heart at ease. 
 And giveth happiness or peace, 
 Is low-esteemed in her eyes. 
 
 J. R. Lowell- 
 
 "IIT'HAT was the secret of such a one's power? 
 What had she done ? Absohitely noth- 
 ing; but radiant smiles, beaming good-humor, 
 the tact of divining what every one felt and 
 every one wanted, told that she had got out of 
 self and learned to think of others ; so that at 
 one time it showed itself in deprecating the 
 quarrel, which lowering brows and raised tones 
 already showed to be im.pending, by sweet 
 words ; at another, by smoothing an invalid's pil- 
 low ; at another, by soothing a sobbing child ; at 
 another, by humoring and softening a father who 
 had returned weary and ill-tempered from the 
 irritating cares of business. None but she saw 
 those things. None but a loving heart could see 
 them. That was the secret of her heavenly 
 power. The one who will be found in trial ca- 
 pable of great acts of love, is ever the one who 
 is always doing considerate small ones. 
 
 F. W. Robertson 
 
July 9. 191 
 
 Love is of God ; a7id every one that loneth is 
 bom of God, and knoweth God. — I JOHX iv. 7. 
 
 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one an- 
 other, if any man have a quarrel {or " complaint^^^ 
 against any. — Col. i i i . 13. 
 
 Oh, might we all our Kneage prove, 
 Give and forgive, do good and love; 
 By soft endearments, in kind strife, 
 Lightening the load of daily life. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 TITE may, if we choose, make the worst of one 
 another. Every one has his weak points ; 
 every one has his faults ; we may make the worst 
 of these ; we may fix our attention constantly 
 upon these. But we may also make the best of 
 one another. We may forgive, even as we hope 
 to be forgiven. We may put ourselves in the 
 place of others, and ask what we should wish to 
 be done to us, and thought of us, were we in 
 their place. By loving whatever is lovable in 
 those around us, love will flow back from them 
 to us, and life will become a pleasure instead of 
 a pain ; and earth will become like heaven ; and 
 we shall become not unworthy followers of Him 
 whose name is Love. 
 
 A. P. Stanley 
 
92 July 10. 
 
 The Lord will perfect that which co7icertteth me : 
 Thy mercy, O Lord, endnreth forever j forsake fwt 
 the works of Thine own hands. — Ps. cxxxviii. 8. 
 
 As God leads me, will I go, — 
 
 Nor choose my way ; 
 Let Him choose the joy or woe 
 
 Of every day : 
 They cannot hurt my soul, 
 Because in His control : 
 I leave to Him the whole, — 
 
 His children may. 
 
 L. Gedicke. 
 
 VT^HY is it that we are so busy with the 
 future ? It is not our province ; and is 
 there not a criminal interference with Him to 
 whon 't belongs, in our feverish, anxious at- 
 tempts to dispose of it, and in filling it up with 
 shadows of good and evil shaped by our own 
 wild imaginations ? To do God's will as fast as it 
 is made known to us, to inquire hourly — I had 
 almost said each moment — what He requires of 
 us, and to leave ourselves, our friends, and every 
 interest at His control, with a cheerful trust that 
 the path which He marks out leads to our per- 
 fection and to Himself, — this is at once our 
 duty and happiness ; and why will we not walk 
 in the plain, simple way? 
 
 William E. Channinc 
 
July 11. 193 
 
 When He givcth quietness^ who then can make 
 trouble ? — Job xxxiv. 29. 
 
 None of these things move me. — Acts xx. 24. 
 
 I 'VE many a cross to take up now, 
 
 And many left behind ; 
 But present troubles move me not, 
 
 Nor shake my quiet mind. 
 And what may be to-morrow's cross 
 
 I never seek to find ; 
 My Father says, " Leave that to me, 
 
 And keep a quiet mind." 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T ET us then think only of the present, and 
 not even permit our minds to wander with 
 curiosity into the future. This future is not yei 
 ours ; perhaps it never will be. It is exposing 
 ourselves to temptation to wish to anticipate 
 God, and to prepare ourselves for things which 
 He may not destine for us. If such things 
 should come to pass, He will give us light and 
 strength according to the need. Why should we 
 desire to meet difficulties prematurely, when we 
 have neither strength nor light as yet provided for 
 them ? Let us give heed to the present, whose 
 duties are pressing ; it is fidelity to the present 
 which prepares us for fidelity in the future. 
 
 F^NELON. 
 
 Every hour comes with some little fagot 01 
 
 God's w^ill fastened upon its back. 
 
 F. W. Faber 
 
194 J"u.ly 12. 
 
 Be strong, and pf a good courage, fear not, nor be 
 afraid . . . for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth 
 go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake 
 thee. — Deut. xxxi. 6. 
 
 The timid it concerns to ask their way, 
 
 And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray. 
 
 To make no step until the event is known, 
 
 And ills to come as evils past bemoan. 
 
 Not so the wise ; no coward watch he keeps 
 
 To spy what danger on his pathway creeps ; 
 
 Go where he will, the wise man is at home, 
 
 His hearth the earth, — his hall the azure dome ; 
 
 Where his clear spirit leads him, there 's his road, 
 
 Ey God's own light illumined and foreshowed. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 T^HOUGH I sympathize, I do not share in 
 the least the feeling of being disheartened 
 and cast down. It is not things of this sort that 
 depress me, or ever will. The contrary things, 
 praise, openings, the feeling of the greatness of 
 my \vork, and my inability in relation to it, these 
 things oppress and cast me down ; but little hin- 
 drances, and closing up of accustomed or ex- 
 pected avenues, and the presence of difficulties 
 to be overcome, — I 'm not going to be cast 
 down by triors such as these. 
 
 James Hinton. 
 
July '13. 195 
 
 And the Lord shall guide thee continually^ and 
 iatisfy thy soul in drought. — Is A. Iviii. 11. 
 
 Wherever He may guide me, 
 
 No want shall turn me back ; 
 My Shepherd is beside me, 
 
 And nothing can I lack. 
 His wisdom ever waketh. 
 
 His sight is never dim, — 
 He knows the way He taketh, 
 
 And I will walk with Him. 
 
 A. L. Waring 
 
 A BANDON yourself to His care and guid- 
 ance, as a sheep in the care of a shepherd, 
 and trust Him utterly. No matter though you 
 may seem to yourself to be in the very midst of a 
 desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly 
 or outwardly, and may think you will have to 
 make a long journey before you can get into the 
 green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that 
 very place where you are into green pastures, for 
 He has power to make the desert rejoice and 
 blossom as a rose. 
 
 H. W. S 
 
196 July 14. 
 
 Be not conformed to this world j but be ye tratis- 
 forined by the renewing of your mind. — Rom. 
 xii. 2. 
 
 Fathfr, let our faithful mind 
 
 Rest, on Thee alone inclined ; 
 
 Every anxious thought repress, 
 
 Keep our souls in perfect peace. C. Wesley. 
 
 "D ETIREMENT from anxieties of every kind ; 
 •*-^ entering into no disputes ; avoiding all 
 frivolous talk : and simplifying everything we 
 engage in, whether in a way of doing or suffer- 
 ing ;. denying the imagination its false activities, 
 and the intellect its false searchings after what it 
 cannot obtain, — these seem to be some of the 
 steps that lead to obedience to the holy precept 
 in our text. James P. Greaves. 
 
 Retire inwardly ; wait to feel somewhat of 
 Gods Spirit, discovering and drawing away from 
 that which is contrary to His holy nature, and 
 leading into that which is acceptable to Him. 
 As the mind is joined to this, some true light 
 and life is received. I . Penington. 
 
 Act up faithfully to your convictions ; and 
 when you have been unfaithful, bear with your- 
 self, and resume always with calm simplicity 
 your little task. Suppress, as much as you pos- 
 sibly can, all recurrence to yourself, and you 
 will suppress much vanity. Accustom yourself to 
 much calmness and an indifference to events. 
 
 Madame Guyon. 
 
July 15. 197 
 
 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift 
 them up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King of 
 glory shall come in. — Ps. xxiv. 9. 
 
 Ye are the temple of the living God. — 2 COR. 
 vi. 16. 
 
 Fling wide the portals of your heart, 
 Make it a temple set apart 
 From earthly use for Heaven's employ, 
 Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy. 
 So shall your Sovereign enter in, 
 And new and nobler life begin. 
 
 Weiszel, 
 
 " I "HOU art to know that thy soul is the centre, 
 habitation, and kingdom of God. That, 
 therefore, to the end the sovereign King may 
 rest on that throne of thy soul, thou oughtest to 
 take pains to keep it clean, quiet, and peaceable, 
 — clean from guilt and defects ; quiet from 
 fears ; and peaceable in temptations and tribula- 
 tions. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine 
 heart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that 
 temple of God ; and with a right and pure inten- 
 tion thou art to work, pray, obey, and suffer 
 (without being in the least moved), whatever it 
 pleases the Lord to send unto thee. 
 
 M. MOLINOS 
 
98 July 16. 
 
 Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast 
 laid up for them that fear 'Thee j which Thou 
 hast wrought for them that trust in Thee. — Ps. 
 xxxi. 19. 
 
 / will sing unto the Lord^ because He hath dealt 
 bountifully with me. — Ps. xiii. 6, 
 
 Thy calmness bends serene above 
 
 My restlessness to still ; 
 Around me flows Thy qui^ening life, 
 
 To nerve my faltering will ; 
 Thy presence fills my solitude; 
 Thy providence turns all to good. 
 
 S. Longfellow. 
 
 Vl^ITH a heart devoted to God and full of 
 God, no longer seek Him in the heavens 
 above or the earth beneath, or in the things under 
 the earth, but recognize Him as the great fact 
 of the universe, separate from no place or part, 
 but revealed in all places and in all things and 
 events, moment by moment. And as eternity 
 alone will exhaust this momentary revelation, 
 which has sometimes been called the Eternal 
 Now, thou shalt thus find God ever present and 
 ever new ; and thy soul shall adore Him and feed 
 upon Him in the things and events which each 
 new moment brings ; and thou shalt never be 
 absent from Him, and He shall never be absent 
 from thee. 
 
 T. C. Upham. 
 
July 17. 199 
 
 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
 ti77ie are not worthy to he compared with the glory 
 which shall be revealed in us. — Rom. viii. 18. 
 
 The power of an endless life. — Heb. vii. 16. 
 
 Believ'st thou in eternal things ? 
 
 Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart, 
 Thou art not clay; thy soul hath wings, 
 
 And what thou seest is but part. 
 Make this thy med'cine for the smart 
 
 Of every day's distress ; be dumb, 
 In each new loss thou truly art 
 
 Tasting the power of things that come. 
 
 T. W. Parsons. 
 
 "PVERY contradiction of our will, every little 
 ailment, every petty disappointment, will, 
 if we take it patiently, become a blessing. So, 
 walking on earth, we may be in heaven ; the ill- 
 tempers of others, the slights and rudenesses of 
 the world, ill-health, the daily accidents with 
 which God has mercifully strewed our paths, in- 
 stead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, may 
 cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts 
 abundantly. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
200 July 18. 
 
 A new coinviand77ient I give ttnio yoii^ That ye 
 lo:>e one another ; as [have loved yoic, that ye also 
 love one another. — John xiii. 34. 
 
 And the Lord 7nake yon to increase and abound 
 in love, one toward another., and toward all men. 
 — I Thess. iii. 12. 
 
 Let love through all my conduct shine, 
 An image fair, though faint, of Thine ; 
 Thus let me his disciple prove, 
 Who came to manifest Thy love. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 VX T'E should arrive at a fulness of love extend- 
 ing to the whole creation, a desire to im- 
 part, to pour out in full and copious streams the 
 love and goodness we bear to all around us. 
 
 J. P. Greaves. 
 
 Goodness and love mould the form into their 
 own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love 
 to shine forth from every part of the face. When 
 this form of love is seen, it appears ineffably 
 beautiful, and affects with dehght the inmost hfe 
 of the soul. 
 
 SWEDENBORG, 
 
 The soul within had so often lighted up her 
 countenance with its own full happiness and joy, 
 that something of a permanent radiance remained 
 upon it. 
 
 Anna, or Passages from Home Life 
 
Jul/ 19. 20 1 
 
 The Lord is good to all j and His tender inercies 
 are over all His ivorks. — Ps. cxlv. 9. 
 
 For evejy beast of the forest is Mitie^ a?id the 
 cattle upon a thousand hills. — Ps. I. 10. 
 
 Maker of earth and sea and sky, 
 Creation's sovereign Lord and King, 
 
 Who hung the starry worlds on high, 
 And formed alike the sparrow's wing ; 
 
 Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care, 
 
 And listen to their voiceless prayer. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T BELIEVE where the love of God is verily 
 perfected, and the true spirit of government 
 watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards all 
 creatures made subject to us will be experienced ; 
 and a care felt in us, that we do not lessen that 
 sweetness of life in the animal creation, which 
 the great Creator intends for them under our 
 government. . . . To say we love God as un- 
 seen, and at the same time exercise cruelty 
 toward the least creature moving by His life, or 
 by hfe derived from Him, was a contradiction in 
 
 itself. 
 
 John Woolman. 
 
 I WOULD give nothing for that man's religion 
 whose very dog and cat are not the better for it. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
02 July 20. 
 
 Then f said, I have labored in vain, I havt 
 spent my strength for nought, and in vain. — Is A. 
 xlix. 4. 
 
 Because I spent the strength Thou gav^est me 
 In struggle which Thou never didst ordain, 
 And have but dregs of life to offer Thee — 
 O Lord, I do repent. 
 
 Sarah Williams. 
 
 M 
 
 IND, it is our best work that He wants, not 
 the dregs of our exhaustion. I thuik He 
 must prefer quahty to quantity. 
 
 George MacDonald. 
 
 If the people about you are carrying on their 
 business or their benevolence at a pace which 
 drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower 
 pace ; be called a laggard, make less money, ac- 
 complish less work than they, but be what you 
 were meant to be and can be. You have your 
 natural hmit of power as much as an engine. — 
 ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You 
 are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need 
 a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain 
 kind of handling. Georcu- S. Mekriam. 
 
 In your occupations, try to possess your soul 
 in peace. It is not a good plan to be in haste 
 to perform any action that it may be the sooner 
 over. On the contrary, you should accustom 
 yourself to do whatever you have to do with tran- 
 quillity, in order that you may retain the posses- 
 sion of yourself and of settled peace. 
 
 Madamk GrvoN 
 
July 21. 203 
 
 For which cause ive faint not ; but^ tho7is[h our 
 outward man perish, yet the inward man is 1 e~ 
 newcd day by day. — 2 CoR. iv. 16. 
 
 Let my soul beneath her load 
 
 Faint not through the o'erwearied flesh ; 
 
 Let me hourly drink afresh 
 
 Love and peace from Thee, my God ! 
 
 RiCHTER. 
 
 TN my attempts to promote the comfort of my 
 family, the quiet of my spirit has been dis- 
 turbed. Some of this is doubtless owing to 
 physical weakness ; but, with every temptation, 
 there is a way of escape ; there is never any need 
 to sin. Another thing I have suffered loss from, 
 
 — entering into the business of the day without 
 seeking to have my spirit quieted and directed. 
 So many things press upon me, this is sometimes 
 neglected ; shame to me that it should be so. 
 
 This is of great importance, to watch carefully, 
 
 — now I am so weak — not to over-fatigue my- 
 self, because then I cannot contribute to the 
 pleasure of others ; and a placid face and a gen- 
 tle tone will make my family more happy than 
 anything else I can do for them. Our own will 
 gets sadly into the performance of our duties 
 sometimes. 
 
 Elizabeth T. King, 1856 
 
204 July 22. 
 
 Whoso is ivise^ and will observe these tilings^ 
 even they shall understand the loving-kindness of 
 
 the Lord. — Ps. cvii. 43. 
 
 What channel needs our faith, except the eyes ? 
 
 God leaves no spot of earth unglorified; 
 Profuse and wasteful, lovelinesses rise ; 
 
 New beauties dawn before the old have died. 
 
 Trust thou thy joys in keeping of the Power 
 Who holds these changing shadows in His hand; 
 
 Believe and live, and know that hour by hour 
 Will ripple newer beauty to thy strand. 
 
 T. W. HiGGINSON. 
 
 T WONDERED over again for the hundredth 
 time what could be the principle which, in 
 the wildest, most lawless, fantastically chaotic, 
 apparently capricious work of nature, always kept 
 it beautiful. The beauty of holiness must be at 
 the heart of it somehow, I thought. Because 
 our God is so free from stain, so loving, so un- 
 selfish, so good, so altogether what He wants us 
 to be, so holy, therefore all His works declare 
 Him in beauty; His fingers can touch nothing 
 but to mould it into loveliness ; and even the 
 play of His elements is in grace and tenderness 
 of form. 
 
 G. MacDonald. 
 
July 23. 205 
 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart, and ivilh all thy soul, and with all thy 
 strength, and with all thy mind. — Luke x. 27. 
 
 O God, what offering shall I give 
 To Thee, the Lord of earth and skies ? 
 
 My spirit, soul, and flesh receive, 
 A holy, living sacrifice. 
 
 J. Lange. 
 
 irO love God "with all our heart," is to 
 -■- know the spiritual passion of measureless 
 gratitude for loving-kindness, and self-devoted 
 ness to goodness ; to love Him " with all our 
 mind," is to know the passion for Truth that is 
 the enthusiasm of Science, tiie passion for Beauty 
 that inspires the poet and the artist, when all 
 truth and beauty are regarded as the self-reveal- 
 ings of God ; to love Him " with all our soul," is 
 to know the saint's rapture of devotion and gaze 
 of penitential awe into the ^ce of the All-holy, 
 the saint's abhorrence of sin, and agony of desire 
 to save a sinner's soul ; and to love Him " with 
 all our strength," is the supreme spiritual passion 
 that tests the rest ; the passion for reality, for 
 worship in spirit and in truth, for being what we 
 adore, for doing what we know to be God's 
 word ; the loyalty that exacts the living sacrifice, 
 the whole burnt-offering that is our reasonable 
 service, and in our coldest hours keeps stead- 
 fast to what seemed good when we were aglow. 
 
 J. H. Thosl 
 
2o6 July 24. 
 
 IVa/k ivorihy of God, ivJio hath called you unto 
 His kingdom and glory, — i Thess. ii. 12. 
 
 Surely the Lord is 7n this place; and I knew it 
 not. — Gen. xxviii. 16. 
 
 Thou earnest not to thy place by accident, 
 
 It is the very place God meant for thee ; 
 
 And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, 
 
 Do not for this give room to discontent. 
 
 R. C. Trench. 
 
 A CCEPT the place the divine providence has 
 found for you, the society of your contem- 
 poraries, the connection of events. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 Adapt thyself to the things with which thy lot 
 has been cast ; and love the men with whom it 
 is thy portion to live, and that with a sincere af- 
 fection. . . . No longer be either dissatisfied with 
 thy present lot, or shrink from the future. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus. 
 
 I LOVE best to have each thing in its season, 
 doing without it at all other times. I have never 
 got over my surprise that I should have been 
 born into the most estimable place in all the 
 world, and in the very nick of time too. 
 
 H. D. Thoreau. 
 
July 25. 207 
 
 He knoweth the way that / take. — Job xxiii. 10. 
 Mans goings are of the Lord; ho-iV can a man 
 then understand his own way ? — Prov. xx. 24= 
 
 Be quiet, why this anxious heed 
 About thy tangled ways ? 
 God knows them all, He giveth speed. 
 And He allows delays, 
 
 E. W. 
 
 V\7E complain of the slow, dull life we are 
 forced to lead, of our humble sphere of 
 action, of our low position in the scale of society, 
 of our having no room to make ourselves known, 
 of our wasted energies, of our years of patience. 
 So do we say that we have no Father who is di- 
 recting our life ; so do we say that God has for- 
 gotten us ; so do we boldly judge what life is 
 best for us ; and so by our complaining do we 
 lose the use and profit of the quiet years. O 
 men of little faith ! Because you are not sent 
 out yet into your labor, do you think God has 
 ceased to remember you? Because you are 
 forced to be outwardly inactive, do you think 
 you, also, may not be, in your years of quiet, 
 " about your Father's business " ? . . . It is a pe- 
 riod given to us in which to mature ourselves for 
 the work which God will give us to do. 
 
 Stopford a. Brookk. 
 
2o8 July 26. 
 
 They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount 
 Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 
 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem^ so 
 the Lord is round about His peopie from henceforth 
 even for ever. — Ps. cxxv. i, 2. 
 
 How on a rock they stand, 
 Who watch His eye, and hold His guiding hand ! 
 Not half so fixed amid her vassal hills, 
 Rises the holy pile that Kedron's valley fills. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 r 
 
 T^HAT is the way to be immovable in the 
 midst of troubles, as a rock amidst the 
 waves. When God is in the midst of a kingdom 
 or city, He makes it firm as Mount Sion, that 
 cannot be removed. When He is in the midst 
 ol a soul, though calamities throng about it on 
 all hands, and roar like the billows of the sea, 
 yet there is a constant calm within, such a peace 
 as the world can neither give nor take away. 
 What is it but want of lodging God in the soul, 
 and that in His stead the world is in men's 
 hearts, that makes them shake like leaves at 
 every blast of danger ? 
 
 R. Leighton 
 
July 27. 209 
 
 He that received seed into the good groiind is 
 he that heareth the word, and undti'standeth it j 
 ivhich also beareth fncit, and bringeth forth, some 
 an hundredfola, some sixty ^ some thirty. — Matt. 
 xiii. 23. 
 
 Then bless thy secret growth, nor catch 
 At noise, but thrive unseen and dumb ; 
 
 Keep clean, bear fruit, earn life, and uatch 
 Till the white-winged reapers c -me. 
 
 H. Vaughan. 
 
 TLTE does not need to transplant us into a dif- 
 ferent field, but right where we are, with 
 just the circumstances that surround us. He 
 makes His sun to shine and His dew to fall upon 
 us, and transforms the very things that were be- 
 fore our greatest hindrances, into the chiefest and 
 most blessed means of our growth. ... No diffi- 
 culties in your case can baffle Him. No dwarf- 
 ing of your growth in years that are past, no 
 apparent dryness of your inward springs of life, 
 no crookedness or deformity in any of your past 
 development, can in the least mar the perfect 
 work that He will accomplish, if you will only 
 put yourselves absolutely into His hands, and let 
 Him have His own way with you. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
2IO July 28. 
 
 But [ would not have you to be ignorant^ breth- 
 ren^ concenii/ig them which are asleep, that ye sor- 
 row not, even as others which have no hope. — i 
 Thess. iv. 13. 
 
 Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust 
 (Since He who knows our need is just), 
 
 That somehow, somewhere, meet we must. 
 Alas for him who never sees 
 The stars shine through his cypress trees; 
 
 Who hath not learned in hours of faith, 
 The truth to flesh and sense unknown, 
 
 That life is ever Lord of Death, 
 And Love can never lose its own. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 TITHILE we poor wayfarers still toil, with hot 
 ^ ^ and bleeding feet, along the highway and 
 the dust of life, our companions have but 
 mounted the divergent path, to explore the 
 more sacred streams, and visit the diviner vales, 
 and wander amid the everlasting Alps, of God's 
 upper province of creation. And so we keep up 
 the courage of our hearts, and refresh ourselves 
 with the memories of love, and travel forward in 
 the ways of duty, with less weary step, feeling 
 ever for the hand of God, and listening for the 
 domestic voices of the immortals whose happy 
 welcome waits us. Death, in short, under the 
 Chri.stian aspect, is but God's method of coloni- 
 zation ; the transition from this mother-country 
 of our race to the fairer and newer world of our 
 emigration. 
 
 J. Martineau. 
 
July 29. 211 
 
 But this I say, brethren, the time is short. — i 
 Cor. vii. 29. 
 
 I SOMETIMES feel the thread of life is slender, 
 And soon with me the labor will be wrought ; 
 Then grows my heart to other hearts more tender. 
 The time is short. 
 
 D. M. Craik. 
 
 /^H, my dear friends, you who are letting mis- 
 ^""^ erable misunderstandings run on from 
 year to year, meaning to clear them up some 
 day ; you who are keeping wretched quarrels 
 alive because you cannot quite make up your 
 mind that now is the day to sacrifice your pride 
 and kill them ; you who are passing men sullenly 
 upon the street, not speaking to them out of 
 some silly spite, and yet knowing that it would 
 fill you with shame and remorse if you heard that 
 one of those men were dead to-morrow morning ; 
 you who are letting your neighbor starve, till you 
 hear that he is dying of stan'^ation ; or letting 
 your friend's heart ache for a word of apprecia- 
 tion or sympathy, wiiich you mean to give him 
 some day, — if you only could know and see and 
 feel, all of a sudden, that " the time is short," 
 how it would break the spell ! How you would 
 go instantly and do the thing which you might 
 never have another chance to do. 
 
 Phillips Brooks 
 
212 July 30. 
 
 Remember not the sins of my youth^ 7ior my trans- 
 gressions ; accordin;^ to Thy ifiercy remember 1 hou 
 fhe, for Thy goodness^ sake, O Lord. — Ps. xxv. 7. 
 
 When on my aching, burdened heart 
 
 My sins lie heavily, 
 My pardon speak, new peace impart, 
 
 In love remember me. 
 
 T. Haweis 
 
 "1^7 E need to know that our sins are forgiven. 
 And how shall we know this? By feel- 
 ing that we have peace with God, — by feeling 
 that we are able so to trust in the divine compas- 
 sion and infinite tenderness of our Father, as to 
 arise and go to Him, whenever we commit sin, 
 and say at once to Him, " Father, I have sinned ; 
 forgive me." To know that we are forgiven, it 
 is only necessary to look at our Father's love till 
 it sinks into, our heart, to open our soul to Him 
 till He shall pour His love into it ; to wait on 
 Him till we find peace, till our conscience no 
 longer torments us, till the weight of responsibil- 
 ity ceases to be an oppressive burden to us, till 
 we can feel that our sins, great as they are, can- 
 not keep us away from our Heavenly Father. 
 
 J. F. Clarke, 
 
July 31. 213 
 
 / have blotted out^ as a thick cloudy thy tmns- 
 gressions^ ajid, as a cloud, thy sins : return unto Me, 
 for I have ledeenied ihee. — IsA. xliv. 22. 
 
 He ufill turn agaifi. He will have compassion 
 upon us; He will subdue our iniquities j and 
 "J hou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the 
 sea. — MiCAH vii. 19. 
 
 If my shut eyes should dare their lids to part, 
 I know how they must quail beneath the blaze 
 Of Thy Love's greatness. No ; I dare not raise 
 One prayer, to look aloft, lest it should gaze 
 On such forgiveness as would break my heart. 
 
 H. S. Sutton. 
 
 r~\ LORD God gracious and merciful, give us, 
 ^^ I entreat Thee, a humble trust in Thy 
 mercy, and suffer not our heart to fail us. 
 Though our sins be seven, though our sins be 
 seventy times seven, though our sins be more in 
 number than the hairs of our head, yet give us 
 grace in loving penitence to cast ourselves down 
 into the depth of Thy compassion. Let us fall 
 into the hand of the Lord. Amen. 
 
 C. G. ROSSETTI 
 
214 August 1. 
 
 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be an^ry ; for anger 
 resteth in the bosom off.ols. — Eccles. vii. 9. 
 
 Let not the sicn go down upon your wrath. — 
 Eph. iv. 26. 
 
 QuF.NCH thou the fires of hate and strife, 
 
 The wasting fever of the heart; 
 From perils guard our feeble life, 
 
 And to our souls Thv peace impart. 
 
 J. H. Newman, Tr.from Latin. 
 
 TT7HEN thou art offended or annoyed by 
 others, suffer not thy thoughts to dwell 
 thereon, or on anything relating to them. For 
 example, " that they ought not so to have treated 
 thee ; who they are, or whom they think them- 
 selves to be ;" or the like ; for all this is fuel and 
 kindling of wrath, anger, and hatred. 
 
 L. SCUPOLI. 
 
 Struggle diligently against your impatience, 
 and strive to be amiable and gentle, in season 
 and out of season, towards every one, however 
 much they may vex and annoy you, and be sure 
 God will bless your efforts. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
August 2. 215 
 
 Behold, God is my sahiation ; I will trusty and 
 not be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
 and my song j He also is become my salvation. — • 
 ISA. xii. 2. 
 
 Why are ye so fearful ? How is it that ye have 
 no faith? — Mark iv. 40. 
 
 Stii.l heav)' is thy heart ? 
 
 Still sink thy spirits down? 
 Cast off the weight, let fear depart, 
 
 And every care be gone. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 /^O on in all simplicity ; do not be so anxious 
 to win a quiet mind, and it will be all the 
 quieter. Do not examine so closely into the 
 progress of your soul. Do not crave so much to 
 be perfect, but let your spiritual life be formed 
 by your duties, and by the actions which are 
 called forth by circumstances. Do not take over- 
 much thought for to-morrow. God, who has 
 led you safely on so far, will lead you on to the 
 end. Be altogether at rest in the loving holy 
 confidence which you ought to have in His 
 heavenly Providence. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
2i6 August 3. 
 
 T/wu hast made him exceeding glad with Thy 
 (02intenance. — Ps. xxi. 6. 
 
 My heart for gladness springs, 
 
 It cannot more be sad, 
 For very joy it laughs and sings. 
 
 Sees nought but sunshine glad. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 ANEW day rose upon me. It was as if 
 another sun had risen into the sky ; the 
 heavens were indescribably brighter, and the 
 earth fairer; and that day has gone on brighten- 
 ing to the present hour. I have known the 
 other joys of hfe, I suppose, as much as most 
 men ; I have known art and beauty, music and 
 gladness ; I have known friendship and love and 
 family ties ; but it is certain that till we see God 
 in the world — God in the bright and boundless 
 universe — we never know the highest joy. It 
 is far more than if one were translated to a world 
 a thousand times fairer than this ; for that 
 supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and 
 Wisdom, shining over this world and all worlds, 
 alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how 
 fair and glorious they are. Orville Dewey. 
 
 When I look like this into the blue sky, it 
 seems so deep, so peaceful, so full of a mys- 
 terious tenderness, that I could lie for centuries 
 and wait for the dawning of the face of God out 
 of the awful loving-kindness. 
 
 G. MacDonald. 
 
August 4. 217 
 
 He satisjieth the longing soul^ andfilleth the hun- 
 gry soul with goodness. — Ps. cvii. 9. 
 
 That ye might be filled with all the fulness of 
 God. — Eph. iii. 19. 
 
 Enough that He who made can fill the soul 
 Here and hereafter till its deeps o'erflow ; 
 
 Enough that love and tenderness control 
 Our fate where'er in joy or doubt we go. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 r\ GOD, the Life of the Faithful, the BHss of 
 ^■^^ the righteous, mercifully receive the prayers 
 of Thy suppliants, that the souls which thirst for 
 Thy promises may evermore be filled from Thy 
 abundance. Amen. 
 
 Gelasian, a.d. 490. 
 
 God rr.akes every common thing serve, if thou 
 wilt, to enlarge that capacity of bliss in His love. 
 Not a prayer, not an act of faithfulness in your 
 calling, not a self-denying or kind word or deed, 
 done out of love for Himself; not a weariness 
 or painfulness endured patiently; not a duty 
 performed ; not a temptation resisted ; but it 
 enlarges the whole soul for the endless capacity 
 of the love of God. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 
2 . 8 August 5. 
 
 O receive the gift that is gtjcn you, and be glad, 
 giving thanks nnto Him that hath called you to the 
 heavenly kingdom. — 2 Esdras li. 37. 
 
 Thanks be nnto God for His unspeakable gift. — 
 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 O Giver of each perfect gift ! 
 This day our daily bread supply ; 
 While from the Spirit's tranquil depths 
 We drink unfailing draughts of joy. 
 
 Lyra Catholica- 
 
 'T^HE best way for a man rightly to enjoy him- 
 self, is to maintain a universal, ready, and 
 cheerful compliance with the divine and uncreated 
 Will in all things ; as knowing that nothing can 
 issue and flow forth from the fountain of good- 
 ness but that which is good ; and therefore a 
 good man is never offended with any piece of 
 divine dispensation, nor hath he any reluctancy 
 against that Will that dictates and determines all 
 things by an eternal rule of goodness ; as know- 
 mg that there is an unbounded and almighty 
 Love, that without any disdain or envy, freely 
 communicates itself to everything He made ; 
 that always enfolds those in His everlasting arms 
 who are made partakers of His own image, per- 
 petually nourishing and cherishing them with the 
 fresh and vital influences of His grace. 
 
 .Dr. John Smith. 
 
august 6. 219 
 
 Bless the Lord, O iiiv soul, and forget not all 
 His benefits. — Ps. ciii. 2. 
 
 Wiser it were to welcome and make ours 
 Whate'er of good, though small, the Present brings, — 
 Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers, 
 With a child's pure delight in little things. 
 
 R. C. Trench 
 
 TNTO all our lives, in many simple, familiar, j 
 
 homely ways, God infuses this element oi 
 joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly 
 brighten our days, and fill our eyes with light. 
 He drops this added sweetness into his children's 
 cup, and makes it to run over. The success we 
 were not counting on, the blessing we were not 
 trying after, the strain of music in the midst of 
 drudgery, the beautiful morning picture or sun- 
 set glory thrown in as we pass to or from our 
 daily business, the unsought word of encourage- 
 ment or expression of sympathy, the sentence 
 that meant for us more than the writer or speaker 
 thought, — these and a hundred others that every 
 one's experience can supply are instances of what 
 I mean. You may call it accident or chance — 
 it often is ; you may call it human goodness — 
 it often is ; but always, always call it God's love, 
 for that is always in it. These are the overflow- 
 ing riches of His grace, these are His free gifts. 
 
 S. 'Longfellow 
 
:20 August 7. 
 
 If tJiou canst believe^ all things are possible to 
 him that believe th. — Mark ix. 23. 
 
 Nothing shall be impossible unto you. — Matt. 
 xvii. 20. 
 
 So nigh is grandeur to our dust, 
 
 So near is God to man, 
 When Duty whispers low, TJiou must. 
 
 The youth replies, / cafi. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 T/'NOW that "impossible," where truth and 
 mercy and the everlasting voice of nature 
 order, has no place in the brave man's dictionary. 
 That when all men have said *' Impossible," and 
 tumbled noisily elsewhither, and thou alone art 
 left, then first thy time and possibility have come. 
 Tt is for thee now : do thou that, and ask no 
 man's counsel, but thy own only and God's. 
 Brother, thou hast possibihty in thee for much : 
 the possibility of writing on the eternal skies the 
 record of a heroic life. 
 
 T. Carlyle. 
 
 In the moral world there is nothing impossible, 
 if we bring a thorough will to it. Man can do 
 everything with himself; but he must not attempt 
 to do too much svith others. 
 
 Wm. von Humboldt. 
 
August 8. 221 
 
 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith 
 Christ hath made us free^ and be not entanglea 
 again with the yoke of bondage. — Gal. v. i. 
 
 J believed^ and therefore have I spoken. — 2 CoR. 
 iv. 13. 
 
 They are slaves who fear to speak 
 
 For the fallen and the weak ; 
 
 They are slaves who will not choose 
 
 Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, 
 
 Rather than in silence shrink 
 
 From the truth they needs must think ; 
 
 They are slaves who dare not be 
 
 In the right with two or three. 
 
 J. R. Lowell. 
 
 n^HE real corrupters of society may be, not 
 the corrupt, but those who have held back 
 the righteous leaven, the salt that has lost its 
 savor, the innocent who have not even the moral 
 courage to show what they think of the effrontery 
 of impurity, — the serious, who yet timidly suc- 
 cumb before some loud-voiced scoffer, . — the 
 heart trembling all over with religious sensibilities 
 that yet suffers itself through false shame to be 
 beaten down into outward and practical acqui- 
 escence by some rude and worldly nature. 
 
 [. H. Thom 
 
222 August 9. 
 
 The things which are impossible with 77ten are 
 possible with God. — Luke xviii. 27. 
 
 Unless the Lord had been my help., my soul had 
 almost dwelt in silence. — Ps. xciv. 17. 
 
 When obstacles and trials seem 
 
 Like prison walls to be, 
 I do the little I can do, 
 
 And leave the rest to Thee. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 'T^HE mind never puts forth greater power over 
 itself than when, in great trials, it yields up 
 calmly its desires, affections, interests to God. 
 There are seasons when to be still demands im- 
 iiieasurably higher strength than to act. Com- 
 posure is often the highest result of power. 
 Think you it demands no power to calm the 
 stormy elements of passion, to moderate the 
 vehemence of desire, to throw off the load of 
 dejection, to suppress every repining thought, 
 when the dearest hopes are withered, and to turn 
 the wounded spirit from dangerous reveries and 
 wasting grief, to the quiet discharge of ordinary 
 duties? Is there no power put forth, when 
 a man, stripped of his property, of the fruits of 
 a life's labors, quells discontent and gloomy fore- 
 bodings, and serenely and patiently returns to the 
 tasks which Providence assigns? 
 
 Wm. E. C manning 
 
August 10. 223 
 
 The cup which my Father has give7i me^ shall 
 I not drink it ? — John xviii. 1 1. 
 
 Whatsoe7)er is brought upon thee, take cheerfully^ 
 — EcCLUS. ii. 4. 
 
 Every sorrow, every smart, 
 That the Eternal Father's heart 
 Hath appointed me of yore, 
 Or hath yet for me in store. 
 As my lite riows on, I '11 take 
 Calmly, gladly, for his sake, 
 No more faithless murmurs make. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 "^ I "HE very least and the very greatest sorrows 
 that God ever suffers to befall thee, proceed 
 from the depths of His unspeakable love ; and 
 such great love were better for thee than the 
 highest and best gifts besides that He has given 
 thee, or ever could give thee, if thou couldst but 
 see it in this light. So that if your little finger 
 only aches, if you are cold, if you are hungry or 
 thirsty, if others vex you by their words or deeds, 
 or whatever happens to you that causes you dis- 
 tress or pain, it will all help to fit you for a noble, 
 and blessed state. 
 
 J. Tauler 
 
2 24 August 11 
 
 The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy 
 works ^ and in all that thou p attest thitie hand 
 unto. — Deut- XV. lo. 
 
 My place of lowly service, too, 
 
 Beneath Thy sheltering wings I see ; 
 
 For all the work I have to do 
 
 Is done through sheltering rest in Thee. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 T THINK I find most help in trying to look on 
 all interruptions and hindrances to work that 
 one has planned out for oneself as discipline, trials 
 sent by God to help one against getting selfish 
 over one's work. Then one can feel that per- 
 haps one's true work — one's work for God — • 
 consists in doing some trifling haphazard thing 
 that has been thrown into one's day. It is not 
 waste of time, as one is tempted to think, it is the 
 most important part of the work of the day, — the 
 part one can best offer to God. After such a 
 hindrance, do not rush after the planned work ; 
 trust that the time to finish it will be given some- 
 time, and keep a quiet heart about it. 
 
 Annie Keary 
 
August 12. 225 
 
 Master^ what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? 
 — Luke x. 25. 
 
 Whatsoever thy handfindeth to do, do it with thy 
 might. — EccLEs. ix. 10. 
 
 " What shall I do to gain eternal life ? " 
 
 " Discharge aright 
 The simple dues with which each day is rife, 
 
 Yea, with thy might." 
 
 F. VON Schiller. 
 
 A MAN is relieved and gay when he has put 
 his heart into his work, and done his best ; 
 but what he has said or done otherwise, shall 
 give him no peace. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 Be diligent, after thy power, to do deeds of 
 love. Think nothing too litde, nothing too low, 
 to do lovingly for the sake of God. Bear with 
 infirmities, ungentle tempers, contradictions; 
 visit, if thou mayest, the sick ; relieve the poor ; 
 forego thyself and thine own ways for love ; and 
 He whom in them thou lovest, to whom in them 
 thou ministerest, will own thy love, and will pour 
 His own love into thee. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY 
 In 
 
226 August 13. 
 
 In your patience possess ye your souls. — Luke 
 xxi, 19. 
 
 What though thy way be dark, and earth 
 With ceaseless care do cark, till mirth 
 
 To thee no sweet strain singeth ; 
 Still hide thy life above, and still 
 Believe that God is love; fulfil 
 
 Whatever lot He bringeth. 
 
 Albert E. Evans 
 
 nPHE soul loses command of itself when it is 
 impatient. Whereas, when it submits with- 
 out a murmur it possesses itself in peace, and 
 possesses God. To be impatient, is to desire 
 what we have not, or not to desire what we have. 
 When we acquiesce in an evil, it is no longer 
 such. Why make a real calamity of it by resist- 
 ance? Peace does not dwell in outward things, 
 but within the soul. We may preserve it in the 
 midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains 
 firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs 
 from acquiescence even in disagreeable things, 
 not in an exemption from bearing them. 
 
 F^NeLON 
 
 The chief pang of most trials is not so much 
 the actual suffering itself, as our own spirit of 
 resistance to it. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou 
 
August 14. 227 
 
 / will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from 
 whence cometh ?ny help. — Ps. cxxi. i. 
 
 My grace is sufficient for thee. — 2 CoR. xii. 9. 
 
 I LOOK to Thee in every need, 
 
 And never look in vain ; 
 I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love, 
 
 And all is well again : 
 The thought of Thee is mightier far 
 Than sin and pain and sorrow are. 
 
 S. Longfellow, 
 
 IIJ OW can you live sweetly amid the vexatious 
 things, the irritating things, the multitude 
 of little worries and frets, which lie all along your 
 way, and which you cannot evade ? You cannot 
 at present change your surroundings. Whatever 
 kind of life you are to live, must be lived amid 
 precisely the experiences in which you are now 
 moving. Here you must win your victories or 
 suffer your defeats. No restlessness or discontent 
 can change your lot. Others may have other 
 circumstances surrounding them, but here are 
 yours. You had better make up your mind to 
 accept what you cannot alter. You can live 
 a beautiful life in the midst of your present 
 circumstances. j. r. Miller. 
 
 Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, 
 independent of circumstances. 
 
 J. P. Greaves 
 
228 August 15. 
 
 God hath not given us the spirit of fear j but of 
 power ^ and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Tim. 
 i. 7. 
 
 We cast behind fear, sin, and death ; 
 
 With Thee we seek the things above ; 
 Our inmost souls Thy spirit breathe, 
 
 Of power, of cahnness, and of love. 
 
 Hymns ok the Spirit. 
 
 T MUST conclude with a more delightful sub- 
 -*• ject, — my most dear and blessed sister. 1 
 never saw a more perfect instance of the spirit 
 of power and of love, and of a sound mind ; 
 intense love, almost to the annihilation of selfish- 
 ness — a daily martyrdom for twenty years, 
 during which she adhered to her early-formed 
 resolution of never talking about herself; thought- 
 ful about the very pins and ribands of my wife's 
 dress, about the making of a dolls cap for a 
 child, — but of herself, save only as regarded 
 her ripening in all goodness, wholly thoughtless, 
 enjoying everything lovely, graceful, beautiful, 
 high-minded, whether in God's works or man's, 
 with the keenest relish ; inheriting the earth to 
 the very fulness of the promise, though never 
 leaving her crib, nor changing her posture ; and 
 preserved through the very valley of the shadow 
 of death, from all fear or impatience, or from 
 every cloud of impaired reason, which might mar 
 the beauty of Christ's spirit's glorious work. 
 
 Thomas Arnold 
 
August 16. 229 
 
 Whatsoever a man soiveih^ that shall he also 
 reap. — Gal. vi. 7. 
 
 The life above, when this is past, 
 Is the ripe fruit of life below. 
 
 Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure ; 
 
 Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright; 
 Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, 
 
 And find a harvest-home of light. 
 
 H. BONAR. 
 
 nPHE dispositions, affections, inclinations of 
 soul, which shall issue hereafter in perfec- 
 tion, must be trained and nurtured in us throughout 
 the whole course of this earthly life. When shall 
 we bear in mind this plain truth, that the future 
 perfection of the saints is not a translation from 
 one state or disposition of soul into another, 
 diverse from the former ; but the carrying out, 
 and, as it were, the blossom and the fruitage of 
 one and the same principle of spiritual life, which, 
 through their whole career on earth, has been 
 growing with an even strength, putting itself forth 
 in the beginnings and promise of perfection, 
 reaching upward with steadfast aspirations after 
 
 perfect holiness? 
 
 H. E. Manning 
 
August 17. 
 
 O turn unto ine^ and have 7nercy upon me; give 
 Thy strength unto Thy servant^ and save the son 
 of Thy hand77iaid. — Ps. Ixxxvi. i6. 
 
 Thou art my King — 
 
 My King henceforth alone ; 
 
 And I, Thy servant, Lord, am all Thine own. 
 
 Give me Thy strength ; oh ! let Thy dwelling be 
 
 In this poor heart that pants, my Lord, for Thee ! 
 
 G. Tersteegen. 
 
 TTZHEN it is the one ruling, never-ceasing 
 desire of our hearts, that God may be the 
 beginning and end, the reason and motive, the 
 rule and measure, of our doing or not doing, 
 from morning to night ; then everywhere, whether 
 speaking or silent, whether inwardly or outwardly 
 employed, we are equally offered up to the eter- 
 nal Spirit, have our life in Him and from Him, 
 and are united to Him by that Spirit of Prayer 
 which is the comfort, the support, the strength 
 and security of the soul, travelling, by the help of 
 God, through the vanity of time into the riches 
 of eternity. Let us have no thought or care, but 
 how to be wholly His devoted instruments ; 
 everywhere, and in everything. His adoring, joyful, 
 and thankful servants. 
 
 Wm I^w. 
 
August 18. 231 
 
 Beloved^ if our heart condeimi us Jiot^ then have 
 we confidence toward God. — i John iii. 21. 
 
 O Lord, how happy is the time 
 
 When in Thy love I rest : 
 When from my weariness I climb 
 
 E'en to Thy lender breast. 
 The night of sorrow endeth there, 
 
 Thy rays outshine the sun ; 
 And in Thy pardon and Thy care 
 
 The heaven of heavens is won. 
 
 W. C. Dessler. 
 
 "M"OTHING-doth so much establish the mind 
 amidst the rollings and turbulency of pres- 
 ent things, as both a look above them, and a look 
 beyond them ; above them to the good and 
 steady Hand by which they are ruled, and beyond 
 them to the sweet and beautiful end to which, 
 by that Hand, they shall be brought. . . . Study 
 pure and holy walking, if you would have your 
 confidence firm, and have boldness and joy in 
 God. You will find that a little sin will shake 
 your trust and disturb your peace more than the 
 greatest sufferings : yea, in those sufferings, your 
 assurance and joy in God will grow and abound 
 most if sin be kept out. So much sin as gets in, 
 so much peace will go out. 
 
 R. Teighton 
 
232 August 19. 
 
 Teach tne Thy way, O Lord, and lead vie in a 
 plain path. — Ps. xxvii. ii. 
 
 Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, 
 
 Lead rhou me on ; 
 The night is dark, and I am far from home, 
 
 Lead Thou me on. 
 Keep Thou my feet ; I do not ask to see 
 The distant scene ; one step enough for me. 
 
 J. H. Newman, 
 
 C~^0\) only is holy; He alone knows how to 
 ^^ lead His children in the paths of holiness. 
 He knows every aspect of your soul, every thought 
 of your heart, every secret of your character, its 
 difficulties and hindrances ; He knows how to 
 mould you to His will, and lead you onwards to 
 perfect sanctifi cation ; He knows exactly how each 
 event, each trial, each temptation, will tell upon 
 you, and He disposes all things accordingly. 
 The consequences of this belief, if fully grasped, 
 will influence your whole life. You will seek to 
 give yourself up to God more and more unre- 
 servedly, asking nothing, refusing nothing, wish- 
 ing nothing, but what He wills ; not seeking to 
 bring things about for yourself, taking all He 
 sends joyfully, and believing the " one step " set 
 before you to be enough for you. You will be 
 satisfied that even though there are clouds around, 
 and your way seems dark, He is directing all, 
 and that what seems a hindrance will prove a 
 blessing, since He wills it. 
 
 Jean Nicolas Grou- 
 
August 20. 233 
 
 IVaii on the Lord : be of good courage^ and He 
 shall strengthen thine heart : wait^ I say, on the 
 Lord. — Ps. xxvii. 14 
 
 He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that 
 have no ?niglit He increuseth strength. — Is A. xl. 29. 
 
 Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness 
 
 His own thy will, 
 And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness 
 
 Life's task fulfil. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 Q^HOULD we feel at times disheartened and 
 
 discouraged, a confiding thought, a simple 
 
 movement of heart towards God will renew our 
 
 powers. Whatever he may demand of us, he 
 
 will give us at the moment the strength and the 
 
 courage that we need. 
 
 Fexelox. 
 
 We require a certain firmness in all circum- 
 stances of life, even the happiest, and perhaps 
 contradictions come in order to prove and exer- 
 cise this ; and, if we can only determine so to 
 use them, the very effort brings back tranquillity 
 to the soul, which always enjoys having exercised 
 Its strength in conformity to duty. 
 
 Wm. von Humboldt. 
 
234 August 21. 
 
 We then that a''e strong ought to bear the injinn- 
 ities of the wcak^ and not to please ourselves. — 
 Rom. XV. i. 
 
 The Lord God hath given nie the tongne of the 
 learned, that I should kiioiv how to speak a word 
 in season to him that is weary. — Isa. 1. 4. 
 
 If there be some weaker one, 
 Give me strength to help him on ; 
 If a blinder soul there be, 
 Let me guide him nearer Thee. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 r 
 
 ' A SK Him to increase your powers of sympa- 
 thy : to give you more quickness and depth 
 of sympathy, in little things as well as great. 
 
 • Opportunities of doing a kindness are often lost 
 from mere want of thought. Half a dozen lines 
 of kindness may bring sunshine into the whole 
 day of some sick person. Think of the pleasure 
 you might give to some one who is much shut 
 up, and who has fewer pleasures than you have, 
 by sharing with her some little comfort or enjoy- 
 ment that you have learnt to look upon as a nec- 
 essary of life, — the pleasant drive, the new book, 
 flowers from the country, etc. Try to put your- 
 self in another's place. Ask " What should I like 
 myself, if I were hard-worked, or sick, or lonely ? " 
 Cultivate the habit of sympathy. 
 
 G. H. Wilkinson 
 
August 22. 235 
 
 / beseech you therefore^ brethren, by the mercies 
 of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice^ 
 holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
 service. — Rom. xii. i. 
 
 Thou hast my flesh, Thy hallowed shrine, 
 
 Devoted solely to Thy will ; 
 Here let Thy light forever shine, 
 
 This house still let Thy presence fill ; 
 O Source of Life, live, dwell, and move 
 In me, till all my life be love ! 
 
 JOACHIM Lance. 
 
 IV/TAY it not be a comfort to those of us who 
 feel we have not the mental or spiritual 
 power that others have, to notice that the liv- 
 ing sacrifice mentioned in Rom. xii, i is our 
 "bodies"? Of course, that includes the mental 
 power, but does it not also include the loving, 
 sympathizing glance, the kind, encouraging word, 
 the ready erra?id for a?iother^ the work of our 
 hands, opportunities for all of which come oftener 
 in the day than for the mental power we are 
 often tempted to envy? May we be enabled to 
 offer willingly that which we have. 
 
 Anos- 
 
2^6 August 23. 
 
 Seekest thou great things for thyself ? seek them 
 not. — Jer. xlv. 5. 
 
 I WOULD not have the restless will 
 
 That hurries to and fro, 
 Seeking for some great thing to do, 
 
 Or secret thing to know ; 
 I would be treated as a child, 
 
 And guided where I go. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 /^H ! be little, be little ; and then thou wilt 
 ^^ be content with little ; and if thou feel, 
 now and then, a check or a secret smiting, — 
 in that is the Father's love ; be not over-wise, 
 nor over-eager, in thy own willing, running, and 
 desiring, and thou mayest feel it so ; and by de- 
 grees come to the knowledge of thy Guide, who 
 will lead tliee, step by step, in the path of life, 
 and teach thee to follow. Be still, and wait for 
 
 light and strength. 
 
 I. Penixgton. 
 
 Sink into the sweet and blessed httleness, 
 where thou livest by grace alone. Contemplate 
 with delight the holiness and goodness in God, 
 which thou dost not find in thyself. How lovely 
 it is to be nothing when God is all ! 
 
 G. Tersteege\. 
 
k. 
 
 August 24. 237 
 
 Ajid that which fell among thorns are they^ 
 which ^ when they have heard ^ go forth ^ and are 
 choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of 
 this life, and bring 710 fruit to perfection. — Luke 
 viii. 14, 
 
 Preserve me from my calling's snare, 
 And hide my simple heart above, 
 
 Above the thorns of choking care, 
 The gilded baits of worldly love. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 A NYTHING allowed in the heart which is 
 contrary to the will of God, let it seem 
 ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, 
 will cause us to fall before our enemies. Any 
 root of bitterness cherished towards another, any 
 self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged' in, 
 any slackness in obeying the voice of the Lord, 
 any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one of 
 these things will effectually cripple and paralyze 
 our spiritual life, 1 believe our blessed Guide, the 
 indwelling Holy Spirit, is always secretly discover- 
 mg these things to us by continual little twinges 
 and pangs ol conscience, so that we are left with- 
 out excuse. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
238 August 25. 
 
 See that ye refuse not Nim that speaketh. — 
 Heb. xii. 25. 
 
 From the v/orld of sin and noise 
 
 And hurry I withdi-aw ; 
 For the small and inward voice 
 
 I wait with humble awe ; 
 Silent am I now and still, 
 
 Dare not in Thy presence move ; 
 To my waiting soul reveal 
 
 The secret of Thy love. 
 
 C. Wesley, 
 
 T17HEN therefore the smallest instinct or de- 
 sire of thy heart calleth thee towards 
 God, and a newness of Hfe, give it time and 
 leave to speak ; and take care thou refuse not 
 Him that speaketh. ... Be retired, silent, pas- 
 sive, and humbly attentive to this new risen 
 light within thee. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
 It is hardly to be wondered at that he should 
 lose the finer consciousness of higher powers and 
 deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself 
 wrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in 
 the streets of life, that, penetrating too deep into 
 the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent 
 and lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, 
 far apart. He had no time to think or feel. 
 
 G. MacDonai.d. 
 
August 26. 239 
 
 Be silent, O all fiesh, before the Lord. — Zech. 
 ii. 13. 
 
 Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn ; 
 
 Let noise and vanity be gone : 
 
 In secret silence of the mind, 
 
 My heaven, and there my God, I find. 
 
 I. Watts. 
 
 TT is only with the pious affection of the will 
 ^ that we can be spiritually attentive to God. 
 As long as the noisy restlessness of the thoughts 
 goes on, the gentle and holy desires of the new 
 nature are overpowered and inactive. 
 
 J. P. Greaves. 
 
 There is hardly ever a complete silence in our 
 soul. God is whispering to us wellnigh inces- 
 santly. Whenever the sounds of the world die 
 out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these 
 whisperings of God. He is always whispering to 
 us. only we do not always hear, because of the 
 noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as 
 it rushes on. 
 
 F. \V. Fablr. 
 
 The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and 
 quiet view of divine, eternal truth. The soul 
 rests quiet, perceiving and loving God ; sweetly 
 rejecting all the imaginations that present them- 
 selves, calming the mind in the Divine presence, 
 and fixing it only on God. 
 
 MOI.INOS 
 
240 August 27. 
 
 Being confident of this very thing, that He which 
 hath begun a good work in yon will perform it. — 
 Phil. i. 6. 
 
 He that endureth to the end shall be saved.— 
 Matt. x. 22. 
 
 Fill with inviolable peace ; 
 
 Stablish and keep my settled heart ; 
 In Thee may all my wanderings cease, 
 
 From Thee no more may I depart : 
 Thy utmost goodness called to prove, 
 Loved with an everlasting love ! 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 TF any sincere Christian cast himself with his 
 -^ whole will upon the Divine Presence which 
 dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the 
 end. What is it that makes us unable to perse- 
 vere? Is it want of strength? By no means. 
 We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. 
 When did we ever set ourselves sincerely to any 
 work according to the will of God, and fail for 
 want of strength ? It was not that strength failed 
 the will, but that the will failed first. If we could 
 but embrace the Divine will with the whole love 
 of ours ; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we 
 should be borne along as upon " the river of the 
 water of life." We open only certain chambers 
 of our will to the influence of the Divine will. 
 We are afraid of being wholly absorbed into it. 
 And yet, if we would have peace, we must be al- 
 together united to Him. 
 
 II. E. Manning 
 
August 28. 241 
 
 They that knoiv Thy name will put their trust 
 in Thee : for Thou^ Lord, hast not forsaken theitt 
 that seek Thee. — Ps. ix. 10. 
 
 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good. — 
 
 Ps. IxXXV. 12. 
 
 In Thee I place my trust, 
 
 On Thee I calmly rest ; 
 I know Thee good, I know Thee just. 
 
 And count Thy choice the best. 
 
 H. F. Lyte. 
 
 THHE souls that would really be richer in duty 
 in some new position, are precisely those 
 who borrow no excuses from the old one ; who 
 even esteem it full of privileges, plenteous in oc- 
 casions of good, frequent in divine appeals, which 
 they chide their graceless and unloving temper 
 for not heeding more. Wretched and barren is 
 the discontent that quarrels with its tools instead 
 of with its skill; and, by criticising Providence, 
 manages to keep up complacency with self. 
 How gentle should we be, if we were not pro- 
 vo"ked ; how pious, if we were not busy ; the sick 
 would be patient, only he is not in health ; the 
 obscure would do great things, only he is not 
 conspicuous ! 
 
 J. Martineau 
 16 
 
242 August 29. 
 
 Am I my brother's keeper? — Gen. iv. 9. 
 
 Because I held upon my selfish road, 
 And left my brother wounded by the way, 
 And called ambition duty, and pressed on — 
 O Lord, I do repent. 
 
 Sarah Williams 
 
 f T OW many are the sufferers who have fallen 
 amongst misfortunes along the wayside of 
 life ! "By chance,'' we come that way ; chance, 
 accident, Providence, has thrown them in our 
 way ; we see them from a distance, like the 
 Priest, or we come upon them suddenly, like the 
 Levite ; our business, our pleasure, is interrupted 
 by the sight, is troubled by the delay ; what are 
 our feelings, what our actions towards them? . . . 
 "Who is thy neighbor?" It is the sufferer, 
 wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wher- 
 ever thou hearest the cry of distress, wherever 
 thou seest any one brought across thy path by 
 the chances and changes of life (that is, by the 
 Providence of God), whom it is in thy power to 
 help, — he, stranger or enemy though he be, — 
 he is thy neighbor. 
 
 A. P. Stanley. 
 
August 30. 243 
 
 Walk -ivorth / of the vocation wherewith ye are 
 called^ with ali iowliness and meekness^ with long- 
 sufferings forbearing one another in love. — Eph- 
 iv. I, 2. 
 
 Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear 
 
 Each other's faults, to suffer with true meekness; 
 
 Help us each other's joys and griefs to share, 
 But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 'VT'OU should make a special point of asking 
 God every morning to give you, before all 
 else, that true spirit of meekness which He 
 would have His children possess. You must 
 also make a firm resolution to practise yourself 
 in this virtue, especially in your intercourse with 
 those persons to whom you chiefly owe it. You 
 must make it your main object to conquer your- 
 self in this matter ; call it to mind a hundred 
 times during the day, commending your efforts 
 to God. It seems to me that no more than this 
 is needed in order to subject your soul entirely 
 to His will, and then you will become more gen- 
 tle day by day, trusting wholly in His goodness. 
 You will be very happy, my dearest child, if you 
 can do this, for God will dwell in your heart ; and 
 where He reigns all is peace. But if you should 
 fail, and commit some of your old faults, do not 
 be disheartened, but rise up and go on again, as 
 though you had not fallen. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
244 August 31. 
 
 Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself and 
 bear with a good coiirage that which hath befallen 
 thee. — 2 ESDRAS x. 15. 
 
 Go, bury thy sorrow, 
 
 The world hath its share; 
 Go, bury it deeply, 
 
 Go, hide it with care. 
 Go, bury thy sorrow. 
 
 Let others be blest ; 
 Go, give them the sunshine. 
 
 And tell God the rest. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 /^UR veiled and terrible guest [Trouble] brings 
 ^■'^ for us, if we will accept it, the boon of for- 
 titude, patience, self-control, wisdom, sympathy, 
 faith. If we reject that, then we find in our 
 hands the other gift, — cowardice, weakness, is- 
 olation, despair. If your trouble seems to have 
 in it no other possibility of good, at least set 
 yourself to bear it like a man. Let none of its 
 weight come on other shoulders. Try to carry 
 it so that no one shall even see it. Though 
 your heart be sad within, let cheer go out from 
 you to others. Meet them with a kindly pres- 
 ence, considerate words, helpful acts. 
 
 G. S. Merriam 
 
September 1. 245 
 
 Let them that suffer accordifig to the will of God 
 commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well- 
 doings as unto a faithful Creator. — i Peter iv. 19. 
 
 The Lord is very pitiful^ and of te7ider mercy. 
 — James V. 11. 
 
 On Thy compassion I repose 
 
 In weakness and distress : 
 I will not ask for greater ease, 
 
 Lest I should love Thee less. 
 Oh, 't is a blessed thing for me 
 
 To need Thy tenderness. 
 
 A. L. Waring 
 
 /^H, look not at thy pain or sorrow, how great 
 ^^^ soever ; but look from them, look off them, 
 look beyond them, to the Deliverer ! whose 
 power is over them, and whose loving, wise, and 
 tender spirit is able to do thee good by them. 
 The Lord lead thee, day by day, in the right 
 way, and keep thy mind stayed upon Him, in 
 whatever befalls thee ; that the belief of His love 
 and hope in His mercy, when thou art at the 
 lowest ebb, may keep up thy head above the 
 billows. 
 
 Isaac Peningtoh 
 
246 September 2. 
 
 Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be 
 called the children of God. — Matt. v. 9. 
 
 Grant us Thy peace, clown from Thy presence falling. 
 As on the thirsty eartli cool night-dews sweet ; 
 
 Grant us Thy peace, to Thy pure paths recalling. 
 From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet. 
 
 E. SCUDDER. 
 
 (~\ GOD, who art Peace everlasting, whose 
 ^-^ chosen reward is the gift of peace, and 
 who hast taught us that the peacemakers are 
 Tny children, pour Thy sweet peace into our 
 souls, that everything discordant may utterly 
 vanish, and all that makes for peace be sweet 
 to us forever. Amen. 
 
 Gelasian, a. d. 492. 
 
 Have you ever thought seriously of the mean- 
 ing of that blessing given to the peacemakers? 
 People are always expecting to get peace in 
 heaven ; but you know whatever peace they get 
 there will be ready-made. Whatever making of 
 peace they can be blest for, must be on the earth 
 here : not the taking of arms against, but the 
 building of nests amidst, its " sea of troubles " 
 [like the halcyons] . Difficult enough, you think? 
 Perhaps so, but I do not see that any of us try. 
 We com])lain of the want of many things — we 
 want votes, we want liberty, we want amusement, 
 we want money. Which of us feels or knows that 
 he vvants peace? 
 
 J. RUSKIN. 
 
September 3. 247 
 
 The eyes of all wait upon Thee j and Thou giv- 
 est them their meat in due season. — Ps. cxlv. 15. 
 
 What time I am afraid^ I will trust in Thee. 
 — Ps Ivi. 3. 
 
 Late on me, weeping, did this whisper fall : 
 
 " Dear child, there is no need to weep at all ! 
 
 Why go about to grieve and to despair ? 
 
 Why weep now through thy Future's eyes, and bear 
 
 In vain ro-day to-morrow's load of care ? " 
 
 H. S. Sutton. 
 
 'T^HE crosses of the present moment always 
 bring their own special grace and conse- 
 quent comfort with them ; we see the hand of 
 God in them when it is laid upon us. But the 
 crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the 
 dispensation of God ; we see them without grace 
 to bear them ; we see them indeed through a 
 faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, every- 
 thing in them is bitter and unendurable ; all 
 seems dark and helpless. Let us throw self 
 aside ; no more self-interest, and then God's 
 will, unfolding every moment in everything, will 
 console us also every moment for all that He 
 shall do around us, or within us, for our 
 discipline. 
 
 F^XELON 
 
248 September 4. 
 
 His delight is in the law cf ike Lord. And he 
 shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water ^ 
 that brincreth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf 
 also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth 
 shall prosper. — Ps. i. 2, 3. 
 
 The wind that blows can never kill 
 
 The tree God plants ; 
 It bloweth east; it bloweth west; 
 The tender leaves have little rest, 
 But any wind that blows is best. 
 
 The tree God plants 
 Strikes deeper root, grows higher still, 
 Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will 
 
 Meets all its wants. 
 
 LiLLIE E. Barr. 
 
 TT is a fatal mistake to suppose that we cannot 
 be holy except on the condition of a situation 
 and circumstances in life such as shall suit our- 
 selves. It is one of the first principles of holi- 
 ness to leave our times and our places, our going 
 out and our coming in, our wasted and our 
 goodly heritage entirely with the Lord. Here, 
 O Lord, hast Thou placed us, and we will glo- 
 rify Thee here ! 
 
 T. C. Upham. 
 
 It is not by change of circumstances, but by 
 fitting our spirits to the circumstances in which 
 God has placed us, that we can be reconciled to 
 life and duty. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
September 5. 249 
 
 O Lord^ I ajn oppressed j undertake for me. 
 — ISA. xxxviii. 14. 
 
 Being perplexed, I say, 
 
 Lord, make it right I 
 Night is as day to Thee, 
 
 Darkness is light. 
 I am afraid to touch 
 Things that involve so much ; — 
 
 My trembling hand may shake, 
 My skill-less hand may break : 
 Thine can make no mistake. 
 
 Anna Warner. 
 
 " I "HE many troubles in your household will 
 tend to your edification, if you strive to 
 bear them all in gentleness, patience, and kind- 
 ness. Keep this ever before you, and remember 
 constantly that God's loving eyes are upon you 
 amid all these little worries and vexations, watch- 
 mg whether you take them as He would desire. 
 Offer up all such occasions to Him, and if some- 
 times you are put out, and give way to impa- 
 tience, do not be discouraged, but make haste to 
 regain your lost composure. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
250 September 6. 
 
 If anv man will come after me, let him dtuy 
 hiimelf^ a7id take tip his cross daily ^ and foliow 
 me. — Luke ix. 23. 
 
 There lies thy cross ; beneath it meekly bow ; 
 
 It fits thy stature now ; 
 Who scornful pass it with averted eye, 
 
 'T will crush them by and by. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 " I ^O take up the cross of Christ is no great 
 action done once for all ; it consists in the 
 continual practice of small duties which are dis- 
 tasteful to us. J. H. Newman. 
 
 On one occasion an intimate friend of his was 
 fretting somewhat at not being able to put a cross 
 on the grave of a relation, because the rest of the 
 family disliked it. " Don't you see," he said to 
 her, *' that by giving up your own way, you will 
 be virtually putting a cross on the grave? You '11 
 have it in its effect. The one is but a stone 
 cross, the other is a true spiritual cross." 
 
 Life of James Hinion. 
 
 I WOULD have you, one by one, ask yourselves, 
 Wherein do I take up the cross daily ? 
 
 E B. PUSEY. 
 
 Every morning, receive thine own special 
 cross from the hands of thy heavenly Father. 
 
 L. SCT'POLl 
 
September 7. 251 
 
 Pure 1-eligion and undcfiled before God and the 
 Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows 
 in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted 
 from the world. — James i. 27. 
 
 Not to ease and aimless quiet 
 
 Doth that inward answer tend, 
 But to works of love and duty 
 
 As our being's end. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 TT is surprising how practical duty enriches the 
 fancy and the heart, and action clears and 
 deepens the affections. Indeed, no one can have 
 a true idea of right, until he does it ; any genuine 
 reverence for it, till he has done it often and with 
 cost ; any peace ineffable in it, till he does it al- 
 ways and with alacrity. Does any one complain, 
 that the best affections are transient visitors with 
 him, and the heavenly spirit a stranger to his 
 heart? Oh, let him not go forth, on any strained^ 
 wing of thought, in distant quest of them ; but 
 rather stay at home, and set his house in the 
 true order of conscience ; and of their own ac- 
 cord the divinest guests will enter. 
 
 J. Martineau 
 
252 September 8. 
 
 Continue in pi'ayer, afid watch in the same with 
 thanksgiving. — Col. iv. 2. 
 
 Watch ye, stan i fast in the faith, quit you like 
 men, be strong. — i CoR. xvi. 13. 
 
 We kneel liow weak, we rise how full of power. 
 Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong, 
 Or others — that we are not always strong, 
 That we are ever overborne with care. 
 That we should ever weak or heartless be. 
 Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, 
 And joy and strength and courage are with Thee ? 
 
 R. C. Trench. 
 
 TT is impossible for us to make the duties of our 
 lot minister to our sanctification without a 
 habit of devout fellowship with God. This is the 
 spring of all our hfe, and the strength of it. It is 
 prayer, meditation, and converse with God, that 
 refreshes, restores, and renews the temper of our 
 minds, at all times, under all trials, after all con- 
 flicts with the world. By this contact with the 
 world unseen we receive continual accesses of 
 strength. As our day, so is our strength. With- 
 out this healing and refreshing of spirit, duties 
 grow to be burdens, the events of hfe chafe our 
 temper, employments lower the tone of our minds, 
 and we become fretful, irritable, and impatient. 
 
 H E. Manning. 
 
September 9. 253 
 
 This is a faitlifiil sayings and these things I will 
 that thou aJJl?'7Ji constantly, that they which have 
 believed in God might be careful to maintain good 
 works. — Titus iii. 8. 
 
 Faith's meanest deed more favor bears 
 Where hearts and wills are weighed, 
 
 Than brightest transports, choicest prayers, 
 Which bloom their hour and fade. 
 
 J- H. Newman. 
 
 /^NE secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice of 
 ^-^ inclination to duty, is worth all the mere 
 good thouglits, warm feelings, passionate prayers, 
 in which idle people indulge themselves. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 It is impossible for us to live in fellowship with 
 God without holiness in all the duties of life. 
 These things act and react on each other. With- 
 out a diligent and faithful obedience to the calls 
 and claims of others upon us, our religious pro- 
 fession is simply dead. To disobey conscience 
 when it points to relative duties irritates the whole 
 temper, and quenches the first beginnings of de- 
 votion. We cannot go from strife, breaches, and 
 angry words, to God. Selfishness, an imperious 
 will, want of sympathy with the sufferings and 
 sorrows of other men, neglect of charitable offices, 
 suspicions, hard censures of those with whom 
 our lot is cast, will miserably darken our own 
 hearts, and hide the face of God from us. 
 
 H- E. Manning 
 
254 September 10. 
 
 Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and 
 my head. — John xiii 9. 
 
 Take my hands, and let them move 
 At the impulse of Thy love. 
 
 Take my feet, and let them be 
 Swift and " beautiful " for Thee. 
 
 Take my intellect, and use 
 
 Every power as Thou shalt choose. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 TF a man may attain thereunto, to be unto God 
 ■*■ as his hand is to a man, let him be therewith 
 content, and not seek further. That is to say, 
 let him strive and wrestle with all his might to 
 obey God and His commandments so thoroughly 
 at all times, and in all things, that in him there 
 be nothing, spiritual or natural, which opposeth 
 God ; and that his whole soul and body, with all 
 their members, may stand ready and willing for 
 that to which God hath created them ; as ready 
 and wiUing as his hand is to a man, which is so 
 wholly in his power, that in the twinkling of an 
 eye, he moveth and turneth it whither he will. 
 And when we find it otherwise with us, we must 
 give our whole diligence to amend our state. 
 
 THEOLOGIA GeRMANICA. 
 
 When the mind thinks nothing, when the soul 
 covets nothing, and the body acteth nothing that 
 is contrary to the will of God, this is perfect 
 sanctification. 
 
 AnonvM(jus, in an old Bible ^ 1599 
 
September 11. 255 
 
 Thy kingdom coijte. — Matt. vi. 10. 
 
 The kingaom of established peace, 
 
 Which can no more remove ; 
 The perfect powers of godliness, 
 
 The omnipotence of love. 
 
 C. Wesley 
 
 ly/IY child, thou mayest not measure out thine 
 offering unto me by what others have done 
 or left undone ; but be it thine to seek out, even 
 to the last moment of thine earthly life, what is 
 the utmost height of pure devotion to which I 
 have called thifie own self. Remember that, if 
 thou fall short of this, each time thou utterest in 
 prayer the words, '* Hallowed be Thy name, Thy 
 kingdom come," thou dost most fearfully con- 
 demn thyself, for is it not a mockery to ask for 
 that thou wilt not seek to promote even unto 
 the uttermost, within the narrow compass of thine 
 
 own heart and spirit? 
 
 The Divine Master. 
 
 If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't 
 pray for it. But if you do, you must do more 
 than pray for it ; you must work for it. 
 
 J. RUSKIN 
 
256 September 12. 
 
 She obeyed not the voice ; she received not correc- 
 tion j she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not 
 near to her God. — Zeph. iii. 2. 
 
 Oh I let us not this thought allow ; 
 The heat, the dust upon our brow, 
 Signs of the contest, we may wear ; 
 Yet thus we shall appear more fair 
 
 In our Almighty Master's eye, 
 Than if in fear to lose the bloom. 
 Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume, 
 
 We from the strife should fly. 
 
 R. C. Trench. 
 
 TF God requires anything of us, we have no 
 right to draw back under the pretext that we 
 are hable to commit some fault in obeying. It is 
 better to obey imperfectly than not at all. Per- 
 haps you ought to rebuke some one dependent 
 on you, but you are silent for fear of giving way 
 to vehemence ; — or you avoid the society of cer- 
 tain persons, because they make you cross and 
 impatient. How are you to attain self-control, if 
 you shun all occasions of practising it? Is not 
 such self-choosing a greater fault than those into 
 which you fear to fall ? Aim at a steady mind to 
 do right, go wherever duty calls you, and believe 
 firmly that God will forgive the faults that take 
 our weakness by surprise in spite of our sincere 
 desire to please Him. 
 
 Jean NfcoLAS Orou. 
 
September 13. 257 
 
 It is good that a man should both hope and quiet- 
 ly wait for the salvation of the Lord. — Lam. iii. 26. 
 
 Truly 7ny soul waiteth upon God : from Him 
 Cometh my salvation. — Ps. Ixii. i. 
 
 Not so in haste, my heart ; 
 
 Have faith in God, and wait ; 
 Although He linger long, 
 
 He never comes too late. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 'T^HE true use to be made of all the imper- 
 fections of which you are conscious is 
 neither to justify, nor to condemn them, but to 
 present them before God, conforming your will 
 to His, and remaining in peace ; for peace is the 
 divine order, in whatever state we may be. 
 
 P^^NELON. 
 
 You will find it less easy to uproot faults, than 
 to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think 
 of your faults ; still less of others' faults ; in every 
 person who comes near you look for what is good 
 and strong : honor that ; rejoice in it ; and, as 
 you can, try to imitate it ; and your faults will 
 drop off, like dead leaves, when their time 
 comes. 
 
 J. RUSKIN 
 
258 September 14. 
 
 Call unto 7ne, and I will answer ihee, and skow 
 thee great and mighty things which thou knowest 
 not. — jEii. xxxiii. 3. 
 
 And I ha7)e also given thee that which thou hast 
 not asked. — i Kings iii. 13. 
 
 No voice of prayer to Thee can rise, 
 But swift as light Thy Love replies ; 
 Not always what we ask, indeed, 
 But, O most Kind ! what most we need. 
 
 H. M. KlMKALL, 
 
 FF you have any trial which seems intolerable, 
 pray, — pray that it be relieved or changed. 
 There is no harm in that. We may pray for any- 
 thing, not wrong in itself, with perfect freedom, 
 if we do not pray selfishly. One disabled from 
 duty by sickness may pray for health, that he may 
 do his work ; or one hemmed in by internal im- 
 pediments may pray for utterance, that he may 
 serve better the truth and the right. Or, if we 
 have a besetting sin, we may pray to be delivered 
 from it, in order to serve God and man, and not 
 be ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But 
 the answer to the prayer may be, as it was to 
 Paul, not the removal of the thorn, but, instead, a 
 growing insight into its meaning and value. The 
 voice of God in our soul may show us, as we look 
 up to Him, that His strength is enough to enable 
 us to bear it. 
 
 J. F. Clarke. 
 
September 15. 259 
 
 Can ye drink of the cup thai I drink of? and be 
 baptizt d with the baptisjn that I am baptized with ? 
 — Mark x. -^Z. 
 
 Whate'er my God ordains is right ; 
 
 Though I the cup must drink 
 That bitter seems to my faint heart, 
 
 I will not fear nor shrink. 
 
 S. RODIGAST. 
 
 nPHE worst part of martyrdom is not the last 
 ■*■ agonizing moment ; it is the wearing, daily 
 steadfastness. Men who can make up their minds 
 to hold out against the torture of an hour have 
 sunk under the weariness and the harass of small 
 prolonged vexations. And there are many Chris- 
 tians who have the weight of some deep, incom- 
 municable grief pressing, cold as ice, upon their 
 hearts. To bear that cheerfully and manfully is 
 to be a ma'rtyr. There is many a Christian be- 
 reaved and stricken in the best hopes of life. 
 For such a one to say (juietly, " Father, not as I 
 will, but as Thou wilt," is to be a martyr. There 
 is many a Christian who feels the irksomeness of 
 the duties of life, and feels his spirit revolting 
 from them. To get up every morning with the 
 firm resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and 
 do them \v ell, and finish the work which God has 
 given us to do, that is to drink Christ's cup. 
 The humblest occupation has in it materials of 
 disciphne for the highest heaven. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
:6o September 16. 
 
 For the whole world before thee is as a little grain 
 of the balafice, yea, as a drop of the morning dew 
 that falleth down npon the earth. But Thou hast 
 7nercy Jipon all. For Thou lovest all the things 
 that are. — Wisdom of Solomon xi. 22-24. 
 
 Oh ! Source divine, and Life of all, 
 The Fount of Being's fearful sea, 
 
 Thy depth would every heart appal, 
 That saw not love supreme in Thee. 
 
 J. Sterling. 
 
 TUTE showed a little thing, the quantity of a 
 ■*• -** hazel-nut, lying in the palm of my hand, 
 as meseemed, and it was as round as a ball. I 
 looked thereon with the eye of my understanding, 
 and thought, " What may this be ? " and it was 
 answered generally thus, " // is all that is made^ 
 I marvelled how it might last ; for methought it 
 might suddenly have fallen to naught for little- 
 ness. And I was answered in my understanding, 
 " // lasteth, and ever shall : For God loveth it. 
 And so hath all thing beijig by the Love of God-'* 
 In this little thing I saw three properties. The 
 first is, that God made it. The second is, that 
 God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. 
 For this is the cause which we be not all in ease 
 of heart and soul : for we seek here rest in this 
 thing which is so little, where no rest is in : and 
 we know not our God that is all Mighty, all Wise, 
 and all Good, for he is very rest. God wills to be 
 known, and it pleaseth Him that we rest us in 
 Him. For all that is beneath Him, sufficeth not 
 us. Mother Juliana, 1373. 
 
September 17. 261 
 
 Whosoever will be great among you, shall be 
 your minister ; and whosoever of you will be the 
 chief est, shall be servant of all. For even the Son 
 of man came not to be ministered unto, but to miti- 
 ister. — Mark x. 43-45. 
 
 A child's kiss 
 Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad ; 
 A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich ,- 
 A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strongs 
 Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense 
 Of service which thou renderest. 
 
 E. B. Brown' iNG. 
 
 T ET every man lovingly cast all nis thoughts 
 "^ and cares, and his sins too, as it were, on 
 the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy 
 in this lofty inward work, were called by some 
 duty in the Providence of (jod to cease therefrom, 
 and cook a broth for some sick person, or any 
 other such service, he should do so willingly and 
 with great joy. If I had to forsake such work, 
 and go out to preach or aught else, I should go 
 cheerfully, believing not only that God would be 
 with me, but that he would vouchsafe me it may 
 be even greater grace and blessing in that ex- 
 ternal work undertaken out of true love in the 
 service of my neighbor, than I should perhap? 
 receive in my season of loftiest contemplation. 
 
 John Tauler 
 
202 September IS. 
 
 A /I the paths of the Lord are mercy and tncth 
 unto s^uch as keep His cove7iant and His testi7no- 
 nies. — Ps. XXV. lo. 
 
 Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth, 
 
 Speak peace to my anxious soul, 
 And help me to feel that all my ways 
 
 Are under Thy wise control ; 
 
 That He who cares for the lily. 
 
 And heeds the sparrows' fall, 
 Shall tenderly lead His loving child; 
 
 For He made and loveth all. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 TT is not by seeking more fertile regions where 
 toil is lighter — happier circumstances free 
 from difficult complications and troublesome 
 people — but by bringing the high courage of a 
 devout soul, clear in principle and aim, to bear 
 upon what is given to us, that we brighten our 
 inward light, lead something of a true life, and 
 introduce the kingdom of heaven into the midst 
 of our earthly day. If we cannot work out the 
 will of God where God has placed us, then why 
 has He placed us there? 
 
 J. H. Thom 
 
September 19. 263 
 
 Pray for us unto the Lord thy God . . . that 
 the Lord thy God may sh^w us the way ivhercin 
 we may walk^ and the thing that we may do- 
 — Jer. xlii. 2, 3. 
 
 That which I see not, teach Thou me. — Job 
 xxxiv. 32. 
 
 O Father, hear ! 
 The way is dark, and I would fain discern 
 What steps to take, into which path to turn ; 
 
 Oh ! make it clear. 
 
 Christian Intelligencer. 
 
 '* XX/E can't choose happiness either for our- 
 selves or for another ; we can't tell 
 where that will lie. We can only choose whether 
 we will indulge ourselves in the present moment, 
 or whether we will renounce that, for the sake of 
 obeying the Divine voice within us, — for the sake 
 of being true to all the motives that sanctify our 
 lives. I know this belief is hard ; it has slipped 
 away from me again and again ; but I have felt 
 that if I let it go forever, I should have no 
 light through the darkness of this life." 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 There was a care on my mind so to pass my 
 
 time, that nothing might hinder me from the 
 
 most steady attention to the voice of the true 
 
 Shepherd. 
 
 John Woolman 
 
264 SeptemDer 20. 
 
 Thou shalt hide ihe7n in the secret of Thy pres- 
 e7ice from the p fide of man ; Thou shalt keep thejn 
 secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 
 — Ps. xxxi. 20. 
 
 Thk praying spirit breathe, 
 
 The watching power impart, 
 From all entanglements beneath 
 
 Call off my anxious heart. 
 My feeble mind sustain, 
 
 By worldly thoughts oppressed ; 
 Appear, and bid me turn again 
 
 To my eternal rest. 
 
 C. Wesley 
 
 A 
 
 S soon as we are with God in faith and in 
 love, we are in prayer. 
 
 Fenelon. 
 
 If you could once make up your mind in the 
 fear of God never to undertake more work of 
 any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, 
 without hurry or flurry, and the instant you feel 
 yourself growing nervous and like one out of 
 breath, would stop and take breath, you would 
 find this simple common-sense rule doing for you 
 what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish. 
 
 Elizabeth Prrntlss 
 
September 21. 265 
 
 How excellent is Thy lovino-kindness. O God / 
 therefore the children of men put their t? nst iindey 
 rhe shadow of Thy wings. — Ps. xxxvi. 7. 
 
 The eternal God is thy refuoe^ and underneath 
 are the everlasting arms. — Deut. xxxiii. 27. 
 
 Within Thy circling arms we lie, 
 
 O God ! in Thy infinity : 
 Our souls in quiet shall abide, 
 
 Beset with love on every side. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 ''T^HE Everlasting Arms." I think of that 
 whenever rest is^sweet. How the whole 
 earth and the strength of it, that is almightiness, 
 is beneath every tired creature to give it rest ; 
 holding us, always ! No thought of God is closer 
 than that. No human tenderness of patience is 
 greater than that which gathers in its arms a 
 little child, and holds it. heedless of weariness. 
 And He fills the great earth, and all upon it, 
 with this unseen force of His love, that never for- 
 gets or exhausts itself, so that everywhere we 
 may lie down in His bosom, and be comforted. 
 
 A. D. T. Whitney 
 
266 September 22. 
 
 The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouthy 
 and in thy hearty that thou may est do it. — Deut. 
 XXX. 14. 
 
 But, above all, the victory is most sure 
 
 For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives 
 
 To yield entire obedience to the Law 
 
 Of Conscience ; Conscience reverenced and obeyed, 
 
 As God's most intimate presence in the soul. 
 
 And His most perfect image in the world. 
 
 W. Wordsworth. 
 
 TT THAT we call Conscience is the voice of Di- 
 vine love in the deep of our being, desir- 
 ing union with our will ; and which, by attracting 
 the affections inward, invites them to enter into 
 the harmonious contentment, and " fulness of 
 joy " which attends the being joined by '' one 
 
 spirit to the Lord." 
 
 J. P. Greaves. 
 
 I REJOICE, that God has bestowed upon you a 
 relish and inclination for the inner life. To be 
 called to this precious and lofty life is a great and 
 undeserved grace of God, to which we ought to 
 respond with great faithfulness. God invites us 
 to His fellowship of love, and wishes to prepare 
 our spirit to be His own abode and temple. 
 
 Gerhard Tf.rstef.gen 
 
September 23. .767 
 
 Show me Thy ways, O Lord j teach vie Thy 
 paths. — Fs. XXV. 4. 
 
 Whf.n we cannot see our way, 
 Let us trust and still obey ; 
 He who bids us forward go, 
 Cannot fail the way to show. 
 Though the sea be deep ami wide, 
 Though a passage seem denied ; 
 Fearless let us still proceed, 
 Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead. 
 
 Anon 
 
 TTHAT which is often asked of God, is not so 
 
 much His will and way, as His approval of 
 
 our way. 
 
 S. F. Smilfy. 
 
 There is nothing like the first glance we get 
 at duty, before there has been any special plead- 
 ing of our affections or inclinations. Duty is 
 never uncertain at first. It is only after we have 
 got involved in the mazes and sophistries of wish- 
 ing that things were otherwise than they are, that 
 it seems indistinct. Considering a duty is often 
 only explaining it away. Deliberation is often 
 only dishonesty. God's guidance is plain, when 
 we are true. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
268 September 24. 
 
 IV/un I awake, T am still with Thee. — Ps. 
 cxxxix. i8. 
 
 Let the glow of love destroy 
 Cold obedience faimly given ; 
 Wake our hearts to strengfh and joy 
 With the flushing eastern heaven. 
 Let us truly rise, ere yet 
 
 Life be set. Rosen koth 
 
 VV/'ITH his first waking consciousness he can 
 * * set himself to take a serious, manly *^iew 
 of the day before him. He ought to know pretty 
 well on what lines his difficulty is likely to come, 
 whether in being irritable, or domineering, or 
 sharp in his bargains, or self-absorbed, or what- 
 ever it be ; and now, in this quiet hour, he can 
 take a good, full look at his enemy, and make up 
 his mind to beat him. It is a good time, too, 
 for giving his thoughts a range quite beyond him- 
 self, — beyond even his own moral struggles, 
 — a good time, there in the stillness, for going 
 into the realm of other lives. His wife, — what 
 needs has she for help, for sympathy, that he 
 can meet? His children, — how can he make 
 the day sweeter to them? This acquaintance, 
 who is having a hard time ; this friend, who 
 dropped a word to you yesterday that you 
 hardly noticed in your hurry, but that comes 
 up to you now, revealing in him some liner 
 trait, some deeper hunger, than you had guessed 
 before, — now you can think these things over. 
 So you get your day somewhat into right per- 
 spective and proportion before you begin it. 
 
 G. S. Merriam 
 
September 25. 269 
 
 Ve shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand 
 unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy 
 God hath blessed thee. — Deut. xii. 7. 
 
 Sweet is the smile of home ; the mutual look 
 
 When hearts are of each other sure ; 
 Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook, 
 
 The haunts of all affections pure. 
 
 J. Keble. 
 
 TS there any tie which absence has loosened, or 
 which the wear and tear of every-day inter- 
 course, httie uncongeniahties, unconfessed mis- 
 understandings, have fretted into the heart, until 
 it bears something of the nature of a fetter? 
 Any cup at our home-table whose sweetness we 
 have not fully tasted, although it might yet make 
 of our daily bread a continual feast? Let us 
 reckon up these treasures while they are still ours, 
 
 in thankfulness to God. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles. 
 
 We ought daily or weekly to dedicate a little) 
 time to the reckoning up of the virtues of our 
 belongings, — wife, children, friends, — and con- 
 templating them then in a beautiful collection. 
 And we should do so now, that wt may not par- 
 don and love in vain and too late, after the be- 
 loved one has been taken away from us to a 
 
 better world. 
 
 Tean Paul Richter- 
 
2/0 September 26. 
 
 Vea, though T walk through the vaUey of th* 
 shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou an 
 with me; Thy rod and Thy staffs they comfort me. 
 — Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 
 O Will, that wiliest good alone, 
 
 Lead Thou the way, Thou guidest best; 
 A silent child, I follow on, 
 
 And trusting lean upon Thy breast. 
 And if in gloom I see Thee not, 
 
 I lean upon Thy love unknown ; 
 In me Thy blessed will is wrought, 
 
 If I will nothing of my own. 
 
 Gerhard Tersteegen 
 
 " I ^HE devout soiii is always safe in every state, 
 if it makes everything an occasion either of 
 rising up, or falling down into the hands of God, 
 and exercising faith, and trust, and resignation to 
 Him. The pious soul, that eyes only God, that 
 means nothing but being His alone, can have no 
 stop put to its progress ; light and darkness 
 equally assist him : in the light he looks up to 
 God, in the darkness he lays hold on God, and 
 so they both do him tne same good. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
September 27. 271 
 
 When I sit in darkness^ tiie Lord shall be a light 
 unto me. — Micah vii. 8. 
 
 There he many that say, Who will show us any 
 good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Ihy counte-^ 
 nance upon us. — Ps. iv. 6. 
 
 How oft a gleam of glory sent 
 
 Straight through the deepest, darkest night, 
 Has filled the soul with heavenly light, 
 
 With holy peace and sweet content. 
 
 Anon 
 
 OUPPOSE you are bewildered and know not 
 what is right nor what is true. Can you 
 not cease to regard whether you do or not, 
 whether you be bewildered, whether you be hap- 
 py ? Cannot you utterly and perfectly love, and 
 rejoice to be in the dark, and gloom- beset, be- 
 cause that very thing is the fact of God's Infinite 
 Being as it is to you ? Cannot you take this trial 
 also into your own heart, and be ignorant, not 
 because you are obliged, but because that being 
 God's will, it is yours also? Do you not see 
 that a person who truly loves is one with the In- 
 finite Being — cannot be uncomfortable or un- 
 happy? It is that which is that he wills and 
 desires and holds best of all to be. To know 
 God is utterly to sacrifice self. 
 
 James Hinton 
 
2 72 September 28. 
 
 My little children^ let its not love in word, neither 
 in tongue; but in deed, and in truth. — i John 
 iii. i8. 
 
 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only^ 
 deceiving your own selves. — James i. 22. 
 
 Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers, 
 Whose loves in higher love endure ; 
 What souls possess themselves so pure, 
 
 Or is there blessedness like theirs ? 
 
 A. Tennyson. 
 
 T ET every creature have your love. Love, 
 ■^ with its fruits of meekness, patience, and 
 hurnihty, is all that we can wish for to ourselves, 
 and our fellow-creatures ; for this is to live in 
 God, united to Him, both for time and eternity. 
 To desire to communicate good to every creature, 
 in the degree we can, and it is capable of receiv- 
 ing from us, is a divine temper ; for thus God 
 stands unchangeably disposed towards the whole 
 creation. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
 What shall be our reward for loving our neigh- 
 bor as ourselves in this hfe? That, when we 
 become angels, we shall be enabled to love him 
 better than ourselves. 
 
 E SWEDENBORG 
 
September 29. 273 
 
 Blessed are the piwe in heart ; for they shall see 
 God. — Matt. v. S. 
 
 Follow peace with all 7nen^ and holiness^ without 
 which no man shall see the Lord. — Heb. xii. 14. 
 
 Since Thou Thyself dost still display 
 
 Unto the pure in heart, 
 Oh, make us children of the day 
 
 To know Thee as Thou art. 
 For Thou art light and life and love; 
 
 And Thy redeemed below 
 May see Thee as Thy saints above, 
 
 And know Thee as they know. 
 
 J. Montgomery. 
 
 "P^OUBT, gloom, impatience, have been ex- 
 "^ pelled ; joy has taken their place, the hope 
 of heaven and the harmony of a pure heart, the 
 triumph of self-mastery, sober thoughts, and a 
 contented mind. How can charity towards all 
 men fail to follow, being the mere affectionateness 
 of innocence and peace ? Thus the Spirit of God 
 creates in us the simplicity and warmth of heart 
 which children have, nay, rather the perfections 
 of His heavenly hosts, high and low being joined 
 together in His mysterious work ; for what are 
 implicit trust, ardent love, abiding purity, but 
 the mind both of little children and of the adoring 
 Seraphim 1 
 
 J. H. Newman, 
 iS 
 
274 September 30. 
 
 Lord^ who shall abide in Thy tabernacle ? Who 
 shall dwell in Thy holy hill f He that walketh 
 iip?'i:lhtly, and worketh righteousness^ and speaketh 
 the truth in his heart. — Ps. xv. i, 2. 
 
 How happy is he born or taught, 
 
 That serveth not another's will, 
 Whose armor is his honest thought, — 
 
 And simple truth his utmost skill. 
 
 H. WOTTON. 
 
 TF thou workest at that which is before thee, 
 following right reason, seriously, vigorously, 
 calmly, without allowing anything else to distract 
 thee, but keeping thy divine part pure as if thou 
 shouldest be bound to give it back immediately, 
 — if thou holdest to this,' expecting nothing, fear- 
 ing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity 
 according to nature, and with heroic truth in 
 every word and sound which thou utterest, thou 
 wilt live happy. And there is no man who is 
 able to prevent this. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus 
 
October 1. 275 
 
 Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the 
 Lord, and work ; for I ain with yoic._ saith the Lord 
 of hosts. — Haggai ii. 4. 
 
 Yet the world is Thy field, Thy garden; 
 On earth art Thou still at home. 
 When Thou bendest hither Thy hallowing eye, 
 My narrow work-room seems vast and high, 
 Its dingy ceiling a rainbow-dome, — 
 Stand ever thus at my wide-swung door, 
 And toil will be toil no more. 
 
 L. Larcom 
 
 nPHE situation that has not its duty, its ideal, 
 was never yet occupied by man. Yes, 
 here, in this poor, miserable, hampered, despica- 
 ble Actual, wherein thou even now standest, here 
 or nowhere is thy Ideal : work it out therefrom ; 
 and working, believe, live, be free. Fool ! the 
 Ideal is in thyself, the impediment too is in 
 thyself: thy condition is but the stuff thou art 
 to shape that same Ideal out of: what matters 
 whether such stuff be of this sort or that, so the 
 form thou givest it be heroic, be poetic. O thou 
 that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, 
 and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom 
 wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth : 
 the thing thou seekest is already with thee, "here 
 or nowhere," couldst thou only see ! 
 
 T. Carlyle 
 
2/6 October 2. 
 
 / a?Jt purposed thai my mouth shall not trans- 
 gress. — Ps. xvii. 3. 
 
 In the 7niiltitude of words there wanteth not sin . 
 but he that refraineth his lips is wise. — Pro v. 
 X. 19. 
 
 Prune thou thy words ; the thoughts control 
 
 That o'er thee swell and throng ; 
 They will condense within thy soul, 
 
 And change to purpose strong. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 'pEW men suspect how much mere talk fritters 
 -^ away spiritual energy, — that which should 
 be spent in action, spends itself in words. Hence 
 he who restrains that love of talk, lays up a fund 
 of spiritual strength. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
 Do not flatter yourself that your thoughts are 
 under due control, your desires properly regulated, 
 or your dispositions subject as they should be to 
 Christian principle, if your intercourse with others 
 consists mainly of frivolous gossip, impertinent 
 anecdotes, speculations on the character and 
 affairs of your neighbors, the lepetition of former 
 conversations, or a discussion of Uie current petty 
 scandal of society ; much less, if you allow your- 
 self in careless exaggeration on all these points, 
 and that grievous inattention to exact truth, which 
 is apt to attend the statements of those whose 
 conversation is made up of these materials. 
 
 H. Ware, Tr 
 
October 3. 277 
 
 Judge not, that ye be 7iot judged. — Matt. vii. 1. 
 Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
 brothers eye j but perceives t fiot the beam that is 
 in thine own eye ? — Luke vi. 41. 
 
 Judge not ; the workings of his brain 
 And of his heart thou canst not see ; 
 
 What looks to thy dim eyes a stain, 
 In God's pure light may only be 
 
 A scar, brought from some well-won field. 
 
 Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
 T17'HEN you behold an aspect for whose con- 
 stant gloom and frown you cannot ac- 
 count, whose unvarying cloud exasperates you by 
 its apparent causelessness, be sure that there is 
 a canker somewhere, and a canker not the less 
 deeply corroding because concealed. 
 
 Charlotte Bronte. 
 
 While we are coldly discussing a man's career, 
 sneering at his mistakes, blaming his rashness, 
 and labelling his opinions — " EvangeHcal and 
 narrow," or " Latitudinarian and Pantheistic," 
 or " Anglican and supercilious •" — that man, ic 
 his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because 
 his sacrifice is a hard one, because strength anc^ 
 patience are failing him to speak the difficult 
 word, and do the difficult deed. 
 
 Georgk Eliot 
 
ly^ October 4. 
 
 Be strong, and of a good courage ; be not afraid, 
 neither be thou dis77iayed : for the Lord thy God ts 
 with thee whithersoever thou goest. — JoSH. i. 9, 
 
 By Thine unerring Spirit led, 
 We shall not in the desert stray; 
 
 We shall not full direction need, 
 Nor miss our providential way ; 
 
 As far from danger as from fear, 
 
 W^hile love, almighty love, is near. 
 
 Charles Wesley. 
 
 "VT7ATCH your way then, as a cautious trav- 
 eller ; and don't be gazing at that moun- 
 tain or river in the distance, and saying, "■ How 
 shall I ever get over them?" but keep to the 
 present little inch that is before you, and accom- 
 plish that in the little moment that belongs to it. 
 The mountain and the river can only be passed 
 in the same way ; and, when you come to them, 
 you will come to the light and strength that 
 belong to them. 
 
 M. A. Kelty. 
 
 Let not future things disturb thee, for thou 
 wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, hav- 
 ing with thee the same reason which thou now 
 usest for present things. 
 
 Marcus Antoninus 
 
October 5. 279 
 
 Say to them that aj-e of a fearful hearty B/>. 
 strong, fear fiot. — IsA. xxxv. 4. 
 
 Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow 
 
 About to-morrow, 
 
 My heart ? 
 
 One watches all with care most true. 
 
 Doubt not that He will give thee too 
 
 Thy part. 
 
 Paul FlemmIxNg. 
 
 " I ^HE crosses which we make for ourselves by 
 a restless anxiety as to the future, are not 
 crosses which come from God. We show want 
 of faith in Him by our false wisdom, wishing -to 
 forestall His arrangements, and struggling to sup- 
 plement His Providence by our own providence. 
 The future is not yet ours ; perhaps it never \\\\\ 
 be. If it comes, it may come wholly different 
 from what we have foreseen. Let us shut our 
 eyes, then, to that which God hides from us, and 
 keeps in reserve in the treasures of His deep 
 counsels. Let us worship without seeing ; let us 
 be silent ; let us abide in peace. 
 
 Fenelo.n 
 
28o October 6. 
 
 / had fainted^ unless I had believed to see the 
 goodness of the Lo?'d in the land of the living. 
 — Ps. xxvii. 13. 
 
 / will surely do thee good. — Gen. xxxii. 12. 
 
 Thou know'st not what is good for thee, 
 
 But God doth know, — 
 Let Him thy stro;ig reliance be, 
 
 And rest thee so. 
 
 C. F. Gellert. 
 
 T ET us be very careful of thinking, on the one 
 hand, that we have no work assigned us to 
 do, or, on the other hand, that what we have as- 
 signed to us is not the right thing for us. If ever 
 we can say in our hearts to God, in reference to 
 any daily duty, " This is not my place ; I would 
 choose something dearer; I am capable of 
 something higher ; " we are guilty not only of 
 rebellion, but of blasphemy. It is equivalent to 
 saying, not only, "My heart revolts against Thy 
 commands," but "Thy commands are unwise; 
 Thine Almighty guidance is unskilful; Thine 
 omniscient eye has mistaken the capacities of 
 Thy creature ; Thine infinite love is indifferent 
 to the welfare of Thy child." 
 
 Elizabeth Charles 
 
October 7. 281 
 
 And because ye are sons, God hath sent the spirit 
 of His Son into your hearts, cry if i^, Abba, Father- 
 — Gal, iv. 6. 
 
 O Lord, forgive my sin, 
 
 And deign to put within 
 A calm, obedient heart, a patient mind ; 
 
 That I may murmur nut, 
 
 Though bitter seem my lot ; 
 For hearts unthankful can no blessing find. 
 
 RuTiLius, 1604- 
 
 T) ESIGNATION to the Divine Will signifies a 
 cheerful approbation and thankful accept- 
 ance of everything that comes from God. It is 
 not enough patiently to submit, but we must 
 thankfully receive and fully approve of every- 
 thing that, by the order of God's providence, 
 happens to us. For there is no reason why we 
 should be patient, but what is as good and as 
 strong a reason why we should be thankful. ^Mien- 
 ever, therefore, you find yourself disposed to un- 
 easiness or murmuring at any thing that is the 
 effect of God's providence over you, you must 
 look upon yourself as denying either the wisdom 
 or goodness of God. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
282 October 8. 
 
 Ye sha'l not go out with haste, for the Lord will 
 go before you ; and the God of Israel will be your 
 rereward. — IsA. lii. 12. 
 
 He that believe th shall not make haste. — Is A. 
 xxviii. 16. 
 
 Holy Spirit, Peace divine ! 
 Still this restless heart of mins; 
 Speak to calm this tossing sea, 
 Stayed in Thy tranquillity. 
 
 S. Longfellow. 
 
 FN whatever you are called upon to do, en- 
 -*• deavor to maintain a calm, collected, and 
 prayerful state of mind. Self-recollection is of 
 great importance. " It is good for a man to 
 quietly wait for the siivation of the Lord." 
 He who is in what may be called a spiritual 
 hurry, or rather who runs without having evidence 
 of being spiritually sent, makes haste to no 
 purpose. T. C. Upham. 
 
 There is great fret and worry in always run- 
 ning after work ; it is not good intellectually or 
 spiritually. 
 
 Annie Keary. 
 
 Whenever we are outwardly excited we should 
 cease to act ; but whenever we have a message 
 from the spirit within, we should execute it with 
 calmness. A fine day may excite one to act, 
 but it is much better that we act from the calm 
 spirit in any day, be the outward what it may. 
 
 J. P. Greaves 
 
OctolDer 9. 2S3 
 
 As for tne and my house, we ijill serve the LorcL 
 — Josh. xxiv. 1 5. 
 
 O HAPPY house ! and happy servitude ! 
 
 Where all alike one blaster own; 
 \yhere ^laily duty, in Thy strength pursued, 
 
 Is never hard or toilsome known ; 
 Where each one serves Thee, meek and lowly. 
 
 Whatever Thine appointment be,. 
 Till common tasks seem great and holv, 
 
 When they are done as unto Thee. 
 
 C. J. P. Spitt.a. 
 
 A T Dudson there was no rushing after anything, 
 '^^' either worldly or intellectual. It was a 
 home of constant activity, issuing from, and 
 retiring to, a centre of deep repose. There was 
 an earnest application of excellent sense to the 
 daily duties of life, to the minutest courtesy and 
 kindness, as well as to the real interests of others. 
 Everything great and everything little seemed 
 done in the same spirit, and with the same degree 
 of fidelity, because it was the will of God ; and 
 that which could not be traced to His will was 
 not undertaken at all. . . . Nothing at Dudson 
 was esteemed too little to be cared for, and 
 nothing too great to be undertaken at the com- 
 mand of God ; and for this they daily exercised 
 their mental and bodily powers on the things 
 around them ; knowing that our Lord thoroughly 
 furnishes each of His soldiers for his work, and 
 places before each the task he has to do. 
 
 M. A. SCHrMMFLPENXINCK 
 
284 October 10. 
 
 Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace 
 always, by all means. — 2 Thess. iii. i6. 
 
 The Lord will give strength unto His people; the 
 Lord will bless His people with peace. — Ps. xxix. 
 II. 
 
 In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy 
 Abides, and when pain seems to have its will, 
 
 Or we despair, — oh, may that peace rise slowly, 
 Stronger than agony, and we be still. 
 
 S. Johnson. 
 
 13 UT if a man ought and is willing to lie still 
 under God's hand, he must and ought also 
 to lie still under all things, whether they come 
 from God, himself, or the creatures, nothing 
 excepted. And he who would be obedient, 
 resigned, and submissive to God, must and ought 
 to be also resigned, obedient, and submissive to 
 all things, in a spirit of yielding, and not of 
 resistance ; and take them in silence, resting 
 on the hidden foundations of his soul, and having 
 a secret inward patience, that enableth him to 
 take all chances or crosses willingly ; and, what- 
 ever befalleth, neither to call for nor desire 
 any redress, or deliverance, or resistance, or 
 revenge, but always in a loving, sincere humility 
 to cry, " Father, forgive them, for they know not 
 what they do ! " 
 
 Theologia Germanica. 
 
October 11. 28 q 
 
 And when the people complained^ it displeased the 
 Lord. — Num. xi. i. 
 
 When tbou hast thanked thy God 
 
 For every blessing sent, 
 What time will then remain 
 
 For murmurs or lament ? 
 
 R. C. Trench 
 
 L 
 
 ET him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, 
 yield himself up to suffer whatever God 
 shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, according to 
 his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will 
 to the utmost that he can discern it, and never 
 complain of his distresses but to God alone with 
 entire and humble resignation, praying that he 
 may be strong to endure all his sufferings accord- 
 ing to the will of God. 
 
 John Tauler. 
 
 He who complains, or thinks he has a right to 
 complain, because he is called in God's Provi- 
 dence to suffer, has something within him which 
 needs to be taken away. A soul whose will is 
 lost in God's will, can never do this. Sorrow 
 may exist ; but complaint never. 
 
 Catherine Adorna 
 
286 October 12. 
 
 Singing and fnaking melody in your heart to the 
 Lord. — Eph. v. 19. 
 
 Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, — i Pe- 
 ter iii. 15. 
 
 There are in this loud stunning tide 
 
 Of human care and crime, 
 "With whom the melodies abide 
 
 Of th' everlasting chime ; 
 "Who carry music in their heart 
 Through dusky lane and wrangling mart. 
 Plying their daily task with busier feet, 
 Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. 
 
 J. Keble 
 
 OTRIVE to carry thyself with a total resigna- 
 tion to the Divine Will, that God may do 
 with thee and all thine according to His heavenly 
 pleasure, relying on Him as on a kind and loving 
 Father. Never recall that intention, and though 
 thou beest taken up about the affairs of the con- 
 dition wherein God hath placed thee, yet thou 
 wilt still be in prayer, in the presence of God, 
 and in perpetual acts of resignation. " A just 
 man leaves not off to pray unless he leaves off to 
 be just." He always prays who always does well. 
 The good desire is prayer, and if the desire be 
 continued so also is the prayer. 
 
 M. MOLINOS 
 
October 13. 2%^ 
 
 We desire that every one of you do show the same 
 diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. 
 — Heb. vi. II. 
 
 The Lord is faithful^ who shall stablish you^ and 
 keep you from evil. — 2 Thess. iii. 3. 
 
 Long though my task may be, ) 
 
 Cometh the end. 
 God 't is that helpeth me, 
 His is the work, and He 
 New strength will lend. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 Q*ET yourself steadfastly to those duties which 
 have the least attractive exterior ; it matters 
 not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in great 
 or small matters. Be patient with yourself and 
 your own faiHngs ; never be in a hurry, and do 
 not yield to longings after that which is impossi- 
 ble to you. My dear sister, go on steadily and 
 quietly ; if our dear Lord means you to run, He 
 will "strengthen your heart." 
 
 Francis de Sales. 
 
 Always begin by doing that which costs me 
 most, unless the easier duty is a pressing one, 
 Examine, classify, and determine at night the 
 work of the morrow ; arrange things in the order 
 of their importance, and act accordingly. Dread, 
 above all things, bitterness and irritation. Never 
 say, or indirectly recall anything to my advantage. 
 
 Madame Swetchine. 
 
288 October 14. 
 
 He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own 
 soul: all they that hate Me love death. — Pro v. 
 viii. 36. 
 
 But now being inadc free from sin^ and become 
 servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, 
 and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin 
 is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. — Rom. vi. 22, 23. 
 
 O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry ! 
 Give me Thyself, or else I die ! 
 Save me from death ; from hell set free ! 
 Death, hell, are but the want of Thee. 
 Quickened by Thy imparted flame, 
 Saved when possessed of Thee, I am : 
 My life, my only heaven Thou art ; 
 O might I feel Thee in my heart ! 
 
 C. Wesley 
 
 QIN itself is hell, and death, and misery to the 
 soul, as being a departure from goodness 
 and holiness itself; I mean from God, in con- 
 junction with whom the happiness, and blessed- 
 ness, and heaven of a soul doth consist. Avoid 
 it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable. 
 
 Samuel Shaw. 
 
 *' I COULD n't live in peace if I put the shadow 
 of a wilful sin between myself and (jod." . 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers. 
 
 John Wesley 
 
October 15. 289 
 
 Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me^ so thai 
 I am not able to look up ; thet'efore my heart faileth 
 me. Be pleased^ O Lord, to deliver me j O Lord, 
 make haste to htlp me. — Ps. xl. 12, 13. 
 
 Sin shall not have dominion over you. — RoM- 
 vi. 14. 
 
 O Thou, to whose all-searching sight 
 The darkness shineth as the light I 
 Search, prove my heart ; it pants for Thee : 
 Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free ! 
 
 G. Tersteegen. 
 
 'VT'ES, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted 
 to bed and desperate in heart to morn- 
 ing work, that has made my plans miscarry until 
 I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that 
 robs the sky of blueness and the earth of spring- 
 time, and the air of freshness, and human faces 
 of friendliness, — this blasting sin which perhaps 
 has made my bed in hell for me so long, — this 
 ca?i he conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, 
 better than that, conquered, captured and trans- 
 figured into a friend : so that I at last shall say, 
 '' My temptation has become my strength ! for 
 to the very fight with it I owe my force." 
 
 W. C. Gannett 
 »9 
 
290 October 16. 
 
 / am not worthy of the least of all the mercies^ 
 and of all the truths which Thou hast showed unto 
 Thy servant. — Gen. xxxii. 10. 
 
 Some murmur if their sky is clear, 
 
 And wholly bright to view, 
 If one small speck of dark appear 
 
 In their great heaven of blue : 
 And some with thankful love are filled, 
 
 If but one streak of light. 
 One ray of God's good mercy, gild 
 
 The darkness of their night. 
 
 R. C. Trench. 
 
 LTABITUAL sufferers are precisely those who 
 least frequently doubt the Divine benevo- 
 lence, and whose faith and love rise to the seren 
 est cheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a 
 prescriptive right to be happy, their blessings are 
 not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them 
 fresh and brilliant as the first day's morning and 
 evening light to the dwellers in Paradise. With 
 the happy it is their constant peace that seems 
 to come by nature, and to be blunted by its com- 
 monness, — and their griefs to come from God, 
 sharpened by their sacred origin : with the 
 sufferer, it is his pain that appears to be a thing 
 of course, and to require no explanation, while 
 his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine in- 
 terposition, and, as a breath of Heaven, caresses 
 
 the heart into melodies of praise. 
 
 J, Maktjneau- 
 
October 17. 291 
 
 Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings 
 and sacrifices ^ as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? 
 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. — i Sam. 
 XV. 22. 
 
 Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of 
 the Lord, which He will show to you to-day. 
 — Ex. xiv. 13. 
 
 The folded hands seem idle : 
 
 If folded at His word, 
 *T is a holy service, trust me, 
 
 III obedience to the Lord. 
 
 Anna Shipton. 
 
 TT is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not 
 constraint and contention that advance us 
 in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is 
 the yielding of our wills without restriction and 
 without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in 
 the path in which Providence leads us, to seek 
 nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see 
 our duty in the present moment, to trust ail else 
 without reserve to the will and power of God. 
 
 Fenelon, 
 
 Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, 
 as to a living person whose will is to be its law, 
 whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of 
 living before the face of God, and not the simply 
 doing certain things. 
 
 J. B Brown 
 
292 October 18. 
 
 Except your righteousness shall exceed the right- 
 eoHSfiess of the scribes and Pharisees^ ye shall in 
 no case e7iter into the kingdom of heaven. — Matt. 
 V. 20. 
 
 The freedom from all wilful sin, 
 The Christian's daily task, — 
 Oh these are graces far below 
 
 What longing love would ask ! 
 Dole not thy duties out to God. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 "VT'OU perhaps will say that all people fall short 
 of the perfection of the Gospel, and there- 
 fore you are content with your failings. But 
 this is saying nothing to the purpose : for the 
 question is not whether Gospel perfection can 
 be fully attained, but whether you come as near 
 it as a sincere intention and careful diligence can 
 carry you. Whether you are not in a much 
 lower state than you might be if you sincerely in- 
 tended and carefully labored to advance your- 
 self in all Christian virtues. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
 We know not exactly how low the least degree 
 of obedience is, which will bring a man to 
 heaven ; but this we are quite sure of, that he 
 who aims no higher will be sure to fall short even 
 of that, and that he who goes farthest beyond 
 it will be most blessed. 
 
 John Keble 
 
October 19. 293 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy 
 One of Israel ; I am the Lord thy God which 
 teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the 
 way thou shouldest go. — ISA. xlvii;. 17. 
 
 I SEEK Thy aid, I ask direction, 
 
 Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee ; 
 
 I can bear toil, endure affliction, 
 Only Thy leadings let me see. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 /^F all paths a man could strike into, there is, 
 ^"'^ at any given moment, a best path for every 
 man ; a thing which, here and now, it were of 
 all things ivisest for him to do ; which could he 
 but be led or driven to do, he were then doing 
 "like a man," as we j)hrase it. His success, in 
 such case, were complete, his felicity a maximum. 
 This path, to find this path, and walk in it, is the 
 one thing needful for him. 
 
 T. Carlyle. 
 
 Every man has his own vocation. There is 
 one direction m which all space is open to him. 
 He has faculties silently inviting him thither to 
 endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river ; 
 he runs against obstructions on every side but 
 one ; on that side all obstruction is taken away, 
 and he sweeps serenely over a deepening chan- 
 nel into an infinite sea. 
 
 R. W. Emlrsun. 
 
294 October 20. 
 
 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
 good. — Rom. xii. 21. 
 
 Come, in this accepted hour ; 
 
 Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in ; 
 Fill us with Thy glorious power, 
 
 Rooting out the seeds of sin. 
 
 C. \yESLEY. 
 
 TF we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome 
 it by good. There are doubtless many ways 
 of overcoming the evil in our own hearts, but the 
 simplest, easiest, most universal, is to overcome 
 it by active occupation in some good word or 
 work. The best antidote against evil of all kinds, 
 against the evil thoughts which haunt the soul, 
 against the needless perplexities which distract 
 the conscience, is to keep hold of the good we 
 have. Impure thoughts will not stand against 
 pure words, and prayers, and deeds. Little 
 doubts will not avail against great certainties. 
 Fix your affections on things above, and then 
 you will be less and less troubled by the cares, 
 the temptations, the troubles of things on earth. 
 
 A. P. Stanley 
 
October 21. 295 
 
 / atn the Almighty God; walk before 7ne, and 
 be thou perfect. — Gen. xvii. i. 
 
 Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord. — Ex. 
 xxxii. 29. 
 
 Take my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Take my moments and my days ; 
 Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 T HAVE noticed that wherever there has been 
 ' a faithful following of the Lord in a con- 
 secrated soul, several things have inevitably 
 followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quiet- 
 ness of spirit become in time the characteristics 
 of the daily Hfe. A submissive acceptance of the 
 will of God as it comes in the hourly events of 
 each day ; pliability in the hands of God to do 
 or to suffer all the good pleasure of his will; 
 sweetness under provocation ; calmness in the 
 midst of turmoil and bustle ; yieldingness to the 
 wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights 
 and affronts ; absence of worry or anxiety ; 
 deliverance from care and fear : — all these, and 
 many similar graces, are invariably found to be 
 the natural outward development of that inward 
 
 life which is hid with Christ in Cxod. 
 
 H. W. S 
 
296 October 22. 
 
 Father^ if Thou be ivilling, remove this cup from 
 me ; tievertheless, 7iot my will^ but Thine, be done. 
 — Luke xxii. 42. 
 
 Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will; 
 Give me but this, the heart to be content, 
 And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still, 
 Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent, 
 And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant. 
 
 Susan Coolidge. 
 
 T ET your will be one with His will, and be 
 -^ glad to be disposed of by Him. He will 
 order all things for you. What can cross your 
 will, when it is one with His will, on which all 
 creation hangs, round which all things revolve? 
 Keep your hearts clear of evil thoughts ; for as 
 evil choices estrange the will from His will, so 
 evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide Him from 
 vs. Whatever sets us in opposition to Him 
 makes our will an intolerable torment. So long 
 as we will one thing and He another, we go on 
 piercing ourselves through and through with a 
 perpetual wound ; and His will advances moving 
 on in sanctity and majesty, crushing ours into 
 the dust. 
 
 H. E. Manning 
 
October 23. 297 
 
 Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: 
 Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of up- 
 rightness. — Ps. cxliii. 10. 
 
 The battle of our life is won, 
 
 And heaven begun, 
 When we can say, " Thy will be done !" 
 But, Lord, until 
 These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still, 
 We pray Thee, " Teach us how to do Thy will ! " 
 
 Lucy Larcom. 
 
 " X/'OUare seeking your own will, my daughter. 
 -^ You are seeking some good other than the 
 law you are bound to obey. But how will 
 you find good ? It is not a thing of choice ; it 
 is a river that flows ft-om the foot of the Invisible 
 Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. 
 I say again, man cannot choose his duties. 
 You may choose to forsake your duties, and 
 choose not to have the sorrow they bring. But 
 you will go forth, and what will you find, my 
 daughter ? Sorrow without duty — bitter herbs, 
 and no bread with them." 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 However dark and profitless, however painful 
 and weary, existence may have become ; how- 
 ever any man, like Elijah, may be tempted to 
 cast himself down beneath the juniper- tree, and 
 say, " It is enough, O Lord ! " — life is not done, 
 and our Christian character is not w^on, so long 
 as God has anything left for us to suffer, or any- 
 thing left for us to do. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
298 October 24. 
 
 The Lord is my strength^ and my shield; my 
 heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore 
 my heart greatly rejoiceth ; and with my S07ig will 
 I praise Him. — Ps. xxviii. 7. 
 
 Well may Thy happy children cease 
 From restless wishes, prone to sin, 
 
 And, in Thy own exceeding peace, 
 Yield to Thy daily discipline. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 " I ^ALK of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, and 
 sleeping on ashes, as means of saintship ! 
 there is no need of them in our country. Let 
 a woman once look at her domestic trials as 
 her hair-cloth, her ashes, her scourges, — accept 
 them, — rejoice in them, — smile and be quiet, 
 silent, patient, and loving under them, — and the 
 convent can teach her no more ; she is a vic- 
 torious saint. 
 
 H. B. Stowe. 
 
 Perhaps it is a greater energy of Divine Provi- 
 dence, which keeps the Christian from day to 
 day, from year to year — praying, hoping, run- 
 ning, believing — against all hindrances — which 
 maintains him as a living martyr, than that which 
 bears him up for an hour in sacrificing himself at 
 the stake. 
 
 R. Cecii. 
 
October 25. 299 
 
 For I a7n persuaded that neither dcath^ nor life, 
 nor angels^ nor priiicipaliiies, nor powers^ nor 
 things present^ nor things to come, nor height, nor 
 depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa- 
 rate us frojn the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. — Rom. viii. 38, 39. 
 
 I KNOW not what the future hath 
 
 Of marvel or surprise, 
 Assured alone that life and death 
 
 His mercy underlies. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 TDE of good faith, my dear Friends, look not out 
 at any thing ; fear none of those things ye 
 may be exposed to suffer, either outwardly or in- 
 wardly ; but trust the Lord over all, and your life 
 will spring, and grow, and refresh you, and ye 
 will learn obedience and faithfulness daily more 
 and more, even by your exercises and sufferings ; 
 yea, the Lord will teach you the very mystery of 
 faith and obedience ; the wisdom, power, love, 
 and goodness of the Lord ordering every thing 
 for you, and ordering your hearts in every thing. 
 
 I. Penington. 
 
300 October 26. 
 
 Turn ye to the stro7ighold, ye prisoners of hope. 
 — Zech. ix. 12. 
 
 Their strength is to sit still. — Is A. xxx. 7, 
 
 O POWER to do ; O baffled will ! 
 
 O prayer and action ! ye are one. 
 Who may not strive, may yet fulfil 
 The harder task of standing still, 
 
 And good but wished with God is done. 
 
 J. G. Whiitier. 
 
 " I ^HAT God has circumscribed our life may 
 add a peculiar element of trial, but often 
 it defines our way and cuts off many tempting 
 possibilities that perplex the free and the strong ; 
 whilst it leaves intact the whole body of spiritual 
 reality, with the Beatitude thereon, " that if we 
 know these things, happy are we if we do them." 
 We know that God orders the lot ; and to meet 
 it with the energies it requires and permits, neither 
 more nor less, — to fill it at every available point 
 with the light and action of an earnest and spirit- 
 ually inventive mind, though its scene be no wider 
 than a sick chamber, and its action narrowed to 
 patient suffering, and gentle, cheerful words, and 
 all the light it can emit the thankful quiet of a 
 trustful eye, — without chafing as though God 
 had misjudged our sphere, and placed us wrong, 
 and did not know where we could best serve 
 Him, — this is what, in that condition, we have 
 to do. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
October 27. 301 
 
 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities^ in re- 
 proaches^ in necessities^ in persecutions, in distresses 
 for Christ'* s sake : for when I am weak, then am 1 
 strotig. — 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 Whate'er God does is well ! 
 
 In patience let us wait ; 
 
 He doth Himself our burdens bear, 
 
 He doth for us take care, 
 And He, our God, knows all our weary days. 
 
 Come, give 1:1 im praise. 
 
 B. SCHMOLCK. 
 
 IVrOTHING else but this seeing God in every- 
 thing will make us loving and patient with 
 those who annoy and trouble us. They will be 
 to us then only the instruments for accomplishing 
 His tender and wise purposes towards us, and we 
 shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking 
 them for the blessings they bring us. Nothing 
 else will completely put an end to all murmuring 
 
 or rebelling thoughts. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
 The subjection of the will is accomplished by 
 calmly resigning thyself up in everything that in- 
 ternally or externally vexes thee ; for it is thus 
 only that the soul is prepared for the reception of 
 divine influences. Prepare the heart like clean 
 paper, and the Divine Wisdom will imprint on it 
 characters to His own liking. 
 
 M. MOLINOS. 
 
302 October 28. 
 
 / ktiow the thoughts that I think toward you, 
 saiih the Lord^ thoughts of peace^ and not of evil, 
 to give you an expected end. — Jl:r. xxix- ii. 
 
 Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind. 
 
 E'en when we think it not ; 
 How many an anxious, faithless mind 
 
 Sits grieving o'er its lot, 
 And frets, and pines by day and night. 
 As God had lost it out of sight, 
 
 And all its wants forgot. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 'VT'OU are never to complain of your birth, your 
 training, your employments, your hard- 
 ships ; never to fancy that you could be some- 
 thing if only you had a different lot and sphere 
 assigned you. God understands His own plan, 
 and He knows what you want a great deal better 
 than you do. The very things that you most 
 deprecate, as fatal limitations or obstructions, are 
 probably what you most want. What you call 
 hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are prob- 
 ably God's opportunities. Bring down your soul, 
 or, rather, bring it up to receive God's will and do 
 His work, in your lot, in your sphere, under your 
 cloud of obscurity, against your temptations, 
 and then you shall find that your condition is 
 never opposed to your good, but really consistent 
 with it. 
 
 H. BUSHNELL. 
 
October 29. 303 
 
 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver ; 
 I have chosett thee in the furnace of affliction. 
 — ISA. xlviii. 10. 
 
 Be patient, suffering soul ! I hear thy cry. ^ 
 
 The trial fires may glow, but I am nigh. 
 I see the silver, and I will refine 
 Until My image shall upon it shine. 
 
 Fear not, for I am near, thy help to be ; 
 
 Greater than all thy pain, My love for thee. 
 
 H. W. C. 
 
 /'"^OD takes a thousand times more pains with 
 us than the artist with his picture, by many 
 touches of sorrow, and by many colors of circum- 
 stance, to bring man into the form which is the 
 highest and noblest in His sight, if only we re- 
 ceived His gifts and myrrh in the right spirit. 
 . . . But when the cup is put away, and these 
 feelings are stifled or unheeded, a greater injury 
 is done to the soul than can ever be amended. 
 For no heart can conceive in what surpassing 
 love God giveth us this myrrh ; yet this which we 
 ought to receive to our soul's good, we suffer to 
 pass by us in our sleepy indifference, and noth- 
 ing comes of it. Then we come and complain : 
 '' Alas, Lord ! I am so dry, and it is so dark 
 within me ! " I tell thee, dear child, open thy 
 heart to the pain, and it will do thee more 
 good than if thou wsrt full of feeling and de- 
 
 voutness. 
 
 J. Tauler. 
 
504 October 30. 
 
 Thai good thiiio which was committed unto thee, 
 keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in tcs. — 
 2 Tim. i. 14. 
 
 Oh that the Comforter would come ! 
 
 Nor visit as a transient guest, 
 But fix in me His constant home, 
 
 And keep possession of my breast : 
 And make my soul His loved abode, 
 The temple of indwelling God ! 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 'T^HY spirit should become, while yet on earth, 
 -*- the peaceful throne of the Divine Being ; 
 think, then, how quiet, how gentle and pure, how 
 reverent, thou shouldst be. 
 
 Gerhard Tersteegen. 
 
 I CANNOT tell you how much I love you. But 
 that which of all things I have most at heart, 
 with regard to you, is the real progress of your 
 soul in the divine life. Heaven seems to be 
 awakened in you. It is a tender plant. It re- 
 quires stillness, meekness, and the unity of the 
 heart, totally given up to the unknown workings 
 of the Spirit of God, which will do all its work 
 in the calm soul, that has no hunger or desire 
 but to escape out of the mire of its earthly Hfe 
 into its lost union and life in God. I mention 
 this, out of a fear of your giving in to an eagerness 
 about many things, which, though seemingly 
 innocent, yet divide and weaken the workings of 
 the divine life within you. 
 
 Wm. Law. 
 
October 31. 305 
 
 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not_, 
 for God took him. — Gen. v. 24. 
 
 Oh for a closer walk with God, 
 A calm and heavenly frame ; 
 
 A light to shine upon the road 
 That leads me to the Lamb ! 
 
 \V. COWPER 
 
 TS it possible for any of us in these modem days 
 to so live that we may walk with God? 
 Can we walk with God in the shop, in the office, 
 in the household, and on the street ? When men 
 exasperate us, and work wearies us, and ihe 
 children fret, and the servants annoy, and our 
 best-laid plans fall to pieces, and our casties in 
 the air are dissipated like bubbles that break at 
 a breath, then can we walk with God? That 
 religion which fails us in the every-day trials and 
 experiences of life has somewhere in it a flaw. 
 It should be more than a plank to sustain us in 
 the rushing tide, and land us exhausted and 
 dripping on the other side. It ought, if it come 
 from above, to be always, day by day, to our 
 souls as the wings of a bird, bearing us away 
 from and beyond the impediments which seek 
 to hold us down. If the Divine Love be a con- 
 scious presence, an indwelling force with us, it 
 will do this. 
 
 Christian Union 
 
306 November 1. 
 
 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth 
 is fiajned. — Eph. iii. 15. 
 
 One family, we dwell in Him; 
 
 One church above, beneath ; 
 Though now divided by the stream, — 
 
 The narrow stream of death. 
 
 One army of the living God, 
 
 To His command we bow : 
 Part of His host has crossed the flood, 
 
 And part is crossing now. 
 
 C. Wesley- 
 
 T ET us, then, learn that we can never be 
 "^ lonely or forsaken in this life. Shall they 
 forget us because they are " made perfect " ? 
 Shall they love us the less because they now have 
 power to love us more ? If we forget them not, 
 shall they not remember us with God? No trial, 
 then, can isolate us, no sorrow can cut us off 
 from the Communion of Saints. Kneel down, 
 and you are with them ; lift up your eyes, and 
 the heavenly world, high above all perturbation, 
 hangs serenely overhead ; only a thin veil, it 
 may be, floats between. All whom we loved, 
 and all who loved us, whom we still love no less, 
 while they love us yet more, are ever near, be- 
 cause ever in His presence in whom we live and 
 
 dwell. 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
November 2. 307 
 
 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about 
 luith so great a cloud of witnesses^ let us lay aside 
 every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset 
 us, and let us run with patience the race that is set 
 before us, — Heb. xii. i- 
 
 When the powers of hell prevail 
 O'er our weakness and unfitness, 
 
 Could we lift the fleshly veil. 
 Could we for a moment witness 
 
 Those unnumbered hosts that stand 
 
 Calm and bright on either hand ; 
 
 Oh, what joyful hope would cheer, 
 
 Oh, what faith serene would guide us ? 
 
 Great may be the danger near. 
 Greater are the friends beside us. 
 
 Anon 
 
 T Tt 7 E are compassed about by a cloud of wit- 
 ' '^ nesses, whose hearts throb in sympathy 
 with every effort and struggle, and who thrill with 
 joy at every success. How should this thought 
 check and rebuke every worldly feeling and un- 
 worthy purpose, and enshrine us, in the midst of 
 a forgetful and unspiritual world, with an atmos- 
 phere of heavenly peace ! They have overcome 
 
 — have risen — are cro mi ed, glorified ; but still 
 they remain to us, our assistants, our comforters, 
 and in every hour of darkness their voice speaks 
 to us : " So we grieved, so we struggled, so we 
 fainted, so we doubted ; but we have overcomes 
 we have obtained, we have seen, we have foundj 
 
 — and in our victory behold the certainty of thy 
 own." 
 
 H. 1>. SrowE. 
 
3o8 November 3. 
 
 Wherefore putting aivay lyings speak every man 
 truth with his neighbor : for we are member's one 
 of another. — Eph. iv. 25. 
 
 In conversation be sincere; 
 Keep conscience as the noontide clear j 
 Think how All-seeing God thy ways 
 And all thy secret thoughts surveys. 
 
 Thomas Ken. 
 
 " I "HE essence of lying is in deception, not in 
 words ; a lie may be told by silence, by 
 equivocation, by the accent on a syllable, by a 
 glance of the eye attaching a peculiar significance 
 to a sentence ; and all these kinds of lies are 
 worse and baser by many degrees than a lie 
 plainly worded ; so that no form of blinded con- 
 science is so far sunk as that which comforts it- 
 self for having deceived because the deception 
 was by gesture or silence, instead of utterance. 
 
 J. RUSKIN. 
 
 He that is habituated to deceptions and artifi- 
 cialities in trifles, will try in vain to be true in 
 matters of importance ; for truth is a thing of 
 habit rather than of will. You cannot in any 
 given case by any sudden and single effort will 
 to be true, if the habit of your Ufe has been 
 insincerity. 
 
 F. W. Robertson 
 
November 4. 309 
 
 A soft answer tiirneth away wrath : but griev- 
 ous words stir tip anger. — Pro v. xv. i. 
 
 Doest thou well to be angry ? — Jonah iv. 4. 
 
 Renew Thine image, Lord, in me, 
 Lowly and gentle may I be ; 
 
 No charms but these to Thee are dear; 
 No anger mayst Thou ever fip.d, 
 No pride in my unruffled mind, 
 
 But faith, and heaven- born peace be there. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 "^EITHER say nor do aught displeasing to 
 thy neighbor ; and if thou hast been want- 
 ing in charity, seek his forgiveness, or speak to 
 him with gentleness. Speak always with mild- 
 ness and in a low tone of voice. 
 
 L. SCUPOLI. 
 
 Injuries hurt not more in the receiving than 
 in the remembrance. A small injury shall go as 
 it comes; a great injury may dine or sup with 
 me ; but none at all shall lodge with me. AMiy 
 should I vex myself because another hath vexed 
 me? Grief for things past that cannot be reme- 
 died, and care for things to come that cannot be 
 prevented, may easily hurt, can never benefit 
 me. I will therefore commit myself to God in 
 both, and enjoy the present. 
 
 Joseph Hali. 
 
3IO November 5. 
 
 The temple of God is holy^ which temple ye 
 are. — i CoR. iii. 17. 
 
 Now shed Thy mighty influence abroad 
 On souls that would their Father's image bear; 
 Make us as holy temples of our God, 
 Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer. 
 
 C. J. P. Spitta. 
 
 'T^HIS pearl of eternity is the church or temple 
 of God within thee, the consecrated place 
 of divine worship, where alone thou canst wor- 
 ship God in spirit and in truth. When once thou 
 art well grounded in this inward worship, thou 
 wilt have learned to live unto God above time 
 and place. For every day will be Sunday to thee, 
 and, wherever thou goest, thou wilt have a priest, 
 a church, and an altar along with thee. For 
 when God has all that he should have of thy 
 heart, when thou art wholly given up to the 
 obedience of the light and spirit of God within 
 thee, to will only in His will, to love only in His 
 love, to be wise only in His wisdom, then it is 
 that everything thou dost is as a song of praise, 
 and the common business of thy life is a con- 
 forming to God's will on earth as angels do in 
 heaven. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
November 6. 311 
 
 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him : 
 He also will hear their C7y, and will save them. — 
 Ps. cxlv. 19. 
 
 Delight thyself also in the Lord j and He shall 
 give thee the desires of thine heart. — Ps. xxxvii. 4. 
 
 Though to-day may not fulfil 
 All thy hopes, have patience still ; 
 For perchance to-morrow's sun 
 Sees thy happier days begun. 
 
 P. Gerhardt 
 
 TTIS great desire and delight is God; and 
 by desiring and delighting, he hath Him. 
 Delight thou in the Lord, and He shall give thee 
 thy heart's desire, — Himself ; and then surely 
 thou shalt have all. Any other thing commit it 
 to Him, and he shall bring it to pass. 
 
 R. Leighton. 
 
 All who call on God in true faith, earnestly 
 from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will 
 receive what they have asked and desired, al- 
 though not in the hour or in the measure, or the 
 ver}^ thing which they ask ; yet they will obtain 
 something greater and more glorious than they 
 had dared to ask. 
 
 Martin Luther 
 
312 November 7. 
 
 / was 7iot disobedient unto the heavenly vision. — 
 Acts xxvi. 19. 
 
 The Lord our God will we serve., and His voice 
 will we obey. — Josh. xxiv. 24. 
 
 I WILL shun no toil or woe, 
 Where Thou leadest I will go, 
 
 Be my pathway plain or rough ; 
 If but every hour may be 
 Spent in work that pleases Thee, 
 
 Ah, dear Lord, it is enough ! 
 
 G. Tersteegf.n. 
 
 A LL these longings and doubts, and this in- 
 ward distress, are the voice of the Good 
 Shepherd in your heart, seeking to call you out of 
 all that is contrary to His will. Oh, let me en- 
 treat of you not to turn away from His gentle 
 pleadings. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
 The fear of man brings a snare. By halting in 
 our duty and giving back in the time of trial, our 
 hands grow weaker, our ears grow dull as to 
 hearing the language of the true Shepherd ; so 
 that when we look at the way of the righteous, it 
 seems as though it was not for us to follow them. 
 
 J. WOOLMAN. 
 
November 8. 313 
 
 Lo^ I come to do Thy will, O God. — Heb. x. 9. 
 Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my 
 God. — Ps. cxiiii. 10. 
 
 Lo ! I come with jo}- to do 
 
 The Father's blessed will; 
 Him in outward works pursue, 
 
 And serve His pleasure still. 
 Faithful to my Lord's commands, 
 
 I still would choose the better part ; 
 Serve with careful Martha's hands. 
 
 And loving Mary's heart. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 A SOUL cannot be regarded as truly subdued 
 * and consecrated in its will, and as having 
 passed into union with the Divine will, until it has 
 a disposition to do promptly and faithfully all that 
 God requires, as well as to endure patiendy and 
 thankfully all that He imposes. 
 
 T. C. Uph.\m. 
 
 When we have learned to offer up every duty 
 connected with our situation in life as a sacrifice 
 to God, a settled employment becomes just a 
 setded habit of prayer. 
 
 Thomas Erskine. 
 
 " Do the duty which lies nearest thee^'' which 
 thou knowest to be a duty. Thy second duty 
 will already have become clearer. 
 
 T. Carlylk 
 
314 November 9. 
 
 Say not thou^ I will hide myself from the Lord: 
 shall any remember me from above f I shall not 
 be rejiiembered atnong so inany people : for what 
 is 7ny soul among such an infyiife number of crea- 
 tures? — ECCLESIASTICUS, xvi. I7. 
 
 Among so man}', can He care ? 
 Can special love be everywhere? 
 A myriad homes, — a myriad ways, — 
 And God's eye over every place ? 
 
 I asked : my soul bethought of this ; — 
 In just that very place of His 
 Where He hath put and keepeth you, 
 God hath no other thing to do ! 
 
 A. D. T. Whitney. 
 
 r^ IVE free and bold play to those instincts of 
 ^"^ the heart which believe that the Creator 
 must care for the creatures He has made, and 
 that the only real effective care for them must 
 be that which takes each of them into His love, 
 and knowing it separately surrounds it with His 
 separate sympathy. There is not one life which 
 the Life-giver ever loses out of His sight ; not 
 one which sins so that He casts it away ; not one 
 which is not so near to Him that whatever 
 touches it touches Him with sorrow or with 
 joy. 
 
 Phillips Brooks 
 
November 10. 315 
 
 In Him we live, a7idmove, and have our being. — 
 Acts xvii. 28. 
 
 Whither shall I go from 7hy spirit ? or whither 
 shall I flee from Thy presence ? — Ps. cxxxix. 7. 
 
 Yea ! In Thy life our little lives are ended, 
 Into Thy depths our trembling spirits fall ; 
 
 In Thee enfolded, gathered, comprehended. 
 
 As holds the sea her waves — Thou hold'st us all. 
 
 E. SCUDDER. 
 
 Vy HERE then is our God ? You say, He 
 is everywhere : then show me anywhe7-e 
 that you have met Him. You declare Him 
 everlasting: then tell me any vi07nent that He 
 has been with you. You believe Him ready to 
 succor them that are tempted, and to lift those 
 that are borwed down : then in what passionate 
 hour did you subside into His calm grace? in 
 what sorrow lose yourself in His " more exceed- 
 ing" joy? These are the testing questions by 
 which we may learn whether we too have raised 
 our altar to an " unknown God " and pay the 
 worship of the blind ; or whether we commune 
 with Him " in whom we live, and move, and have 
 our being." 
 
 J. Martineau. 
 
3 1 November 1 1 . 
 
 Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pieasijig, 
 being frititfiil in every good work, and increas- 
 ing in the knowledge of Godj strengthened with 
 all mighty according to His glorious power, unto 
 all patience and lojig-siiffering with joyfulness. — 
 Col. i. lo, II. 
 
 To be the thing we seem. 
 To do the thing we deem 
 
 Enjoined by duty ; 
 To walk in faith, nor dream 
 Of questioning God's scheme 
 
 Of truth and beauty. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 'T^O shape the whole Future is not our problem ; 
 but only to shape faithfully a small part 
 of it, according to rules already known. It is 
 perhaps possible for each of us, who will with 
 due earnestness inquire, to ascertain clearly what 
 he, for his own part, ought to do ; this let him, 
 with true heart, do, and continue doing. The 
 general issue will, as it has always done, rest well 
 with a Higher Intelligence than ours. . . . This 
 day thou knowest ten commanded duties, seest 
 in thy mind ten things which should be done for 
 one that thou doest ! Do one of them ; this of 
 itself will show thee ten others which can and 
 shall be done. 
 
 T. Carlyle. 
 
November 12. 317 
 
 / i7Utst work the works of Him that sent me^ 
 while it is day j the night cometh^ when no man 
 zan work. — JOHX ix. 4. 
 
 Wherefore have ye tiot fulfilled your task ? — 
 Ex. V. 14. 
 
 He who intermits 
 The appointed task and duties of the day 
 Untunes full oft the pleasures of the day ; 
 Checking the finer spirits that refuse 
 To flow, when purposes are lightly changed. 
 
 W. Wordsworth. 
 
 TDY putting off things beyond their proper 
 -*-^ times, one duty treads upon the heels of 
 another, and all duties are felt as irksome obliga- 
 tions, — a yoke beneath which we fret and lose 
 our peace. In most cases the consequence of this 
 is, that we have no time to do the work as it 
 ought to be done. It is therefore done precipi- 
 tately, with eagerness, with a greater desire simply 
 to get it done, than to do it well, and with very 
 little tJiought of God throughout. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 Sufficient for each day is the good thereof, 
 equally as the evil. We must do at once, and 
 with our might, the merciful deed that our hand 
 findeth to do, — else it will never be done, for 
 the hand will find other tasks, and the arrears 
 fall through. And every unconsummated good 
 feeling, every unfulfilled purpose that His spirit 
 has prompted, shall one day charge us as faithless 
 and recreant before God. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
31 8 November 13. 
 
 Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest^ O 
 Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law. — Ps. 
 xciv. 12. 
 
 Truly this is a grief, and I jnust bear it. — Jer. 
 X 19. 
 
 Hold in thy murmurs, heaven arraigning 1 
 The patient see God's loving face ; 
 
 Who bear their burdens uncomplaining, 
 'T is they that win the Father's grace. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T^O not run to this and that for comfort when 
 you are in trouble, but bear it. Be uncom- 
 fortably quiet — be uneasily silent — be patiently 
 
 unhappy. 
 
 J. P. Greaves. 
 
 Hard words 7vill vex ; unkindness ivill pierce ; 
 neglect luill wound ; threatened evils ivill make 
 the soul quiver; sharp pain or weariness will 
 rack the body, or make it restless. But what 
 says the Psalmist? "When my heart is vexed, 
 I will complain." To whom? Not ^God, but 
 to God. 
 
 E. B. PU.SEY. 
 
 Surely, I have thought, I do not want to have 
 a grief which would not be a grief. I feel that 
 I shall be able to take up my cross in a religious 
 spirit soon, and then it will be all right. 
 
 James Hinton 
 
November 14. 319 
 
 Thou art my servant J I have formed thee ; thou 
 art my servant; O Israel^ tlioic shalt not he for- 
 gottett of me. — Is A. xliv. 21. 
 
 Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still, 
 
 And bear Thy will ; 
 Courage to venture wholly on the arm 
 
 That will not harm ; 
 The wisdom that will never let me stray 
 
 Out of my way ; 
 The love, that, now afflicting, knoweth best 
 
 When I should rest. 
 
 J. M. Neale. 
 
 A CCEPT His will entirely, and never suppose 
 '^^ that you could serve Him better in any 
 other way. You can never serve Him well, save 
 in the way He chooses. Supposing that you 
 were never to be set free from such trials, what 
 would you do ? You would say to God, " I am 
 Thine — if my trials are acceptable to Thee, give 
 me more and more." I have full confidence that 
 this is what you would say, and then you would 
 not think more of it — at any rate, you would 
 not be anxious. Well, do the same now. Make 
 friends with your trials, as though you were al- 
 ways to live together ; and you will see that when 
 you cease to take thought for your own deliver- 
 ance, God will take thought for you ; and when 
 you cease to help yourself eagerly, He will help 
 you. 
 
 Francis de Sales. 
 
 Ah, if you knew what peace there is in an 
 accepted sorrow ! 
 
 Madame Guyon 
 
320 November 15. 
 
 Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dis- 
 mayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen 
 thee; yea^ I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee 
 with the right hand of my righteousness. — Is A. 
 xli. 10. 
 
 Lord, be Thou near and cheer my lonely way ; 
 With Thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill ; 
 Scatter my cares and fears ; my griefs allay, 
 
 And be it mine each day 
 
 To love and please Thee still 
 
 P. CORNEILLE. 
 
 VI7HAT if the wicked nature, which is as a 
 sea casting out mire and dirt, rage against 
 thee? There is a river, a sweet, still, flowing 
 river, the streams whereof will make glad thy 
 heart. And, learn but in quietness and stillness 
 to retire to the Lord, and wait upon Him ; in 
 whom thou shalt feel peace and joy, in the midst 
 of thy trouble from the cruel and vexatious spirit 
 of this world. So, wait to know thy work and 
 service to the Lord every day, in thy place and 
 station ; and the Lord make thee faithful therein, 
 and thou wilt want neither help, support, nor 
 comfort. 
 
 I. Penington 
 
November 16. 3:^1 
 
 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind 
 is stayed on Thee ; because he trusteth in Thee, — 
 IsA. xxvi. 3. 
 
 What comforts, Lord, to those are given, 
 Who seek in Thee their home and rest ! 
 
 They find on earth an opening heaven, 
 And in Thy peace are amply "blest. 
 
 W. C. Dessler. 
 
 r^ OD is a tranquil Being, and abides in a tran- 
 ^-^ quil eternity. So must thy spirit become 
 a tranquil and clear little pool, wherein the serene 
 light of God can be mirrored. Therefore shun all 
 that is disquieting and distracting, both within 
 and without. Nothing in the whole world is 
 worth the loss of thy peace ; even the faults 
 which thou hast committed should only humble, 
 but not disquiet thee. God is full of joy, peace, 
 and happiness. Endeavor then to obtain a con- 
 tinually joyful and peaceful spirit. Avoid all 
 anxious care, vexation, murmuring, and melan- 
 choly, which darken thy soul, and render thee 
 unfit for the friendship of God. If thou dost 
 perceive such feelings arising, turn gently away 
 from them. 
 
 G. Tersteegen 
 
322 November 17. 
 
 Every day ivill I bless Thee, and I will praise 
 Thy name for ever atid ever. — Ps. cxlv. 2. 
 
 Commit thy works tinto the Lord, and thy thoughts 
 shall be established. — Pro v. xvi. 3. 
 
 Lord, I my vows to Thee renew ; 
 Disperse my sins as morning dew; 
 Guard my first springs of thought and will, 
 And with Thyself my spirit fill. 
 
 Thomas Ken. 
 
 TV/f ORNING by morning think, for a few mo- 
 ments, of the chief employments of the 
 day, any one thing of greater moment than 
 others, thine own especial trial, any occasions 
 of it which are likely to come that day, and by 
 one short strong act commend thyself before- 
 hand in all to God ; offer all thy thoughts, words, 
 and deeds to Him — to be governed, guided, ac- 
 cepted by Him. . . . Choose some great occasions 
 of the day, such as bring with them most trial 
 to thee, on wdiich, above others, to commend 
 thyself to God. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 Will you not, before venturing away from your 
 early quiet hour, "commit thy works" to Him 
 definitely, the special things you have to do 
 to-day, and the unforeseen work which He may 
 add in the course of it? 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
November IS. 323 
 
 Hereby know we that we dwell in Hini^ and He 
 in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. — 
 I John iv. 13. 
 
 WiTHTN ! within, oh turn 
 
 Thy spirit's eyes, and learn 
 Thy wandering senses gently to control ; 
 Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within thy soul, 
 
 And asks thyself of thee. 
 That heart, and mind, and sense, He may make whole 
 
 In perfect harmony. 
 
 G. Tersteegen. 
 
 T17AIT patiently, trust humbly, depend only 
 ^^ upon, seek solely to a God of Light and 
 Love, of Mercy and Goodness, of Glory and Maj- 
 esty, ever dwelling in the inmost depth and spirit 
 of your soul. There you have all the secret, hid- 
 den, invisible Upholder of all the creation, whose 
 blessed operation will always be found by a 
 humble, faithful, loving, calm, patient introversion 
 of your heart to Him, who has His hidden 
 heaven within you, and which will open itself 
 to you, as soon as your heart is left wholly 
 to His eternal, ever-speaking word, and ever- 
 sanctifying spirit within you. Beware of all 
 eagerness and activity of your own natural spirit 
 and temper. Run not in any hasty ways of 
 your own. Be patient under the sense of your 
 own vanity and weakness ; and patiently wait 
 for God to do His own work, and in His own 
 way. 
 
 Wm. Law 
 
324 November 19. 
 
 If any man a7nong you seem to be religious^ and 
 bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own hearty 
 this man''s religion is vain. — James i. 26. 
 
 / said, I wiil take heed to ?ny ways, that i sin 
 not with my tongue. — Ps. xxxix. i . 
 
 No sinful word, nor deed of wrong, 
 
 Nor thoughts that idly rove; 
 But simple truth be on our tongue, 
 
 And in our hearts be love. 
 
 St. Ambrose. 
 
 T ET us all resolve, — First, to attain the grace 
 of SILENCE ; Second, to deem all fault- 
 finding that does no good a sin, and to resolve, 
 when we are happy ourselves, not to poison the 
 atmosphere for our neighbors by calling on them 
 to remark every painful and disagreeable feature 
 of their daily life ; Third, to practise the grace 
 and virtue of praise. 
 
 Harriet B. Stowe. 
 
 Surrounded by those who constantly exhibit 
 defects of character and conduct, if we yield to 
 a complaining and impatient spirit, we shall mar 
 our own peace without having the satisfaction of 
 benefiting others. 
 
 T. C Upham. 
 
November 20. 325 
 
 V^ have 7ieed of patience, that, after ye have done 
 the will of God, ye might receive the promise. — 
 Heb. X. 36. 
 
 Sweet Patience, come : 
 Not from a low and earthly source, — 
 Waiting, till things shall have their course, — 
 Not as accepting present pain 
 In hope of some hereafter gain, — 
 Not in a dull and sullen calm, — 
 But as a breath of heavenly balm, 
 Bidding my weary heart submit 
 To bear whatever God sees fit : 
 
 Sweet Patience, come ! 
 
 Hymns of the Church Militant. 
 
 TDATIENCE endues her scholars with content 
 of mind, and evenness of temper, prevent- 
 ing all repining grumbling, and impatient desires, 
 and inordinate affections ; disappointments here 
 are no crosses, and all anxious thoughts are dis- 
 armed of their sting ; in her habitations dwell 
 quietness, submission, and long-suffering, all fierce 
 turbulent inclinations are hereby allayed. The 
 eyes of the patient fixedly wait the inward power 
 of God's providence, and they are thereby 
 mightily enabled towards their salvation and 
 presen-ation. 
 
 Thomas Tryon 
 
326 November 21. 
 
 Man shall not live by bread alone^ but by every 
 word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. — 
 Matt. iv. 4. 
 
 A jnatt's life consisteth not in the abundance of 
 the things which he possesseth. — Luke xii. 15. 
 
 Whate'er God does is well, 
 Whether He gives or takes ! 
 And what we from His hand receive 
 
 Suffices us to live. 
 He takes and gives, while yet He loves us still. 
 
 Then love His will. 
 
 B. SCHMOLCK 
 
 TS that beast better, that hath two or three moun- 
 tains to graze on, than a little bee, that feeds 
 on dew or manna, and lives upon what falls every 
 morning from the storehouse of heaven, clouds, 
 and providence ? , 
 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 For myself I am certain that the good of hu- 
 man life cannot lie in the possession of things 
 which for one man to possess is for the rest to 
 lose, but rather in things which all can possess 
 alike, and where one man's wealth promotes his 
 neighbor's. 
 
 B. Spinoza. 
 
 Every lot is happy to a person who bears it 
 with tranquillity. 
 
 BOETHIUS. 
 
November 22. 327 
 
 Vour Father knoweth what things ye have need 
 of.' — Matt. vi. 8. 
 
 Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His right- 
 eousness^ and all these things shall be added unto 
 you. — Matt. vi. 33. 
 
 Thy kingdom come, with power and grace, 
 
 To every heart of man ; 
 Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness 
 
 In ail our bosoms reign. 
 
 C. Wesley. 
 
 /^^OD bids us, then, by past mercies, by present 
 grace, by fears of coming ill, by hopes in 
 His goodness, earnestly, with our whole hearts, 
 seek Him and His righteousness, and all these 
 things, all ye need for soul and body, peace, com- 
 fort, joy, the overflowing of His consolations, 
 shall be added over and above to you. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 GR.A.NT us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, always 
 to seek Thy kingdom and righteousness, and of 
 whatsoever Thou seest us to stand in need, mer- 
 cifully grant us an abundant portion. Amen. 
 
 Be content to be a child, and let the Father 
 proportion out daily to thee what light, what 
 power, what exercises, what straits, what fears, 
 what troubles He sees fit for thee. 
 
 I. Pkxingto.n' 
 
328 Novembei 23. 
 
 / have taught thee in the way of wisdom j I have 
 led thee in right paths. — Prov. iv. ii. 
 
 We know not what the path may be 
 
 As yet by us untrod ; 
 But we can trust our all to Thee, 
 
 Our Father and our God. 
 
 Wm. J. Irons 
 
 Tl 7E have very little command over the cir- 
 cum stances m which we may be called by 
 God to bear our part — unlimited command over 
 the tem|.er of our souls, but next to no command 
 over the outward forms of trial. The most ener- 
 getic will cannot order the events by which our 
 spirits are to be perilled and tested. Powers 
 quite beyond our reach — death, accident, for- 
 tune, another's sin — may change in a moment 
 all the conditions of our hfe. With to-morrow's 
 sun existence may have new and awful aspects 
 for any of us. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
 Oh, my friend, look not out at what stands in 
 the way ; what if it look dreadfully as a lion, is not 
 the Lord stronger than the mountains of prey? 
 but look in, where the law of life is written, and 
 the will of the Lord revealed, that thou mayest 
 know what is the Lord's will concerning thee. 
 
 I. Penington 
 
November 24. 329 
 
 Be of good coi(ra(^e, aiid He shall strengthen your 
 heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. — Ps. xxxi. 24. 
 
 Let not your heart be troubled^ neither let it be 
 a/raid. — John xiv. 27. 
 
 In heavenly love abiding, 
 
 No change my heart shall fear ; 
 
 And safe is such confiding, 
 For nothing changes here. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 A TRUE Christian, that hath power over his 
 own will, may live nobly and happily, and 
 enjoy a clear heaven within the serenity of his 
 own mind perpetually. When the sea of this 
 world is most rough and tempestuous about him, 
 then can he ride safely at anchor within the 
 haven, by a sweet compliance of his will with 
 God's will. He can look about him, and with 
 an even and indifferent mind behold the world 
 either to smile or frown upon him ; neither will 
 he abate of the least of his contentment for all 
 the ill and unkind usage he meets withal in this 
 life. He that hath got the mastery over his own 
 will feels no violence from without, finds no con- 
 tests within ; and when God calls for him out 
 of this state of mortality, he finds in himself 
 a power to lay down his own life ; neither is it 
 so much taken from him, as quiedy and freely 
 
 surrendered up by him. 
 
 Dr. T<^hn Smith. 
 
330 November 25. 
 
 And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee ; 
 He will be with thee. He will not fail thee, 7ieither 
 forsake thee : fear not, neither be dismayed. — ■ 
 Deut. xxxi. 8. 
 
 Know well, my soul, God's hand controls 
 
 Whate'er thou fearest ; 
 Round Him in calmest music rolls 
 
 Whate'er thou hearest. 
 
 J. G. Whittier, 
 
 T^HE lessons of the moral sentiment are, once 
 for all, an emancipation from that anxiety 
 which takes the joy out of all life. It teaches 
 a great peace. It comes itself from the highest 
 place. It is that, which being in all sound 
 natures, and strongest in the best and most 
 gifted men, we know to be implanted by the 
 Creator of men. It is a commandment at every 
 moment, and in every condition of life, to do the 
 duty of that moment, and to abstain from doing 
 the wrong. 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
 Go face the fire at sea, or the cholera in your 
 friend's house, or the burglar in your own, or 
 what danger lies in the way of duty, knowing 
 you are guarded by the cherubim of Destiny. 
 
 R. W. Emerson 
 
November 26. 33 
 
 Behold^ I am with thee, and will keep thee in all 
 places whither thoit goest. — Gen. xxviii. 15. 
 
 Be quiet, soul : 
 Why shouldst thou care and sadness borrow, 
 Why sit in nameless fear and sorrow, 
 
 The livelong day ? 
 God will mark out thy path to-morrow 
 
 In His best way. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 T HAD hoped, Madame, to find you here, and 
 was rejoicing in that hope ; but God has 
 sent you elsewhere. The best place is wherever 
 He puts us, and any other would be undesirable, 
 all the worse because it would please our fancy, 
 and would be of our own choice. Do not think 
 about distant events. This uneasiness about the 
 future is unwholesome for you. We must leave 
 to God all that depends on Him, and think only 
 of being faithful in all that depends upon our 
 selves. When God takes away that which He 
 has given you, He knows well how to replace it, 
 either through other means or by Himself 
 
 Fexelon 
 
33-2 November 27. 
 
 The Lord hath been tnindful of jis : He 'will 
 jless us. — Ps. cxv. 12. 
 
 My Father ! what am I, that all 
 Thy mercies sweet like sunlight fall 
 
 So constant o'er my way .'' 
 That Thy great love should shelter me, 
 And guide my steps so tenderly 
 
 Through every changing day .'' 
 
 Anon. 
 
 \T7HAT a strength and spring of life, what 
 hope and trust, what glad, unresting 
 energy, is in this one thought, — to serve Him 
 who is "my Lord," ever near me, ever looking 
 on ; seeing my intentions before He beholds 
 my failures ; knowing my desires before He sees 
 my faults ; cheering me to endeavor greater 
 things, and yet accepting the least ; inviting my 
 poor service, and yet, above all, content with 
 my poorer love. Let us try to realize this, what- 
 soever, wheresoever we be. The humblest and 
 the simplest, the weakest and the most encum- 
 bered, may love Him not less than the busiest 
 and strongest, the most gifted and laborious. 
 If our heart be clear before Him ; if He be to 
 us our chief and sovereign choice, dear above 
 all, and beyond all desired ; then all else matters 
 little. That which concerneth us He will perfect 
 in stillness and in power. 
 
 H. E. Manning 
 
November 28. 333 
 
 Vea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; 
 therefore with loving-kindness have 1 drawn thee. 
 — Jer. xxxi. 3. 
 
 On the great love of God I lean, 
 
 Love of the Infinite, Unseen, 
 
 With nought of heaven or earth between. 
 
 This God is mine, and I am His ; 
 
 His love is all I need of bliss. 
 
 H. Bonar. 
 
 TF ever human love was tender, and self- 
 sacrificing, and devoted ; if ever it could 
 bear and forbear ; if ever it could suffer gladly 
 for its loved ones ; if ever it was willing to pour 
 itself out in a lavish abandonment for the comfort 
 or pleasure of its objects ; then infinitely more 
 is Divine love tender, and self-sacrificing, and 
 devoted, and glad to bear and forbear, and to 
 suffer, and to lavish its best of gifts and blessings 
 upon the objects of its love. Put together all 
 the tenderest love you know of, the deepest you 
 have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever 
 been poured out upon you, and heap upon it 
 all the love of all the loving human hearts in the 
 world, and then multiply it by infinity, and you will 
 begin, perhaps, to have some faint glimpse of 
 what the love of God is. 
 
 H. W. S. 
 
334 Novein"ber 29. 
 
 My sons^ be not jioiv negligetit : for the Lord hath 
 chosen yoii to stand before Him, to serve Him. — 
 2 Chron. xxix. II. 
 
 Bright be my prospect as I pass along ; — 
 An ardent service at the cost of all, — 
 
 Love by untiring ministry made strong, 
 And ready for the first, the softest call. 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
 'T^HERE are many things that appear trifles, 
 which greatly tend to enervate the soul, 
 and hinder its progi-ess in the path to virtue and 
 glory. The habit of indulging in things which 
 our judgment cannot thoroughly approve, grows 
 stronger and stronger by every act of self-gratifi- 
 cation, and we are led on by degrees to an excess 
 of luxury which must greatly weaken our hands 
 in the spiritual warfare. If we do not endeavor 
 to do that which is right in every particular cir- 
 cumstance, though trifling, we shall be in great 
 danger of letting the same negligence take place 
 in matters more essential. 
 
 Margaret Woods. 
 
 The will can only be made submissive by 
 frequent self-denials, which must keep in subjec- 
 tion its sallies and inclinations. Great weakness 
 is often produced by indulgences which seem of 
 no importance. 
 
 M. MOLINOS. 
 
November 30. 355 
 
 Why art thou cast down^ O my soul ? and ivhy 
 art thou disquieted in me ? hope thou in God ; 
 for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His couti- 
 tenance. — Ps. xlii. 5. 
 
 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. 
 — 2 Cor. iv. 8. 
 
 Oh, my soul, why art thou vexed ? 
 
 Let things go e'en as they will ; 
 Though to thee they seem perjjlexed, 
 
 Yet His order they fulfil. 
 
 A. H. Francke. 
 
 'T^HE vexation, restlessness, and impatience 
 -*■ which small trials cause, arise wholly from 
 our ignorance and want of self-control. We may 
 be thwarte^ and troubled, it is true, but these 
 things put us into a condition for exercising 
 patience and meek submission, and the self- 
 abnegation wherein alone the fulness of God is to 
 be found. 
 
 De Renty. 
 
 Every day deny yourself some satisfaction : — 
 bearing all the inconveniences of life (for the 
 love of God), cold, hunger, restless nights, ill 
 health, unwelcome news, the faults of servants, 
 contempt, ingratitude of friends, malice of ene- 
 mies, calumnies, our own failings, lowness of 
 spirits, the struggle in overcoming our corrup- 
 tions ; — bearing all these with patience and 
 resignation to the will of God. Do all this as 
 unto God, with the greatest privacy. 
 
 Bishop Wilson 
 
I 
 
 335 December 1. 
 
 Charity envieth not, . . . tJiinketh no evil. — 
 I Cor. xiii. 4, 5. 
 
 Why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost 
 thou set at nought thy brother ? — RoM. xiv. 10. 
 
 He that despiseth his neighbor^ sinneth. — Prov. 
 xiv. 21. 
 
 Look thou with pity on a brother's fall, 
 But dwell not with stern anger on his fault; 
 The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all ; 
 Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt. 
 
 J. Edmeston. 
 
 F, on hearing of the fall of a brother, however 
 differing or severed from us, we feel the least 
 inclination to linger over it, instead of hiding it in 
 grief and shame, or veiling it in the love which 
 covereth a multitude of sins ; if, in seeing a joy or 
 a grace or an effective service given to others, we 
 do not rejoice, but feel depressed, let us be very 
 watchful ; the most diabolical of passions may 
 mask itself as humility, or zeal for the glory of 
 i.od. 
 
 Elizabeth Charles. 
 
 [ Love taketh up no malign elements ; its spirit 
 prompteth it to cover in mercy all things that 
 ought not to be exposed, to believe all of good 
 that can be believed, to hope all things that a 
 good God makes possible, and to endure all things 
 that the hope may be made good. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
December 2. 337 
 
 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man., whoso- 
 ever thou art that jtidgest: for wherein thou judg- 
 est another^ thoti coudemtiest thyself j for thon thai 
 judgest doest the same things. — RoM. ii. i. 
 
 Search thine own heart. What paineth thee 
 
 In others, in thyself may be ; 
 All dust is frail, all flesh is weak ; 
 
 Be thou the true man thou dost seek. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 A SAINT'S life in one man may be less than 
 common honesty in another. From iis, 
 whose consciences He has reached and enlight- 
 ened, God may look for a martyr's truth, a Chris- 
 tian's unworldly simplicity, before He will place 
 us on a level even with the average of the exposed 
 classes. We perhaps think our lives at least 
 harmless. We do not consider what He may 
 think of them, when compared with the invita- 
 tions of His that we have slighted, with the aims 
 of His Providence we are leaving without our 
 help, with the glory for ourselves we are refusing 
 and casting away, with the vast sum of blessed 
 work tliat daily faithfulness in time can rear with- 
 out overwork on any single day. 
 
 J H. Thom 
 22 
 
338 December 3. 
 
 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
 peace in believing^ that ye may aboiuid in hope^ 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost. — ROxM. 
 XV. 13. 
 
 To heaven I lift my waiting eyes ; 
 
 There all my hopes are laid ; 
 The Lord that built the earth and skies 
 
 Is my perpetual aid. 
 
 I. Watts. 
 
 f~~^ ROVEL not in things below, among earthly 
 ^^ cares, pleasures, anxieties, toils, if thou 
 wouldst have a good strong hope on high. Lift 
 up thy cares with thy heart to God, if thou 
 wouldst hope in Him. Then see what in thee is 
 most displeasing to God. This it is which hold- 
 eth thy hope down. Strike firmly, repeatedly, in 
 the might of God, until it give way. Thy hope 
 will soar at once with thy thanks to God who 
 delivereth thee. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 The snares of the enemy will be so known to 
 thee and discerned, the way of help so manifest 
 and easy, that their strength will be broken, and 
 the poor entangled bird will fly away singing, 
 from the nets and entanglements of the fowler ; 
 and praises will spring up, and great love in thy 
 heart to the Forgiver and Redeemer. 
 
 I. Penington. 
 
December 4. 339 
 
 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold 07i eter- 
 nal life, 'wliereiinto tJwu art also called. — i Tim. 
 
 Oh, dream no more of quiet life ; 
 Care finds the careless out ; more wise to vow 
 
 Thy heart entire to faith's pure strife ; 
 So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how. 
 
 Lyra Apostolica. 
 
 TTTHO art thou that complainest of thy Hfe of 
 toil? Complain not. Look up, my wea- 
 ried brother ; see thy fellow-workmen there, in 
 God's Eternity ; surviving there, they alone 
 surviving ; sacred band of the Immortals, ce- 
 lestial body-guard of the empire of mankind. 
 To thee Heaven, though severe, is not unkind ; 
 Heaven is kind, — as a noble mother ; as that 
 Spartan mother, saying while she gave her son 
 his shield, " With it, my son, or upon it," Thou 
 too shalt return ho^ne in honor ; to thy far-distant 
 Home, in honor ; doubt it not, — if in the battle 
 thou keep thy shield ! Thou, in the Eternities 
 and deepest death-kingdoms art not an alien ; 
 thou everywhere art a denizen. Complain not. 
 
 T. Carlvlk 
 
340 December 5. 
 
 The God of all grace, who hath called us unto 
 His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye 
 have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, 
 strengthen, settle you. — i Pet. v. io. 
 
 Take heed, and bj quiet ; fear ftot, neither be 
 faint-hearted. — Is A. vii. 4. 
 
 How shalt thou bear the cross that now 
 
 So dread a weight appears ? 
 Keep quietly to God, and think 
 
 Upon the Eternal Years. 
 
 F. W. Faber, 
 
 C^OV> forgive them that raise an ill report upon 
 ^^ the sweet cross of Christ ; it is but our 
 weak and dim eyes, that look but to the black 
 side, that makes us mistake ; those that can take 
 that crabbed tree handsomely upon their backs, 
 and fasten it on cannily, shall find it such a bur- 
 den as wings unto a bird, or sails to a ship. 
 
 S Rutherford. 
 
 Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming, 
 which God has been so good as to fasten with 
 His own hand upon our shoulders. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 We cannot say this or that trouble shall not 
 befall, yet we may, by help of the Spirit, say, 
 nothing that doth befall shall make me do that 
 which is unworthy of a Christian. 
 
 R. SiBBES 
 
December 6. 341 
 
 Ihis God is our God for ever and ever : He will 
 be our guide e7)en unto deatli. — Ps. xiviii. 14. 
 
 For the Lord shall be thy confidence. — Pro v. 
 iii. 26. 
 
 Be still, my soul ! Thy God doth undertake 
 To guide the future, as He has the past : 
 
 Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake, 
 All now mysterious shall be bright at last. 
 
 J. BORTHWICK. 
 
 TIE has kept and folded us from ten thousand 
 -*- •* ills when we did not know it : in the 
 midst of our security we should have perished 
 every hour, but that He sheltered us " from the 
 terror by night and from the arrow that fiieth 
 by day " — from the powers of evil that walk in 
 darkness, from snares of our own evil will. He 
 has kept us even against ourselves, and saved us 
 even from our own undoing. Let us read the 
 traces of His hand in all our ways, in all the events, 
 the chances, the changes of this troubled state. 
 It is He that folds and feeds us, that makes us to 
 go in and out, — to be faint, or to find pasture, 
 — to lie down by the still waters, or to walk by 
 the way that is parched and desert. 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
 We are never without help. We have no 
 right to say of any good work, it is too hard for 
 me to do, or of any sorrow, it is too hard for me 
 to bear ; or of any sinful habit, it is too hard for 
 me to overcome. 
 
 Ei.i/.AREiH Charles 
 
142 December 7. 
 
 Acquaint now thyself ivith Him^ and be at peace. 
 — Job xxii. 21. 
 
 All thy children shall be tans^ht of the Lord^ and 
 great shall be the peace of thy children. — IsA- 
 iiv. 13. 
 
 Unite, my roving thoughts, unite 
 
 In silence soft and sweet ; 
 And thou, my soul, sit gently down 
 
 At thy great Sovereign's feet. 
 
 P. Doddridge. 
 
 'VT'ES ! blessed are those holy hours in which 
 the soul retires from the world to be alone 
 with God. God's voice, as Himself, is every- 
 where. Within and without, He speaks to our 
 souls, if we would hear. Only the din of the 
 world, or the tumult of our own hearts, deafens 
 our inward ear to it. Learn to commune with 
 Him in stillness, and He, whom thou hast sought 
 in stillness, will be with thee when thou goest 
 abroad. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 The great step and direct path to the fear and 
 awful reverence of God, is to meditate, and with 
 a sedate and silent hush to turn the eyes of the 
 mind inwards ; there to seek, and with a sub- 
 missive spirit wait at the gates of Wisdom's 
 temple ; and then the Divine Voice and Distin- 
 guishing Power will arise in the light and centre 
 of a man's self. 
 
 Thomas Tryon. 
 
December 8. 343 
 
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who hath blessed its with all spiritual 
 blessings. — Eph. i. 3 
 
 As sorrow/id^ yet alway rejoicing. — 2 COR. 
 vi. 10. 
 
 It is not happiness I seek, 
 Its name I hardly dare to speak ; 
 It is not made for man or earth, 
 And Heaven alone can give it birth. 
 
 There is a something sweet and pure, 
 Through life, through death it may endure j 
 With steady foot I onward press, 
 And long to win that Blessedness. 
 
 Louisa J. Hall. 
 
 "^ I "HE elements of happiness in this present 
 "'- life no man can command, even if he 
 could command himself, for they depend on the 
 action of many wills, on the purity of many 
 hearts, and by the highest law of God the holiest 
 must ever bear the sins and sorrows of the rest ; 
 but over the blessedness of his own spirit circum- 
 stance need have no control ; God has therein 
 given an unlimited power to the means of pres- 
 ervation, of grace and growth, at every man's 
 command. 
 
 J. H. Thom. 
 
 There is in man a higher than love of happi- 
 ness : he can do without happiness, and instead 
 thereof find blessedness ! 
 
 T, Carlyle 
 
344 December 9. 
 
 For this shall every one that is godly pray unt6 
 Thee in a time when Thou may est be foimd : surely 
 in the floods of great waters they shall not come 
 nigh unto him. — Ps. xxxii. 6. 
 
 15E not o'ermastered by thy pain, 
 
 But cling to God, thou shalt not fall ; 
 The floods sweep over thee in vain, 
 
 Thou yet shalt rise above them all ; 
 For when thy trial seems too hard to bear, 
 Lo I God, thy King, hath granted all thy prayer : 
 Be thou content. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 TT is the Lord's mercy, to give thee breathings 
 after life, and cries unto Him against that 
 which oppresseth thee ; and happy wilt thou be, 
 when He shall fill thy soul with that which He 
 hath given thee to breathe after. Be not troubled ; 
 for if troubles abound, and there be tossing, and 
 storms, and tempests, and no peace, nor any- 
 thing visible left to support ; yet, lie still, and 
 sink beneath, till a secret hope stir, which will 
 stay the heart in the midst of all these ; until 
 the Lord administer comfort, who knows how 
 and what relief to give to the weary traveller, 
 that knows not where it is, nor which way to look, 
 nor where to expect a path. 
 
 I. Pf.nington. 
 
December 10. 345 
 
 BeJiold^ we count the7)i happy which endure. — 
 James v. ii. 
 
 If ye endure chaste7iing^ God dealeth with you as 
 with sons. — Heb. xii. 7. 
 
 Trials must and will befall ; 
 
 But with humble faith to ^ee 
 Love inscribed upon them all, 
 
 This is happiness to me. 
 
 W. Cow PER. 
 
 T3E not afraid of those trials which God may 
 see fit to send upon thee. It is with the 
 wind and storm of tribulation that God separates 
 the true wheat from the chaff Ahvays remember; 
 therefore, that God comes to thee in thy sorrovs, 
 as really as in thy joys. He lays low, and He 
 builds up. Thou wilt find thyself far from per- 
 fection, if thod dost not find God in every- 
 thing. 
 
 M. MoiiiNos. 
 
 God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for 
 His children, could they improve and use it; 
 a calm and firm conviction in all the storms and 
 troubles that are about them, however things go, 
 to find content, and be careful for nothing. 
 
 R. Leighton 
 
;;4G December 1 1 . 
 
 Oh that Thou woiildest bless nie indeed, and thai 
 Thine ha7id might be with nie, and that Thoit 
 ivoiddest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve 
 me ! — I Chron. iv. lo. 
 
 Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall 
 bless thy bread and thy water. — Ex. xxiii. 25. 
 
 What I possess, or what I crave, 
 Brings no content, great God, to me. 
 
 If what I would, or what I have. 
 Be not possest, and blest, in Thee ; 
 What I enjoy, O make it mine, 
 In making me that have it, Thine. 
 
 J. QUARLES. 
 
 /^FFER up to God all pure affections, desires, 
 ^-^ regrets, and all the bonds which link us to 
 home, kindred, and friends, together with all our 
 works, purposes, and labors. These things, which 
 are not only lawful, but sacred, become then the 
 matter of thanksgiving and oblation. Memories, 
 plans for the future, wishes, intentions ; works 
 just begun, half done, all but completed ; emo- 
 tions, sympathies, affections, — all these things 
 throng tumultuously and dangerously in the heart 
 and will. The only way to master them is to 
 offer them up to Him, as once ours, under Him, 
 always His by right. 
 
 H. E. Manning. 
 
December 12. 347 
 
 / delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea. Thy 
 law is within viy heart. — Ps. xl. 8. 
 
 A PATIENT, a victorious mind, 
 That life and all things casts behind, 
 
 Springs forth obedient to Thy call ; 
 A heart that no desire can move, 
 But still to adore, believe, and love, 
 
 Give me, my Lord, my Life, my All. 
 
 P. Gerhardt. 
 
 nPHAT piety which sanctifies us, and which is 
 •*■ a true devotion to God, consists in doing 
 all His will precisely at the time, in the situation, 
 and under the circumstances, in which He has 
 placed us. Perfect devotedness requires, not 
 only that we do the will of God, but that we do it 
 with love. God would have us serve Him with 
 delight ; it is our hearts that He asks of us. 
 
 F^NELON. 
 
 Devotion is really neither more nor less than 
 a general inclination and readiness to do that 
 which we know to be acceptable to God. It is 
 that " free spirit," of which David spoke when he 
 said, " I will nm the way of Thy commandments, 
 when Thou hast set my heart at liberty." Peo- 
 ple of ordinary goodness walk in God's way, but 
 the devout run in it, and at length they almost 
 fly therein. ... To be truly devout, we must 
 not only do God's will, but we must do it cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 Francis de Sales 
 
348 December 13. 
 
 So teach us to iiimibcr our days, that we may 
 apply our hearts unto wisdom. — Ps. xc. 12. 
 
 Seek ye not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall 
 drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. — Luke 
 xii. 29. 
 
 Our days are numbered: let us spare 
 Our anxious hearts a needless care : 
 'Tis Thine to number out our days ; 
 'T is ours to give them to Thy praise. 
 
 Madame Guyon. 
 
 T^VERY day let us renew the consecration to 
 God's service ; every day let us, in His 
 strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do His will, 
 even in the veriest trifle, and to turn aside from 
 anything that may displease Him. . . . He does 
 not bid us bear the burdens of to-morrow, next 
 week, or next year. Every day we are to come 
 to Him in simple obedience and faith, asking 
 help to keep us, and aid us through that day's 
 work ; and to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to- 
 morrow, through years of long to-morrows, it will 
 be but the same thing to do ; leaving the future 
 always in God's hands, sure that He can care for 
 it better than we. Blessed trust ! that can thus 
 confidingly say, " This hour is mine with its 
 present duty ; the next is God's, and when it 
 comes. His presence will come with it." 
 
 Anon. 
 
December 14. 349 
 
 And as viajiy as walk according to this rule, 
 teace be on them, and tnercy,, and upon the Israel 
 of God. — Gal. vi. 16. 
 
 Lord, I have given my life to Thee, 
 
 And every day and hour is Thine, — 
 What Thou appointest let them be ; 
 Thy will is better, Lord, than mine. 
 
 A. Warner 
 
 T3EGIN at once ; before you venture away 
 from this quiet moment, ask your King to 
 take you wholly into His service, and place all 
 the hours of this day quite simply at His disposal, 
 and ask Him to make and keep you ready to 
 do just exactly what He appoints. Never mind 
 about to-morrow ; one day at a time is enough. 
 Try it to-day, and see if it is not a day of strange, 
 almost curious peace, so sweet that you will be 
 only too thankful, when to-morrow comes, to 
 ask Him to take it also, — till it will become a 
 blessed habit to hold yourself simply and "wholly 
 at Thy commandment for any manner of service." 
 The 'Svhatsoever " is not necessarily active work. 
 It may be waiting (whether half an hour or half 
 a lifetime), learning, suffering, sitting still. But 
 shall we be less ready for these, if any of them 
 are His appointments for to-day? Let us ask 
 Him to prepare us for all that He is preparing 
 for us. 
 
 F. R. Havergal 
 
350 
 
 December 15. 
 
 Return unto thv rest. O my S021I ; for the Lord 
 hath dealt bou7itifuUy with thee.. — Ps. cxvi. 7. 
 
 We which have believed do enter into rest. — 
 Heb. iv. 3. 
 
 Rest is not quitting 
 
 The busy career ; 
 Rest is the fitting 
 
 Of self to its sphere. 
 
 *T is loving and servmg 
 
 The highest and best ! 
 'T is onwards, unswerving, — 
 
 And that is true rest. 
 
 J. S. DWIGHT. 
 
 A S a result of this strong faith, the inner life of 
 Catherine of Genoa was characterized, in 
 a remarkable degree, by what may be termed 
 rest, or quietude ; which is only another form of 
 expression for true interior peace. It was not, 
 however, the quietude of a lazy inaction, but 
 the quietude of an inward acquiescence ; not a 
 quietude which feels nothing and does nothing, 
 but that higher and divine quietude which exists 
 by feeling and acting in the time and degree of 
 God's appointment and God's will. It was a 
 principle in her conduct, to give herself to God 
 in the discharge of duty ; and to leave all results 
 without solicitude in His hands. 
 
 T C Upham. 
 
December 16. 351 
 
 JJiou laiderstandest my thought afar off. — Ps 
 cxxxix. 2. 
 
 Who can understand his errors f cleanse Thou 
 me from sec7'et faults. — Ps. xix. 12. 
 
 My newest griefs to Thee are old ; 
 
 My last transgression of Thy law, 
 Though wrapped in thought's most secret fold, 
 
 Thine eyes w^ith pitying sadness saw. 
 
 H. M. KiMUALI.. 
 
 T ORD our God, great, eternal, wonderful in 
 glory, who keepest covenant and promises 
 for those that love Thee with their whole heart, 
 who art the Life of all, the Help of those that 
 flee unto Thee, the Hope of those who cry unto 
 Thee, cleanse us from our sins, secret and open ; 
 and from every thought displeasing to Thy good- 
 ness, — cleanse our bodies and souls, our hearts 
 and consciences, that with a pure heart, and a 
 clear soul, with perfect love and calm hope, we 
 may venture confidently and fearlessly to pray 
 unto Thee. x-\men. 
 
 Coptic Liturgy of St. Basil. 
 
 The dominion of any sinful habit will fearfully 
 estrange us from His presence. A single con- 
 senting act of inward disobedience in thought or 
 will is enough to let fall a cloud between Him 
 and us, and to leave our hearts cheerless and 
 dark. 
 
 H. E. Manxtxg. 
 
352 December 17. 
 
 The fruit of the Spirit is loz'e, Joy, peace, lons^- 
 suffering, gentleness.^ goodness, faith, meekness, tejn- 
 ^erance. — Gal. v. 22, 23. 
 
 Herein is my Father glorifed, that ye bear much 
 fruit J so shall ye be my disciples. — John xv. 8. 
 
 O Breath from out the Eternal Silence ! blow 
 Softly upon our spirits' barren ground ; 
 
 The precious fulness of our God bestow, 
 
 That fruits of faith, love, reverence may abound. 
 
 G. Tersteegen. 
 
 TS it possible we should be ignorant whether 
 we feel tempers contrary to love or no ? — 
 whether we rejoice always, or are burdened and 
 bowed down with sorrow? — whether we have a 
 praying, or a dead, lifeless spirit? — whether we 
 can praise God, and be resigned in all trials, 
 or feel murmurings, fretfulness, and impatience 
 under them ? — is it not easy to know if we feel 
 anger at provocations, or whether we feel our 
 tempers mild, gentle, peaceable, and easy to be 
 entreated, or feel stubbornness, self-will, and 
 pride ? whether we have slavish fears, or are pos- 
 sessed of that perfect love which casteth out all 
 fear that hath torment ? 
 
 Hester Ann Rogers 
 
December 18. 353 
 
 We trust in the living God. — i Tim. iv. 10. 
 
 Thy secret judgment's depths profound 
 
 Still sings the silent night ; 
 The day, upon his golden round, 
 
 Thy pity infinite. 
 
 I. Williams. Tr. from Lattiu 
 
 "VrOW that I have no longer any sense for the 
 -*-^ transitory and perishable, the universe ap- 
 pears before my eyes under a transformed aspect. 
 The dead, heavy mass which did but stop up 
 space has vanished, and in its place there flows 
 onward, with the rushing music of mighty waves, 
 an eternal stream of hfe, and power, and action, 
 which issues from the original source of all life, — 
 from Thy life, O Infinite One ! for all life is Thy 
 life, and only the religious eye penetrates to the 
 realm of true Beauty. 
 
 J. G. FlCHTE- 
 
 What is Nature ? Art thou not the " Living 
 Garment " of God ? O Heavens, is it, in very 
 deed, He then that ever speaks through thee ; 
 that lives and loves in thee, that lives and loves 
 in me? Sweeter than dayspring to the ship- 
 wrecked in Nova Zembla ; ah ! like the mother's 
 voice to her little child that strays bewildered, 
 weeping, in unknown tumults ; like soft stream- 
 ings of celestial music to my too exasperated 
 heart, came that Evangel. The Universe is not 
 dead and deir^oniacal, a charnel-house with spec- 
 tres ; but godlike, and my Father's. 
 
 T. Carlvlk 
 23 
 
354 December 19. 
 
 O Lord, be gracious unto lis ; we have ivaited 
 for Thee. — Isa. xxxiii. 2. 
 
 And now. Lord, what wait I for f 7ny hope is 
 in Thee. — Ps. xxxix. 7. 
 
 He never comes too late ; 
 
 He knoweth what is best; 
 Vex not thyself in vain ; 
 
 Until He cometh, rest. 
 
 B. T. 
 
 TirE make mistakes, or what we call such. 
 * * The nature that could fall into such mis- 
 take exactly needs, and in the goodness of the 
 dear God is given, the living of it out. And be- 
 yond this, I believe more. That in the pure and 
 patient living of it out we come to find that we 
 have fallen, not into hopeless confusion of our 
 osvn wild, ignorant making ; but that the finger 
 of God has been at work among our lines, and 
 that the emerging is into His blessed order ; 
 that He is forever making up for us our own un- 
 doings ; that He makes them up beforehand ; 
 that He evermore restoreth our souls. 
 
 A. D. T. Whitney. 
 
 The Lord knows how to make stepping-stones 
 for us of our defects, even ; it is what He lets 
 them be for. He remembereth — He remem- 
 bered in the making — that we are but dust ; the 
 dust of earth, that He chose to make something 
 little lower than the angels out of. 
 
 A. D. T. Whitney 
 
December 20. 355 
 
 Take no thought hozv or what ye shall speak : 
 for it shall be giveft you i?i that sajne hour what 
 ye shall speak. — Matt. x. 19. 
 
 Just to follow hour by hour 
 
 As He leadeth ; 
 Just to draw the moment's power 
 
 As it needeth. 
 
 F. R. Havergal. 
 
 'VT'OU have a disagreeable duty to do at twelve 
 o'clock. Do not blacken nine, and ten, 
 and eleven, and all between, with the color of 
 twelve. Do the work of each, and reap your 
 reward in peace. So when the dreaded moment 
 in the future becomes the present, you shall meet 
 it walking in the light, and that light will over- 
 come its darkness. The best preparation is the 
 present well seen to, the last duty done. For 
 this will keep the eye so clear and the body so 
 full of light that the right action will be perceived 
 at once, the right words will rush from the heart 
 to the lips, and the man, full of the Spirit of God 
 because he cares for nothing but the will of God, 
 will trample on the evil thing in love, and be 
 sent, it may be, in a chariot of fire to the pres- 
 ence of his Father, or stand unmoved amid the 
 cruel mockings of the men he loves. 
 
 G. MacDonald. 
 
356 December 21, 
 
 Hast thoti not known ? hast thou not heard, 
 that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator 
 of the ends of the earth, fainteih not, neither is 
 weary? He giveth power to the faintj and to 
 them that have no might he increaseth strength. — ■ 
 ISA. xl. 28, 29. 
 
 Workman of God ! oh, lose not heart, 
 
 But learn what God is like ; 
 And in the darkest battle-field 
 
 Thou shalt know where to strike. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 "POR the rest, let that vain struggle to read 
 the mystery of the Inlinite cease to harass 
 us. It is a mystery which, through all ages, 
 we shall only read here a line of, there another 
 line of. Do we not already know that the name 
 of the Infinite is Good, is God ? Here on earth 
 we are as soldiers, fighting in a foreign land, that 
 understand not the plan of the campaign, and 
 have no need to understand it ; seeing well what 
 is at our hand to be done. Let us do it like 
 soldiers, with submission, with courage, with a 
 heroic joy. Behind us, behind each one of us, lie 
 six thousand years of human effort, human con- 
 quest : before us is the boundless Time, with its 
 as yet uncreated and unconquered continents 
 and Eldorados, which we, even we, have to con- 
 quer, to create ; and from the bosom of Eternity 
 there shine for us celestial guiding stars. 
 
 T. Carlyle 
 
December 22. 35;^ 
 
 / will wait upon the Lo7'd^ that hideth His face 
 from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. 
 — ISA. viii. 17. 
 
 What heart can comprehend Thy name. 
 
 Or, searching, find Thee out ? 
 Who art within, a quickening flame, 
 
 A presence round about. 
 
 Yet though I know Thee but in part, 
 
 I ask not. Lord, for more : 
 Enough for mc to know Thou art, 
 
 To love Thee and adore. 
 
 F. L. HOSMER. 
 
 OTAND up, O heart ! and yield not one incb\ 
 of thy rightful territory to the usurping in- 
 tellect. Hold fast to God in spite of logic, and 
 yet not quite blindly. Be not torn from thy 
 grasp upon the skirts of His garments by any 
 wrench of atheistic hypothesis that seeks only to 
 hurl thee into utter darkness ; but refuse not to 
 let thy hands be gently unclasped by that loving 
 and pious philosophy that seeks to draw thee 
 from the feet of God only to place thee in His 
 bosom. Trustfully, though tremblingly, let go 
 the robe, and thou shalt rest upon the heart and 
 clasp the very living soul of God. 
 
 James Hinton 
 
358 December 23. 
 
 Thoii^ therefo7'e^ endure hardness^ as a good 
 soldier of Jesus Christ. — 2 Tim. ii. 3. 
 
 Where our Captain bids us go, 
 ' T is not ours to murmur, " No." 
 
 He that gives the sword and shield, 
 
 Chooses too the battle-field 
 On which we are to fight the foe. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 C\^ nothing may we be more sure than this; 
 ^■^^ that, if we cannot sanctify our present lot, 
 we could sanctify no other. Our heaven and 
 our Almighty Father are there or nowhere. The 
 obstructions of that lot are given for us to heave 
 away by the concurrent touch of a holy spirit, 
 and labor of strenuous will ; its gloom, for us 
 to tint with some celestial light ; its mysteries are 
 for our worship ; its sorrows for our trust ; its 
 perils for our courage ; its temptations for our 
 faith. Soldiers of the cross, it is not for us, but 
 for our Leader and our Lord, to choose the field ; 
 it is ours, taking the station which He assigns, 
 to make it the field of truth and honor, though 
 it be the field of death. 
 
 J. Martineau 
 
December 24. 359 
 
 Giving thanks Jinto the Father^ which hath made 
 us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
 saints in light. — Col. i. 12. 
 
 The souls most precious to us here 
 
 May from this home have fled ; 
 But still we make one household dear ; 
 
 One Lord is still our head. 
 Midst cherubim and seraphim 
 
 They mind their Lord's affairs ; 
 Oh ! if we bring our work to Him 
 
 Our work is one with theirs. 
 
 T. H. Gill 
 
 T17E are apt to feel as if nothing we could do 
 on earth bears a relation to what the 
 good are doing in a higher world ; but it is not 
 so. Heaven and earth are not so far apart. 
 Every disinterested act, every sacrifice to duty, 
 every exertion for the good of " one of the least 
 of Christ's brethren," .every new insight into 
 God's works, every new impulse given to the love 
 of truth and goodness, associates us with the 
 departed, brings us nearer to them, and is as 
 truly heavenly as if we were acting, not on earth, 
 but in heaven. The spiritual tie between us and 
 the departed is not felt as it should be. Our 
 union with them daily grows stronger, if we daily 
 make progress in what they are growing in. 
 
 Wm. E. CHANNIN& 
 
360 December 25. 
 
 That ye^ being rooted and grounded in love, may 
 be able to coinprehend with all saints what is the 
 breadth, and ienoth, and depth, and height ; and 
 to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowl- 
 edge, that ye 7?iight be Jilted with all the fulness 
 ofGod. — EFB.. iii. 17-19. 
 
 O LOVE that passeth knowledge, thee I need ; 
 
 Pour in the heavenly sunshine ; fill my heart ; 
 Scatter the cloud, the doubting, and the dread, — 
 
 The joy unspeakable to me impart. 
 
 H. BOXAR. 
 
 ' I ^O examine its evidence is not to try Chris- 
 -*■ tianity ; to admire its martyrs is not to 
 try Christianity ; to compare and estimate its 
 teachers is not to try Ciiristia'iity ; to attend its 
 rites and services with more than Mahometan 
 punctuaUty is not to try or know Christianity. 
 Bat for one week, for one day, to have lived in 
 the pure atmosphere of faith and love to God, 
 of tenderness to man ; to have beheld earth 
 annihilated, and heaven opened to the prophetic 
 gaze of hope ; to have seen evermore revealed 
 behind the complicated troubles of this strange, 
 mysterious life, the unchanged smile of an eternal 
 Friend, and everything that is difficult to reason 
 solved by that reposing trust which is higher and 
 better than reason, — to have known and felt this, 
 I will not say for a life, but for a single blessed 
 hour, that, indeed, is to have made experiment 
 of Christianity. 
 
 Wm. Archer Butler. 
 
December 26. 361 
 
 The peace of God^ which passeth all understand- 
 ing, shall keep voiir hearts and iniiids throngh 
 Christ Jesus. — Phil. iv. 7 
 
 Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. — Col. 
 iii. 15. 
 
 Drop Thy still dews of quietness, 
 
 Till all our strivings cease ; 
 Take from our souls the strain and stress. 
 And let our ordered lives confess 
 
 The beauty of Thy peace. 
 
 J. G. Whittier. 
 
 " nPHESE things write we unto you, that your 
 -*■ joy may be full." What is fulness of 
 joy but peaces Joy is tumultuous only when it 
 is not full ; but peace is the privilege of those 
 who are " filled with the knowledge of the glory 
 of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." 
 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
 mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in 
 Thee." It is peace, springing from trust and 
 innocence, and then overflowing in love towards 
 all around hirri. He who is anxious, thinks of 
 himself, is suspicious of danger, speaks hurriedly, 
 and has no time for the interests of others ; he 
 who lives in peace is at leisure, wherever his lot 
 is cast. 
 
 J. H. Newman. 
 
 Through the spirit of Divine Love let the 
 violent, obstinate powers of thy nature be quieted, 
 the hardness of thy affections softened, and thine 
 intractable self-will subdued ; and as often as 
 anything contrary stirs within thee, immediately 
 sink into the blessed Ocean of meekness and 
 iove. G. Tersteegen 
 
362 December 27. 
 
 Wherefore thoii art no more a servant^ but a son ; 
 and if a son, thefi an heir of God through Christ. 
 — Gal. iv. 7. 
 
 Not by the terrors of a slave 
 
 God's sons perform His will, 
 But with the noblest powers they have 
 
 His sweet commands fulfil. 
 
 Isaac Watts. 
 
 OUR thoughts, good or bad, are not in our 
 command, but every one of us has at all 
 hours duties to do, and these he can do negli- 
 gendy, like a slave, or faithfully, like a true 
 servant. '' Do the duty that is nearest thee " — 
 that first, and that well ; all the rest will disclose 
 themselves with increasing clearness, and make 
 their successive demand. Were your duties 
 never so small, I advise you. set yourself with 
 double and treble energy and punctuality, to do 
 them, hour after hjur, day after day. 
 
 T. Carlyle. 
 
 Whatever we are, high or lowly, learned or 
 unlearned, married or single, in a full house or 
 alone, charged with many affairs or dweUing 
 in quietness, we have our daily round of work, 
 our duties of affection, obedience, love, mercy, 
 industry, and the like ; and that which makes 
 one man to differ from another is not so much 
 what things he does, as his manner of doing 
 them. 
 
 H. E Manning 
 
December 28. 365 
 
 N'ow the God of peace make y on perfect in every 
 good work, to do His will, working in yoii that 
 which is well-pleasing in His sight. — Heb. xiii- 
 20, 21. 
 
 Be ready to every good work. — Titus iii. i. 
 
 So, firm ill steadfast hope, in thouglit secure, 
 In full accord to all Thy world of joy, 
 
 May I be nerved to labors high and pure, 
 
 And Thou Thy child to do Thy work employ. 
 
 J. Sterling. 
 
 T3E with God in thy outward works, refer them 
 to Him, offer them to Him, seek to do 
 them in Him and for Him, and He will be with 
 thee in them, and they shall not hinder, but 
 rather invite His presence in thy soul. Seek 
 to see Him in all things, and in all things Pie 
 will come nigh to thee. 
 
 E. B. PUSEY. 
 
 Nothing less than the majesty of God, and the 
 powers of the world to come, can maintain the 
 peace and sanctity of our homes, the order and 
 serenity of our minds, the spirit of patience 
 and tender mercy in our hearts. Then will 
 even the merest drudgery of duty cease to hum- 
 ble us, when we transfigure it bv the glory of oui 
 own spirit. 
 
 J. Martineau 
 
364 December 29. 
 
 Finally^ brethren, whatsoever thins^s are true, 
 whatsoever tilings are honesty whatsoever things 
 are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
 thinos are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
 report, — think on these things. — Phil. iv. 8. 
 
 As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. — Prov. 
 xxiii. 7. 
 
 Still may Thy sweet mercy spread 
 A shady arm above my head, 
 About my paths ; so shall I find 
 The fair centre of my mind 
 Thy temple, and those lovely walls 
 Bright ever with a beam that falls 
 Fresh from the pure glance of Thine eye, 
 Lighting to eternity. 
 
 R. Crashaw. 
 
 ly/TAKE yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. 
 ^^ None of us yet know, for none of us have 
 been taught in early youth, what fairy palaces 
 we may build of beautiful thought — proof against 
 all adversity. Bright fancies, satisfied memories, 
 noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure-houses 
 of precious and restful thoughts, which care 
 cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor pov- 
 erty take away from us, — houses built without 
 hands, for our souls to live in. 
 
 J. RUSKIN. 
 
 For nowhere either with more quiet or more 
 freedom from trouble does a man retire than into 
 his own soul ; particularly when he has within 
 him such thoughts, that by looking into them 
 he is immediately in perfect tranquillity. And 
 I affirm that tranquillity is nothing else than the 
 good ordering of the mind. 
 
 Marc'js Antoninus. 
 
December 30. 365 
 
 Lord, I know that the way of man is not iti 
 himself : it is not in jtian that walketh to direct his 
 steps. — Jer. X. 23. 
 
 1 will direct all his ways. — Is A. xlv. 13. 
 
 Come, Light serene and still ! 
 Our darkened spirits fill 
 
 With thy clear day : 
 Guide of the feeble sight, 
 Star of griefs darkest night. 
 Reveal the path of right, 
 
 Show us Thy way. 
 
 Robert II. of France. 
 
 ^ I "HERE had been solemn appointed seasons 
 in Anna's life, when she was accustomed 
 to enter upon a full and deliberate survey of her 
 business in this world. The claims of each 
 relationship, and the results of each occupation, 
 were then examined in the light of eternity. It 
 was then, too, her fervent prayer to be enabled 
 to discern the will of God far more perfectly, 
 not only in the indications given of it for her 
 guidance through each day's occupations, but 
 as it might concern duties not yet brought home 
 to her conscience, and therefore unprovided for 
 in her life. 
 
 Anna, or Passages from Home Life. 
 
366 December 31. 
 
 Forgetting those things which are behind^ and 
 reaching forth unto those things which are before^ 
 I press toward the mark. — Phil. iii. 13, 14. 
 
 Yet I argue not 
 Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot 
 Of heart or hope ; but still bear up and steer 
 Right onward. 
 
 J. Milton. 
 
 TT is not by regretting what is irreparable that 
 true work is to be done, but by making the 
 best of what we are. It is not by complaining 
 that we have not the right tools, but by using 
 well the tools we have. What we are, and where 
 we are, is God's providential arrangement, — 
 God's doing, though it may be man's misdoing ; 
 and the manly and the wise way is to look your 
 disadvantages in the face, and see what can be 
 made out of them. Life, like war, is a series of 
 mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor 
 the best general who makes the fewest false steps. 
 He is the best who wins the most splendid 
 victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Forget 
 mistakes ; organize victory out of mistakes. 
 
 F. W. Robertson. 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS 
 
 OF THE PROSE SELECTIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Adorna, Catherine (1447-1510) 285 
 
 Anna, or Passages from Home Life ']-], 165, 200, 365 
 
 Anonymous. . . . 116,142,143,235,254,327,348 
 
 Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius (i 21-180) . 25, 34, 89, 
 
 118, 161, 174, 177, 206, 274, 278, 364 
 
 Arnold, Thomas (1795-1842) 228 
 
 Augustine, St. (354-430) 27, 166 
 
 Basil, Coptic Liturgy of St. (about 370) . .351 
 
 Barnes, Albert (179S-1870) 127 
 
 BoETHius (about 470-524) 326 
 
 Boston, Thomas (1676-1732) 124 
 
 BrOxNt6, Charlotte (Mrs. Nicholls) (1816- 
 
 1855) 277 
 
 Brooke, Stopford A. (b. 1832) 90, 207 
 
 Brooks, Phillips (b. 1835). . . 5,86,158,211,314 
 
 Brown, James Baldwin (b. 1820) 291 
 
 Browne, Sir Thomas (1605-1682) 43 
 
 BusHNELL, Horace (1802-1876) 302 
 
 Butler, Bishop Joseph (1692-1752). . . .22, 146 
 
368 INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 Butler, William Archer (1S14-1848) . 107, 360 
 Buxton, Charles (1S22-1S71) 82, 127 
 
 Carlyle. Thomas U 79^-1880) . 50, 132, 220, 275, 293, 
 7>n^ 316, 339, 343. 353. 35^, Z^^ 
 Carter, Thomas Thelluson, ///(^. 1S71 . . . 160 
 Cecil, Richard (i748--i8io) . . 13, 147, 148, 298 
 Channing, William Ellery ( i 780-1842) . iii, 163 
 
 192, 222, 359 
 Charles, Mrs. Elizabeth (Rundell) (b. about 
 
 1826) 8, 58, 103, 152, 269, 280, 336, 341 
 
 Clarke, James Freeman (b. 1810) . . . 212, 258 
 Cobbe, FrajvCes Power (b. 1822) . . 82, 113, 137 
 CoLLYER, Robert (b. 1823) 65 
 
 Dewey, Orville (1794-18S2) .... 88, 178, 216 
 
 Edwards, Jonathan (1703-175S) 123 
 
 Eliot, George (Marian Evans Cross) (1819- 
 
 1880) 38, 46, 80, 177, 263, 277, 288, 297 
 
 Emerson, Mary Moody (1774-1863) .... 131 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo {1803-1S82) . . 20, 46, 91, 
 105, 122, 148, 151, 155, 184, 206, 225, 293, 330 
 Epictetus (ist and 2d centuries of Christian era) 44 
 Erskine, Thomas (1788-1870) 313 
 
 Faber, Frederick William (1S15-1863) . 32,94,97, 
 
 146, 148, 160, 193, 239, 317, 340 
 
 F^nelon, Francois de Salignac de la Mothe 
 
 (1651-1715) . 41, 42, 55,80, 81,84,97, 124, 135, i49» 
 
 180, 193, 226, 233, 247, 257, 264, 279, 291, 331, 347 
 
 Fichte, Johann Gottlieb (i 762-1 814) . 104, 353 
 
 Fox, George (i 624-1690) no 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS. 369 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gannett, William Channing (b. 1840) . . . 289 
 Gelasian Sacramentary, r^'w/Z/tfl'^z/'^Wi!' 492 . . 217, 
 
 246 
 
 Gold- Dust, pub. iSSo 55> i47 
 
 Greaves, James Pierrepoint (1777-1842) . . 21, 196, 
 
 200, 227, 239, 266, 282, 318 
 
 Grou, Jean Nicolas (1731-1S03) . . 12, 24, 40, 47, 
 
 94, 121, 136, 167, 226, 232, 256 
 
 GuYOX, Madame Jeanne-Marie (164S-1717) . 119, 
 
 141, 1S8, 196, 202, 319 
 
 Hale, Edward Everett (b. 1822) 8 
 
 Hall, Bishop Joseph (1574-1656) 309 
 
 Havergal, Frances Ridley (i 836-1 S79) . 14, 51, 94, 
 
 114, 145,322,349 
 
 Hill, Rowland (1744-1833) 201 
 
 Hinton, James (1822-1875) . 194, 250, 271, 318, 357 
 
 Hughes, Thomas (b. 1823) 96, 164 
 
 Humboldt, Karl Wilhelm von (1767-1835) . 132, 
 
 220, 233 
 
 Juliana, Mother, written 1373 260 
 
 Keary, Annie (1825-1879) . . . . 16, 117, 224, 282 
 
 Keble, John (1792-1866) 33» 292 
 
 Kelty, Mary Anne, /?//^. 1853. 34- 62, 140, 172, 278 
 Kempis, Thomas a (1380-1471) . . 42,44, 135, 161, 
 
 166, 188 
 King, Mrs Elizabeth T-aber, ivritten 1856 . . 203 
 Kingsley, Charles (1819-1875) .... 151, 181 
 
 Law, William (16S6-1761) . 7, 17,59,69, 79, 92, 109, 
 173. 230, 238, 270, 272, 2S1, 292, 304, 310, 223 
 
^7^ IXDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Leighton, Robert (1611-1684) . . 74, 98, 171, 189, 
 
 20S, 231, 311, 345 
 
 l.OXGFELLOW, SaMUEL (b. 1S19) 219 
 
 Luther, Martin (1483-1546) . , 84, 140, 155, 311 
 
 MacDonald, George (b. 1824) . 2, 61, 68, 79, 128, 129, 
 
 162, 202, 204, 216, 238, 355 
 
 Manning, Cardinal Henry Edward (b. 1808) . 10, 
 
 18, 39, 52, 76, 98, loi, 109, 126, 130, 150, 160, 170, 182, 
 
 187, 229, 240, 252, 253, 296, 306, 332, 341, 346, 351, 362 
 
 Martineau, James (b. 1805) . i, 6, 54, d^, 95, 102, 
 
 176, 186, 210, 241, 251, 290, 315, 358, 363 
 
 Master, The Divine, pub. about 1850 .... 255 
 
 Maurice, John Frederick Denison (1805- 
 
 1872) 28, 37, 139 
 
 Melanchthon, Philip (1497-1560) 74 
 
 Merriam, George Spring (b. 1S43) 7^, 1 1 5. 202, 244, 268 
 
 Miller, J. R 227 
 
 MoLiNos, Miguel (1627-1696) . . 133, 172, 197, 239, 
 
 286, 301, 334, 345 
 
 More, Henry (1614-1687) 21, 83 
 
 Mountford, William (1816-1885) 171 
 
 Newman, Cardinal John Henry (b. 1801) . 5, 38, 
 56, 70, 100, 189, 250, 253, 273, 361 
 
 Penington, Isaac (1617-1679) . 49, 75. 116, 125, 133, 
 163. 186, 196, 236, 245, 299, 320, 327, 328, 338, 344 
 
 Plutarch (about 45-120) 159 
 
 Prentiss. Mrs. Elizabeth (Payson) (1818-1S7S) 264 
 
 Pusey, Edward Bouverie (1800-1882) . 4, 11, 15, 
 
 22, 45, 48, 67, 77, 85, 93, 95, 106, 144. 168, 1S3, 185, 
 
 199, 217, 225, 250, 318, 322, 327, 338, 342, 363 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS. 3/1 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Renty, Gaston Jeax Baptiste, Baron de (i6ii- 
 
 1648) 335 
 
 RicHTER, Jean Paul Friedrich (1763-1825) . 269 
 
 RoBBiNS, Samuel Dowse (1S12-1884) .... 72 
 
 Robertson, Frederick William (1816-1853) . 13, 
 
 36, 53» 62, 96, 112, 156, 190, -248, 259, 267, 276, 297, 
 
 308, 366 
 Rogers, Mrs. Hester Ann (1756-1794) . . . 352 
 RossETTi, Christina G. (b. 1S30) . . 23, 166, 213 
 Ruskin, John (b. 18 19) . 6, 9, 20, 25, loi, 246, 255, 
 
 257, 308, 364 
 Rutherford. Samuel (1600-1661) , 25, 49, 143, 340 
 
 S., Mrs. H. W., pub. 1875 • 31. 7i. 83, 99, 169, 184, 195, 
 
 209, 237,295, 301,312,333 
 
 Sales, Francis de (1567-1622) . 29, 57,66, 79, 108, 
 
 146, 175, 183, 214, 215, 243, 249, 287, 319, 347 
 
 Schimmelpenninck, Mrs. Mary Anne (1778- 
 
 1856) ']T^, 118, 122, 283 
 
 ScupoLi, Lorenzo (d. 1610) . . . 153,214,250,309 
 Sewell, Elizabeth Missing (b. 1815) .... 165 
 
 Shaw, Samuel (b. 1635) 288 
 
 SiBBES, Richard {1577-1635) 141,340 
 
 Smiley, Sarah F., piib. 1876 267 
 
 Smith, John (1618-1652) . . . 60,64, 154.218,329 
 
 Spinoza, Benedict (1632-1677) 326 
 
 Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn (1815-18S2) . 138. 157, 
 
 191, 242. 294 
 Stowe, Mrs. Harriet Beecher (b. 181 2) 298, 307, 324 
 Swedenborg, Emanuel (16S8-1772) . . 200. 272 
 Svvetchine, Madame Anne Sophie (1782-1857) 148, 
 
 =S7 
 
372 INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Tauler, John (1290-1361) . 26, 30, 70, 120, 223, 261, 
 
 2^5' 303 
 Taylor, Jeremy (1613-1667) ... 3, 10, 133, 326 
 
 Tersteege.n, Gerhard (1697-1769) . . 169, 189, 236, 
 
 266, 304, 321, 361 
 
 Theologia German ica, 7£/r///^« about 1350 .254,284 
 
 Thom, John Hamilton, piib. 1S51 . 35,87, 129, 134, 
 
 179, 205, 221, 262, 300, 317, 328, 336, 337, 343 
 
 Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862) . 156, 170, 206 
 
 Tryon, Thomas, ptib. 1703 325, 342 
 
 Union, Christian 305 
 
 Upham, Thomas Cogswell (1799-1872) . . 7, 102, 
 119, 198, 248, 282, 313, 324, 350 
 
 AVare, Henry, Jr. (1794-1843) 276 
 
 Wesley, John (1703-1791) 288 
 
 Whitney, Mrs. Adeline D. T. (b. 1824) . 265, 354 
 
 Wilkinson, G. H., pub. 1870 234 
 
 Wilson, Bishop Thomas (1663-17 55) • • • • 335 
 Woman, A Poor Methodist (i8th century). . 19 
 
 Woods, Margaret, voritten 1771 334 
 
 Woolman, John (1720-1772) . 25,73,201,263,312 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS 
 
 OF THE POETICAL SELECTIONS. 
 
 TAOK 
 
 Ambrose, St. (340-397) 324 
 
 Anonymous 13, 34, 49, 52, 63, 70, 74, 
 
 75, 85, 118, 121, 140, 160, 161, 181, 193, 
 2CX), 201, 217, 243, 244, 257, 262, 265, 267, 
 271, 287, 293, 307, 316, 318, 331, 332, 358 
 
 Anstice, Joseph (1808-1836) 45 
 
 Arnold, Matthew (1822-1888) 25 
 
 AuBER, Harriet (1773-1862) 143 
 
 Austin, John (d. 1669) 112,130 
 
 Barr, Lillie E 248 
 
 Barry, Henry H 31 
 
 Bonar, Horatius (b. 1808) . . 44, 83, 229, 333, 360 
 
 Borthwick, Jane (b. 1813) 170, 341 
 
 Browning, Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett (1809-1861) 
 
 131, 138, 261 
 
 Browning, S. G 54, 145 
 
 Bryant, William Cullen (i 794-1878) .... 125 
 Butts, Mary Frances (b. 1836) 58 
 
374 
 
 INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 C,H. W 303 
 
 Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1880) 129 
 
 Chadwick, John White (b. 1840) ..... 153 
 
 Charles, Mrs. Elizabeth (b about 1826) . . . 115 
 
 Clarke, James Freeman (1810-1888) .... 9 
 
 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834) ... 92 
 
 Coolilge, Susan 7> 53> 183, 296 
 
 Corneille, Pierre 320 
 
 CoTTERiLL, Mrs. M. J. (d. 1819) 122 
 
 Cowper, William (1731-1800) .... 10, 305, 345 
 Craik, Mrs. Dinah Maria (Mulock) (1826- 
 
 1888?) 211 
 
 Crashaw, Richard (about 1610-1650) .... 364 
 
 Davison, Francis (1575-1618) 99 
 
 Dessler, Wolfgang Christoph (1660-1722) 231, 321 
 Doddridge, Philip (1702-1751) . . 2,41,154,342 
 Dwight, John Sullivan (b. 1813) 350 
 
 Edmeston, James (1791-1867) 336 
 
 Eliot, George (Marian Evans Ckoss) (1819- 
 
 1880) 86 
 
 Elliott, Charlotte (17S9-1S7 1 ) 136 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882) . . 128,151, 
 
 194, 220 
 Evans, Albert Eubule (1868) 226 
 
 Faber, Frederick William (1815-1863) . . 27,106, 
 113, 178, 180, 184, 222, 292, 3^0, 356 
 
 Farningham, Marianne 169 
 
 Flemming, Paul (1609- 1 640) .... 133,176,279 
 Francke, A. H. (1663-1727) 335 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 375 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gannett, William Channing (b. 1840) . . , 152 
 
 Gaskell, William (1837) 132 
 
 Gedicke, Lampertus (1683-1735) 192 
 
 Gellert, Christian FuRCHTtGoiT (17 15-1769) 280 
 
 Gerhardt, Paul (1605-1676) . . 72,187,215,216, 
 
 223,302, 309,311,344, 347 
 
 German, From the 42, 48, 141 
 
 Gill, Thomas Hornblower (b. 1819) ... 12, 359 
 
 Gladden, Washington (b. 1836) 36 
 
 Goethe, JoHANN Wolfgang VON (1749-1832) . 23 
 GuYON, Madame Jeanne B. de la Moite (1648- 
 1717) 34S 
 
 Hagenbach, Karl Rudolph (1801-1S74) ... 147 
 
 Hall, Mrs. Louisa Jane (b. 1802) 343 
 
 Hamilton, Anna E. (about 1846-1876) .... 33 
 
 Havergal, Frances Ridley (1836-1879) . . 18, 108, 
 
 no, 163, 177.259,295,355 
 
 Haweis, Thomas (1732-1820) 212 
 
 Heker, Reginald (1783-1826) 61 
 
 Herbert, George (1593-1632) ... 62. 69, 76, loi 
 HiGGiNSON, Thomas Wentvvorth (b. 1823) . . 204 
 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell (b. 1809) i 
 
 HosMER. Frederick L. (b. 1S40) 357 
 
 Howells, William Dean (b. 1837) 94 
 
 Hymns from the Land of Luther 107 
 
 Hymns OF the Ages 114 
 
 Hymns of the Church Militant 325 
 
 Hymns OF the Spirit 120,220 
 
 Ingelow, Jean (b. 1825) 50, 158, 168 
 
376 INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 TAGE 
 
 Intelligencer, Christlan 1S6, 263 
 
 Ikons, William Josiah (b. 1812) 328 
 
 J-.C.E 4 
 
 Johnson, Samuel (1822-18S2) . . . 29, iii, 164, 284 
 
 Keble, John (1792-1866) . . 6, 16, 39, 56, 60, 79, 82, 
 96, 105, 126, 146, 148, 191, 20S, 250, 269, 286 
 
 Ken, Thomas {1637-1711) 308,322 
 
 Kimball, Harriet McEwen .... 95, 25S, 351 
 
 Lange, Joachim {1670-1 744) 20,205,235 
 
 Larcom, Lucy (b. 1826) 275, 297 
 
 Latin MSS. of 15TH Century 51 
 
 Longfellow, Samuel (b. 1819) . 5, 71, 97, 198, 227, 
 
 282, 284 
 Lowell, James Russell (b. 1819) .... 190, 221 
 
 Lyra Apostolica 339 
 
 Lyra Catholica 218 
 
 Lyte, Henry Francis (1793-1S47) . 90, 142, 175, 241 
 
 Milton, John (i 608-1 674) 149, 366 
 
 Montgomery, James (177 1-1854) 273 
 
 More, Hannah (1745-1833) 127 
 
 More, Henry (1614-16S7) 64 
 
 Neale, John Mason (1818-1866) 319 
 
 Neumarck, Georg (1653) 37,124 
 
 Newman, John Henry (b. iSoi) ... 40, 117, 214, 
 
 232, 253, 276 
 jXewton, Adelaide Leaper (1824-1854) ... 11 
 Newton, John (1725-1807) 28,116 
 
INDEX OF AUTHORS. 377 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Packard, Caroline M 66 
 
 Parsons, Thomas William (b. 1S19) .... 199 
 Procter, Adelaide Anne (1825-1865) . 26,188,277 
 
 PucHTA, Heinrich 173 
 
 Pythagoras (570-504 B.C.) 77 
 
 QuARLES, John (1624-1665) 346 
 
 RicHTER. Christian Friedrich (1676-1711) . . 203 
 
 Robert n. OF France (972-1031) 365 
 
 Rodigast, Samuel (1649-170S) 259 
 
 Rosenroth, Christian Knorr von (1636-1689) 268 
 
 RoTHE, JoHANN Andreas (16S8-17 58) .... 167 
 
 Rutilius (1604) 281 
 
 Saxby, Mrs Jane Euphemia (b. 1811) .... 3 
 Schiller, Friedrich VON (1759-1805) .... 225 
 Schmolcke, Benjamin (1672-1737) . . . 301,326 
 Scudder, Eliza ........ 30,88,246,315 
 
 Sharpe's Magazine 32 
 
 Shipton, Anna (1869) 156, 291 
 
 SiLEsius, Angelus (1624-1677) 93 
 
 Spitta, Carl Johann Philipp (b. iSoi) 89, 283, 310 
 
 Sterling, John ( 1 806-1844) 55,260,363 
 
 Stovve, Mrs. Harriet Beecher (b. 1812) . . 73, 87 
 Sutton, Henry Septimus (pub. 1854) . 51, 213, 247 
 
 T., B 354 
 
 Tennyson, Alfred (b. 1810) 272 
 
 Tersteegen, Gerhard (1697-1769) . . 19, 46, 179, 
 230, 270, 289, 312, 323, 352 
 
378 INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ToPLADY, Augustus Montague (i 740-1 77S) . . 162 
 Trench, Richard Chenevix (b. 1807) . 206, 219, 252, 
 
 256, 285, 290 
 
 Upham, Thomas Cogswell (1799-1872) ... 98 
 
 Vaughan, Henry (1621-1695) 21,209 
 
 W., E 207 
 
 Waring, Anna L/«:titia (pub. 1850) 8, 14, 24,43,47,80, 
 137, 165, 171, 182, 195, 224, 236, 245, 298,329,334 
 
 Warner, Anna B 65, 249, 349 
 
 Watts, Isaac (1674-1748) . 84, 102, 172, 239, 338, 362 
 
 Weissel, Geokg ( 1 590-1635) 197 
 
 Wesley, Charles (1708-1488) . . 35,57,68,78,100, 
 
 103, 119, 123, 135, 139. 185, 189, 196, 237, 238, 
 
 240, 255, 264, 278, 288, 294, 304, 306, 313, 327 
 
 Whitney, Mrs. Adeline D. T. (b. 1824) . . . 314 
 
 Whittier, John Greenleaf (b. 1808) . . 17,22,59, 
 
 67, 81, J09, 144, r5o, 157, 166, 210, 
 
 233. 234, 251, 299, 300, 330, 337, 361 
 
 Williams, Isaac (1802-1865) .... 134,155,353 
 
 Williams, Sarah (d. 1868) 174,202,242 
 
 Winkler, Johann Joseph (1670-1722) .... 104 
 Wordsworth, William (1770-1850) . . . 38,91, 
 
 159, 266, 317 
 WoTTON, Sir Henry (156S-1639) 274 
 
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