=March 26th.=
_I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.
John xvii. 4._
Was the work of the Master indeed done? Was not its heaviest task yet to
come? He had not yet met the dread hour of death. Why did He say that
His work was done? It was because He knew that, when the will is given,
the battle is ended. He was only in the shadows of the garden; but to
conquer these shadows was already to conquer all. He who has willed to
die has already triumphed over death. All that remains to Him is but the
outer husk, the shell.
The cup which our Father giveth us to drink is a cup for the will. It is
easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it. Not
on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup
presented; the act is easy after the choice. The real battle-field is
in the silence of the spirit. Conquer there, and thou art
crowned.--_George Matheson._
=March 27th.=
_A great multitude . . . stood before the throne. Rev.
vii. 9._
A _station on the feet_ in front of the throne in _heaven_ is the effect
of being often _on the knees_ before the throne on _earth_.--_Selected._
=March 28th.=
_God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided
the light from the darkness. Gen. i. 4._
No sooner is there a good thing in the world than a _division is
necessary_. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them,
let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with
deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must
be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord's work, leaving the works of
darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever.
We should by our distinct separation from the world divide the light
from the darkness. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in
association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and
maintain the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world's
first day.
O Lord Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for
Thy light is the light of men.--_Spurgeon._
=March 29th.=
_The path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov. iv.
18._
Have I begun this path of heavenly love and knowledge now? Am I
progressing in it? Do I feel some dawnings of the heavenly light,
earnests and antepasts of the full day of glory? Let all God's dealings
serve to quicken me in my way. Let every affection it may please Him to
send, be as the moving pillar-cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent
onward, saying, "Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest." Let me
be often standing now on faith's lofty eminences, looking for "the day
of God"--the rising sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds.
Wondrous progression! How will all earth's learning, its boasted
acquirements and eagle-eyed philosophy sink into the lispings of very
infancy in comparison with this manhood of knowledge! Heaven will be the
true "_Excelsior_," its song, "_a song of degrees_," Jesus leading His
people from height to height of glory, and saying, as He said to
Nathaniel, "_Thou shalt see GREATER things than these!_"--_Macduff._
=March 30th.=
_Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the
vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. Song of
Sol. ii. 15. (R. V.)_
How numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises with the world;
disobedience to the still, small voice in little things; little
indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of
policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty,
and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!--_J. Hudson Taylor._
=March 31st.=
_The children of your Father which is in heaven. Matt.
v. 45._
The best name by which we can think of God is Father. It is a loving,
deep, sweet, heart-touching name, for the name of father is in its
nature full of inborn sweetness and comfort. Therefore, also, we must
confess ourselves children of God, for by this name we deeply touch our
God, since there is not a sweeter sound to the father than the voice of
the child.--_Martin Luther._
[Illustration: APRIL]
=April 1st.=
_In the morning came the word of the Lord unto me.
Ezek. xii. 8._
A quiet hour spent alone with God at the beginning of the day is the
best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. A brief
season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and
seeking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helps us to carry our
religion into the business of the day. It brings joy and peace within
the heart. And as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of
the Lord, faithfully striving to do His will, we have a joyful trust
that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our Father's hand
is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our
toils.--_Selected._
=April 2nd.=
_The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 7._
And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds--dust and deity! It
touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side
to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is
from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the
dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of God.
My soul, art thou living up to thy twofold origin? Art thou remembering
thy double parentage, and therefore thy double duty? Thou hast a duty to
thy God, for His breath is in thee; thou hast a duty to the earth, for
out of it wast thou taken.--_George Matheson._
=April 3rd.=
_Always rejoicing. 2 Cor. vi. 10._
No Christian can ever know what is meant by those two little words,
"always rejoicing," but the Christian who takes up his cross and follows
Jesus.--_W. Hay Aitken._
=April 4th.=
_All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed forever. Gen. xiii. 15._
God's promises are ever on the ascending scale. One leads up to another,
fuller and more blessed than itself. In Mesopotamia God said, "I will
show thee the land." At Bethel, "This is the land." Here, "I will give
thee all the land, and children innumerable as the grains of sand." And
we shall find even these eclipsed.
It is thus that God allures us to saintliness. Not giving anything till
we have dared to act--that He may test us. Not giving everything at
first--that He may not overwhelm us. And always keeping in hand an
infinite reserve of blessing. Oh, the unexplored remainders of God!
Whoever saw His last star?--_F. B. Meyer._
=April 5th.=
_That night they caught nothing. John xxi. 3._
God may let the sinful world succeed in their forbidden schemes, but,
blessed be His name, He does not allow His chosen ones to prosper in the
path which leads them out of His holy will! He has a storm to send after
every Jonah, and an empty net for every unbelieving and inconsistent
Simon.--_A. B. Simpson._
=April 6th.=
_They made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own
vineyard have I not kept. Song of Sol. i. 6._
Our attention is here drawn to a danger which is preeminently one of
this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in service
_to the neglect of personal communion_; but such neglect will not only
lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the
highest service.--_J. Hudson Taylor._
=April 7th.=
_We came unto the land whither thou sentest us . . . we
saw the children of Anak there. Num. xiii. 27, 28._
It is when we are in the way of _duty_ that we find _giants_. It was
when Israel was going _forward_ that the giants appeared. When they
turned back into the wilderness they found none.--_Selected._
=April 8th.=
_Each one resembled the children of a king. Judg.
viii. 18._
Frances Ridley Havergal says: "If the King is indeed near of kin to us,
the royal likeness will be recognizable."
=April 9th.=
_He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He
leadeth me beside the still waters. Psa. xxiii. 2._
This suggests the rest into which our Good Shepherd leads His flock.
Life is not all toil. God gives us many quiet resting-places in our
pilgrim way.
Night is one of these, when, after the day's toil, struggle, and
exhaustion, we are led aside, and the curtains are drawn to shut out the
noise, and He giveth His beloved sleep, in sleep giving the wonderful
blessings of renewal. The Sabbath is another of these quiet
resting-places. God would have us drop our worldly tasks, and have a day
for the refreshing of both body and soul. . . . Friendship's trysts are
also quiet resting-places, where heart may commune with heart, where
Jesus comes, too, unseen, and gives His blessing. All ordinances of
Christian worship--seasons of prayer and devotion, hours of communion
with God--are quiet resting-places.
Far more than we are apt to realize do we need these silent times in our
busy life, needing them all the more the busier the life may be.--_J. R.
Miller._
=April 10th.=
_A daily rate for every day. 2 Kings xxv. 30._
One staff aids a traveler, but a bundle of staves is a heavy
burden.--_Spurgeon._
=April 11th.=
_Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law
of Christ. Gal. vi. 2._
However perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of
truth, one refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something
for some one beside yourself. At the times when you cannot see God,
there is still open to you this sacred possibility, to _show_ God: for
it is the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine
reality comes home to men, whether they name it or not. Let this
thought, then, stay with you: there may be times when you cannot _find_
help, but there is no time when you cannot _give_ help.--_George
Merriam._
=April 12th.=
_Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:
for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of His good pleasure. Phil. ii. 12, 13._
It is not your business and mine to study whether we shall get to
heaven, or even to study whether we shall be good men; it is our
business to study how we shall come into the midst of the purposes of
God and have the unspeakable privilege in these few years of doing
something of His work.--_Phillips Brooks._
=April 13th.=
_God . . . hath shined in our hearts, to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 6._
Christian! rest not until thou knowest the full, the unbroken shining of
God in thy heart. To this end, yield to every stirring of it that shows
thee some unconquered and perhaps unconquerable evil. Just bring it to
the light; let the light shine upon it, and shine it out. Wait upon the
Lord more than watchers for the morning, for "the path of the just is as
the shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day." Count
upon it that God wants to fill thee with the light of His glory: wait on
Him more than watchers for the morning. "Wait, I say, on the
Lord."--_Andrew Murray._
=April 14th.=
_My soul, wait thou only upon God. Psa. lxii. 5._
Did it ever occur to you that if you do not hear God's answer to prayer,
it may be not because He is dumb, but because you are deaf; not because
He has no answer to give, but because you have not been listening for
it? We are so busy with our service, so busy with our work, and
sometimes so busy with our praying, that it does not occur to us to stop
our own talking and listen if God has some answer to give us with "the
still small voice"; to be passive, to be quiet, to do nothing, say
nothing, in some true sense think nothing; simply to be receptive and
waiting for the voice. "Wait thou only upon God," says the Psalmist; and
again "Wait on the Lord."--_Selected._
=April 15th.=
_Could ye not watch with me one hour? Matt. xxvi. 40._
Oh! ye who sigh and languish, and mourn your lack of power,
Heed ye this gentle whisper, "Could ye not watch one hour?"
To fruitfulness and blessing, there is no "royal road";
The power for holy service is intercourse with God.
--_Selected._
=April 16th.=
_My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. John
iv. 34._