this day the true life that is hid in Thee. Feed us with Thy spirit that
we hunger not. Make us strong and merciful in Thee. Help us to be
simple, brave, and true. Give us to speak and live the truth. Make us
content with life while ever dreaming of the more perfect day. Fix our
lives in a great and brave integrity. Humble us in our pride, lift us
from our despondency. Keep our hearts pure and our lips from speaking
guile. Send us forth in perfect faith that here and now our lives may be
patterned after that of Jesus without loss of influence over men. Make
us not ashamed to be good and forgiving and gentle in all our ways.
Amen.
FREDERICK W. BETTE.
March 9
_Count each affliction, whether light or grave,
God's messenger sent down to thee; do thou
With courtesy receive him; rise and bow;
And, ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave
Permission first his heavenly foot to lave._
* * * * *
_Grief should be
Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate,
Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free.
Strong to consume small troubles; to commend
Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end._
AUBREY DEVERE.
Our Father, we would learn to trust Thy love, to live so that Thy grace
shall have in us its perfect work. Not the easy thing is what we ask,
but strength for duty. Give us the confidence that Thou art by our side.
Let Thy strong touch be felt, Thy blessed presence seen. In all the
turmoil that rages within, without, grant us Thy peace. In childish
helplessness, grant us the Father's help. To grow like Jesus is our
heart's desire. All things that Thy great heart permits or sends, we
would receive with gratitude, that so our wills and lives may be in
harmony with Thine. And so day by day may something of the Saviour's
glory shine through us and bless and brighten other lives in need. Amen.
FRANK M. HOLT.
March 10
_Dawn and its silence draw a silver sigh
Far in the east where early shadows lie
All flocked and folded like soft peaceful sheep.
The spirit of the spring stirs in its sleep,
Breathes into life a misty floating sheen;
The willows dreamy drip of constant green;
Exultant beats a bird-heart o'er a nest,
Where dim, vague stirrings 'neath the tiny breast
Spell fresh the miracle of motherhood.
Ah, how the world is young! ah, how 'tis good!
To feel the new life flutter mystic wing;
Like to a lark to feel one's soul upspring,
Transpierce the very limit of the sky,
And toss its challenge to Eternity!_
MARY BALDWIN.
O God, our heavenly Father, make our hearts exultant, as the earth in
the spring morning, with the radiance of Thy Presence. Fill them with
the joy and hopefulness of eternal youth, and cause them to be uplifted
in gratitude and thankfulness to Thee. We have seen earthly faces so
beaming with the light of love that we never shall forget them. We have
spoken names that are so endeared to us that they will linger in our
memory as long as we live. So, O Father, may it be with Thy face and Thy
name. May Thy face beaming upon us as the sun of righteousness win our
love to holiness and virtue, making us fruitful of good works, and Thy
name be so woven in our affections that we shall cherish and hallow it
forever. Amen.
EDGAR W. PREBLE.
March 11
_You must be serving something, some one, that needs your help in
order to really appreciate the Divine care. It may be the parents'
care of their children; the teacher and her scholars; the
charity-worker and the poor, the friendless, the benighted; it may
be friend helping friend--in some way the life of loving service
must be there as something out of which God can help us think of
and value the care which infinite love bestows upon us._
JULIAN K. SMYTH.
Heavenly Father, with the opening of a new day we thank Thee for father
love and mother love, for love of patriot and philanthropist, and for
the love which that has called into being in our own hearts. Through
this love and the service of mutual helpfulness to which we have been
led thereby, Thou openest our eyes to behold the world pervaded and
overruled by a spirit of infinite goodness, society resting upon mutual
services, and through that service mankind rising to a nobler and
diviner civilization. Help us to be mindful of this heavenly vision, and
so make our feet swift to run and our hands eager to work in the service
of righteousness and mutual helpfulness. We ask in His name, who loving
us, has taught us the divinity of service. Amen.
LEGRAND POWERS.
March 12
_Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs
even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor
spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the
gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat._
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
_But only he whose judgment never strays
Beyond the threshold of the right, learns this--
Not always is it good to have one's wish;
What seemeth sweet full oft to bitter turns;
Fulfilled desire hath made mine eyes to weep.
Therefore, O reader of these lines, if thou
Would'st virtuous be, and held by others dear
Will ever for the power to do aright._
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
God of the morning light, with the dawn of another day we come to Thee
with prayer for help in the steadfastness of our manifold duties. The
cares that oppress us, the burdens we carry, the obligations that fall
upon us, are too much for our little strength without Thy help. That
help we crave from Thee, the only source of all-availing strength. Let
us not be dismayed by the powers of this world or busy ourselves in vain
ambitions seeking the praise of men, but may we seek that Divine
approval which is of more worth than all the favors of earth. Make us
brave and strong to follow in the way of Thine appointment, and grant
that we may so sincerely feel and act in the busy times of this day that
when the evening comes no wasted hours may be laid to our charge. Amen.
EDWARD M. BARNEY.
March 13
_You are in God's world; you are God's child. Those things you
cannot change; the only peace and rest and happiness for you is to
accept them and rejoice in them. When God speaks to you, you must
not believe that it is the wind blowing or the torrent falling from
the hill. You must know that it is God. You must gather up the
whole power of meeting Him. You must be thankful that life is great
and not little. You must listen as if listening were your life. And
then, then only can come peace. All other sounds will be caught up
into the prevailing richness of that voice of God. The lost
proportions will be perfectly restored. Discord will cease; harmony
will be complete._
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
Almighty God! We thank Thee for the peace and comfort of the night; for
the new day and all the hope and peace and promise that it brings to us.
Help us that with glad faces and joyous hearts we may take up its every
privilege and duty, doing, in the spirit of the Master every good and
helpful thing our hands find to do. And when the evening shall have come
may we look back on a day of plenty, service, and peace, retiring to our
rest with songs in our hearts and thanksgiving on our lips because Thy
blessings have been on this, as on all other days new every morning and
fresh every evening. Amen.
GEORGE MAYO GERRISH.
March 14
_It is the first mild day of March:
Each minute sweeter than before,
The red-breast sings from the tall larch
That stands beside our door._
_There is a blessing in the air,
Which seems a sense of joy to yield,
To the bare trees and mountain bare,
And grass in the green field._
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
Our Father, we wake each morning refreshed and thankful for the joy of
living; for the air we breathe, the things we see, the sounds of
nature's sweetest harmonies and all the beauty which surrounds our
earthly life. May the wonders of the earth speak to us in witness of Thy
love. Let springing-grass and opening flower remind us of the new life
which is ours through the resurrection of our Lord. His blessing like
the light of the sun runs everywhere, carrying with it morning and hope,
springtime and gladness. The joy is in the song of the birds, the murmur
of the waters, the children's laughter and the song of happy hearts.
Attune our hearts to notes of praise and make us glad upon the earth
until Thou bringest us to perfect and unshadowed joys where we shall see
Thee as Thou art and be like Thee. Amen.
J. W. STEPHAN.
March 15
_As to equality and inequality, all the beauty and glory of life
come from inequalities. If we were all Beethovens or Shakespeares
or marvelous in any one direction, life would be unbearable. Who
shall tell me if an Easter lily is the equal of a rose, or if
either is equal to an oak or a pine? The question of equality is
out of the court. The one thing we need to do is to cultivate the
finest and sweetest things in us; and then, whether we are one of
the California big trees or the violet in a valley, we shall help
on the beauty and glory of the earth._
ROBERT COLLYER.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the manifold beauties of Thy
universe, the revelations of Thyself to Thy children. For those large
wonders which stir men's minds and rouse their souls to awe, we thank
Thee, but not less for the little things of life, filling their places
well, and showing daily to the seeing eye that without them Thy universe
could not be complete. Help us to grasp the lesson that they teach. If
Thou hast given to us the great place, we thank Thee, but we thank Thee
not less for the homely task, the humble duty, for it is all necessary
to Thy plan. Help us, day by day, with stronger purpose, larger
consecration, to fill our place, to do Thy will, in His name. Amen.
GEORGE F. FORTIER.
March 16
_There must be a way of taking worry rightly, so that it shall do
us good and not harm. Worry, rightly taken, should train to
quietness, humility, patience, gentleness, sympathy. It ought not
to eventuate (though it naturally does) in making others suffer
because we are uncomfortable; in making us a source of painful
worry to others because we are worried ourselves._
A. H. K. BOYD.
Father of Love, Thy blessing it is which gives us another day. Help us
to put before its cares the spirit that will banish care, to find in its
beginning the power that will make labors happy and its ending sweet,
and so to open our hearts to Thy light that no gloom of night shall
linger round our way. If heaviness there be in ours or others' lives may
every wholesome cheer make it less sore. If remembered faults and
follies quench a better hope, send Thy patience and Thy will to be our
courage and fresh resolve. Through all the noisy world may the secret
music of Thy law swell in our breasts and every step keep time with its
glorious march. Amen.
JOHN DAY.
March 17
_Therefore to whom turn I but to Thee, the ineffable Name?
Builder and maker, Thou, of houses not made with hands!
What, have fear of change from Thee who art ever the same!
Doubt that Thy power can fill the heart that Thy power expands!
There shall never be one lost good! What was, shall live as before;
The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound;
What was good, shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more;
On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven, a perfect round._
ROBERT BROWNING.
We thank Thee, O God, that each morning brings us fresh assurance of Thy
wisdom and goodness--that the days have taught us to believe in Thee and
to trust Thee as our perfect Friend. We are glad that we can face the
day in the faith that Thou art sufficient to the needs of the day--to
all the needs of all Thy children. In this trust, we beseech Thee, make
us more and more to rejoice in life and its high privileges. Help us to
go on our way with gladness and peace in our hearts--to worship Thee
hourly by honest work, by faithful service, by kind words, by helpful
deeds, and so, to find life good by doing something to make it good.
Amen.
FLINT M. BISSELL.
March 18
_"If I were you," she said, "I should not worry. Just make up your
mind to do better when you get another chance. One can't do more
than that. That is what I shall think of: that God will give each
of us another chance, and that each one of us will take it and do
better--I and you and everyone. So there is no need to fret over
failure, when one hopes one may be allowed to redeem that failure
later on. Besides which life is very hard. Why, we ourselves
recognize that. If there be a God, some intelligence greater than
human intelligence, He will understand better than ourselves that
life is very hard and difficult, and He will be astonished not
because we are not better, but because we are not worse. At least,
that would be my notion of a God. I should not worry if I were you.
Just make up your mind to do better if you get the chance and be
content with that."_
BEATRICE HARRADEN.
O Lord, how often we have failed--how weak and frail we are--we have
groped and stumbled along the pathway of life and have been defeated
over and over again. Yet in the light of Thy providence and Thy love in
spite of all defeats, we take heart and face the day with hope. In Thine
economy no failure is ever final--we rejoice that Thou openest before us
another opportunity. Let us be brave and earnest to seize the
opportunities of these passing hours. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
March 19
_To every life there comes a time supreme:
One day, one night, one morning, or one noon,
One freighted hour--one moment opportune,
One rift through which sublime fulfilments gleam;
One time when fate goes tiding with the stream,
One Once in balance 'twixt Too Late, Too Soon--
And ready for the passing instant's boon
That shall in favor tip the wavering beam.
Ah! happy he who, knowing how to wait,
Knows also how to watch and how to stand
On life's broad deck alert, and at the prow,
To seize the happy moment big with fate
From Opportunity's extended hand
When the great clock of Destiny strikes Now!_
MARY ASHLEY TOWNSEND.
Our heavenly Father! Thou art the Author of all our days, and all our
times and seasons are hid in the unfolding mystery of Thy Thought and
Purpose. It is not given to us to know what a day or an hour may bring
forth, but the opportune moments come, ways are opened before us to
larger life and usefulness and privilege and duty. May we, by
faithfulness, and watchfulness, and the readiness of those on duty, be
prepared for each divinely offered opportunity. Surrounded by blessings,
may we live to bless. Ministered unto, may we minister. Grateful to
Thee, may we show our gratitude by service. In Thy name, Amen.
DWIGHT M. HODGE.
March 20
_Put out of your thought the past whatever it may be; let go even
the future with its golden dream and its high ideal; and
concentrate your soul in this burning, present moment. For the man
who is true to the present is true to his best; and the soul that
wins the ground immediately before it, makes life a triumph._
OZORA STEARNS DAVIS.
Almighty Giver of every good, we come to Thee amid the joys of a new
morning, with its new blessings and opportunities. We would dedicate
this day to Thy service. We would forget the past and waste not our time
in idle dreaming of to-morrow, but with consecrated zeal we would apply
ourselves to the tasks Thou hast appointed us for this present hour. Thy
hand is ever opened to let down the tokens of Thy love. May all that is
best within us rise up in answer, and may we be dedicated anew to our
upbuilding in righteousness and the fulfilment of our duties to one
another. May we this day follow the footsteps of the Christ and prove
ourselves His faithful disciples! Amen.
R. PERRY BUSH.
March 21
_I believe that today is better than yesterday, and that tomorrow
will be better than today._
GEORGE F. HOAR.
_Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts, bright fancies,
faithful sayings; treasure-houses of precious and restful thoughts,
which care cannot disturb nor poverty take away from you,--houses
built without hands for your souls to live in._
JOHN RUSKIN.
Dear Father in heaven, around Thy name cluster the most sacred and holy
affections. Thy name, indeed, is above every name infinite in love, and
awakening in each heart a sense of filial gratitude. At this morning
hour, therefore, we are mindful of the tie that binds us to Thee, that
provides a nesting-place for pleasant and restful thoughts, that makes
duty less irksome, home-love more tender, sacrifice more willing, and
character more noble. In this spirit we pray Thee, O Father, send us
forth to the labor which awaits us, only to realize, under Thy
Providence, that this is the best day of our life, and full of assurance
and rejoicing for a still better tomorrow. In the light of faith, hope
and love do we ask and offer all. Amen.
WILBURN D. POTTER.
March 22
_Scarce tangible may be the first glad sign,
Yet how it shakes us with a vernal thrill!
The voice of the south wind behind the hill;
Or an elusive bird-note faint and fine;
A flush at dawn along the wan sky-line;
A lyrical exuberance in the rill;
A something working its mysterious will
Both in majestic hole and tenuous vine!_
_It is the vernal spirit. In the earth
It throbs and pulses; quickens in the air;
And permeates all nature thro' and thro'.
In the expectant poignancy of birth
What raptures, what rare ecstasies we share--
Old,--ah, how old!--and yet forever new!_
CLINTON SCOLLARD.
O God, how good Thou art! All Thy works praise Thee. The world is filled
with Thy glory. This dawning Springtime brings Thee very near every
responsive heart. Thou art the fountain of life. We see Thee in bursting
bud and incipient bloom. We hear Thee in the rapture of birds and in the
new-found gladness of sun-kissed rivulets. May we, the children of Thy
love, be new born into a deeper spirituality,--a richer life! May the
beauty of the Spirit breathing through our hearts call forth the latent
goodness that slumbers there! Speak through us the music of Thy love.
Perfume us with the odors of Thy heavenly grace, and may we walk this
day in tune with Thee! Amen.
JOSEPH COOPER.
March 23
_Work is the grand cure of all the maladies and miseries that ever
beset mankind--honest work, which you intend getting done._
THOMAS CARLYLE.
_Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to
do which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to
work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance,
self-control, diligence, strength of will, content and a hundred
virtues which the idle will never know._
CHARLES KINGSLEY.
Kind Father and Friend, Thy presence has watched over us all our days
and has been a comfort in all our labors. We thank Thee for Thy
unwearied watching over us. May we at the dawn of this new day, come to
our tasks with thanks in our hearts and a song on our lips. May all
life's stern duties and its perplexities get grace and beauty from our
hallowed thoughts and sanctified resolves. We would ask that Thy free
spirit be with us this day to give us hope and joy in our several tasks.
May the sweet peace of mind of those who learn to labor and to wait
crown all our efforts. Dear Father, forgive our failures and keep us
ever Thine. Amen.
CHARLES E. PETTY.
March 24
_Ah, the mis-takings and the mis-leavings; and all the ignorant
beginning, when we can only lay up things for late wisdom to repent
of!_
_Nothing really bad can ever happen.... I've meant right,--and I
mean right now. I'll do the best I can, and the Lord will take care
of everybody._
MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.
Lord, Thou comest to us with light and life, forgive us for coming to
Thee as aliens and beggars; daily Thou art our refuge and strength, and
this should subtract our fear and multiply our confidence, comfort and
consecration. Our needs are Thy opportunity; we have more sunshine than
we can use, more love than we can repay and more revelation than we can
translate. O may this satisfy us early and strengthen us through all our
days. Alone we are very weak, but we are never alone; all of life is a
company affair, for Thou art with us; help us to be as truly Thy
children as Thou art our Father and Mother. Through our thinking,
working and waiting may men see Thee and glorify Thee. O teach us to
abide ever in Thy love, and help us to work some helpful miracle by the
gates of need, and to see the rainbow of prophecy through earth's tears
and over its years. Amen.
ALAN R. TILLINGHAST.
March 25
_'Tis the fine souls who serve us, and not what is called fine
society._
RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
_We find what we look for in the world. I have always been looking
for the nobler qualities in human beings, and I have always found
them. There are great souls all along the highway of life, and
there are great qualities even in the people who seem common and
weak to us ordinarily._
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
Gracious Father, we thank Thee for the power Thou hast given us to labor
for our own and others' advancement and happiness. As we begin this new
day we trust in Thy bounty and would draw on Thy strength to sustain us
in our toil. We thank Thee for the brave souls in every walk of life who
have set us an example worthy to be followed. Many have been or are
notable in the world for their fortitude, honor and achievements; many
others have been known to us but have been unheralded by men, and from
all these we have ourselves been made more capable and faithful. By Thy
grace may we be aided in emulating the good we see in others, and be
able to make the world a little brighter because of Thy gift to us of
this day. Amen.
FRANK S. RICE.
March 26
_An old, worn Harp that had been played
Till all its strings were loose and frayed,
Joy, Hate, and Fear, each one, assayed
To play. But each in turn had found
No sweet responsiveness of sound._
_Then Love the Master-player came
With heaving breast and eyes aflame;
The Harp he took all undismayed,
Smote on its strings, still strange to song,
And brought forth music sweet and strong._
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.
Heavenly Father, I pray Thee that Thou wilt help me to love to-day. Thou
art Love and if Thou shalt fill my life there will be no room for hate
and no room for fear, for "Perfect Love casteth out fear." As the Master
stilled the waves in Galilee, so speak Thou peace to my soul, and bid
all discord cease, that my whole life may be in tune with heaven, and
may be one happy song. Love alone can bring harmony out of discord, love
out of hate, trust out of fear, and music out of a worn-out, or a long
unused or misused life. So let Love control the whole of my life for
Jesus' sake. Amen.
B. L. JENNINGS.
March 27
_No stream from its source
Flows seaward, how lonely soever its course,
But some land is gladdened. No star ever rose
Or set without influence somewhere. Who knows
What earth needs from earth's lowliest creature? No life
Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife,
And all life not be purer and stronger thereby._
OWEN MEREDITH.
If I am this day to touch other lives helpfully so that they may be
gladdened and strengthened for truer and nobler living, I shall need, my
Father, not only a clear perception of myself in relation to that to
which Thou dost call me, but also a clear vision of the Christ who would
be felt through me, not only the impulse of a strong purpose but also
the endowment of power by Thy spirit of power. That this may be, do Thou
test my purpose by that of Thy son and fashion my life by His teaching,
keeping my heart open always toward Thee. Amen.
F. H. WHEELER.
March 28
_I but open my eyes,--and perfection, no more and no less,
In the kind I imagined, full-fronts me, and God is seen God,
In the star, in the stone, in the flesh, in the soul and the clod.
And thus looking within and around me, I ever renew
(With that stoop of the soul which in bending upraises it too)
The submission of man's nothing-perfect to God's all-complete,
And by each new obeisance in spirit, I climb to His feet._
ROBERT BROWNING.
Thou Infinite Spirit, we cannot understand Thee, yet we feel Thy
presence within us and about us. We cannot unravel the mystery of Thy
life, not even of our own lives, yet we feel ourselves linked as by
chains of steel to Thyself. We are poor and ignorant and little and
finite; Thou art great and strong and infinite, yet we cling to the
thought that we are Thy children. Even in Thine infinity Thou stoopest
to listen to us. Thou carest for us, lovest us. O Thou Father of our
Souls, may we cling to Thee to-day and every day. We do not ask Thee to
explain Thyself, but we do ask that in storm and sunshine, in adversity
and in prosperity, and in every emergency we may keep our anchorage to
Thee unbroken, and feel Thy presence with us. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
March 29
_I wonder why it is that we are not all kinder to each other than
we are. How much the world needs it! How easily it is done!_
HENRY DRUMMOND.
_Let us awaken to the divine privilege of sharing the heartaches of
our friends; of the meaning of good fellowship; of that
independence of spirit that does not imitate; of courage and pride
that can endure adversity with dignity, and without fear._
ANONYMOUS.