pathless sky dost guide the bird seeking its distant nest, Thy trusting
children are safe in Thy dear love. We know not the way before us, but
Thou dost know; our feet may stumble in rough paths, but Thou wilt hold
us up. Glad in this confidence, may we begin the day with song and
finish it, whatever may befall us, in the calm assurance that all things
work for good. Give us patience in perplexity, hope amid our fears, and
faith to trust Thy holy will as best. Thus walking in Thy love may we
reach home at last to see our Saviour's face. Amen.
STEPHEN A. NORTON.
December 23
_Wouldst make thy life go fair and square?
Thou must not for the past feel care;
Whatever thy loss, thou must not mourn;
Must ever act as if new-born.
What each day wants of thee, that ask;
What each day tells thee, that make thy task;
With pride thine own performance viewing,
With heart to admire another's doing;
Above all, hate no human being,
And all the future leave to the All-Seeing._
GOETHE.
Dear Father, grateful for another new-born day, myself new-born, I greet
Thee! Yesterday and all other yesterdays are in Thy keeping. _This day
is mine!_ For the failures of the past I care not, nor do I mourn the
losses of the days gone by. _Today I am new-born!_ Indeed, aspiring to
Thy comprehensive wisdom, I may see my past and my present as one, and
out of that past I may select--even from failures and losses--such
experiences and lessons as will help me live the present--at least this
one day which is mine!--more nobly, more fully, more usefully, more
beautifully. May I, knowing myself to be Thy Child, respect myself as a
creative spirit able to look upon its own work and to say: "Behold, it
is good!" And above all, I pray: that, to-day and always, I may grow in
grace and loving-kindness,--hating no one, but feeling, thinking,
speaking, acting with good will towards all Thy creatures! _This day is
mine!_ The future I leave to Thee, All-Seeing Father! but feel myself
Thy open-eyed and confident child. Amen.
CHARLES FLEISCHER.
December 24
_'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which sought through the world is ne'er met with elsewhere._
_An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain,
Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gaily, that came at my call,
Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all._
J. HOWARD PAYNE.
O God, our Heavenly Father, we thank thee for the blessings of home; for
the shelter, safety, and hallowed associations of our domestic
habitation; for the sympathy and helpfulness of family relationship.
Help us we pray thee to make ours an ideal household, bright with
cheerfulness, an exemplification of Christian faith and hope. May the
happiness of all be the object of each. To that end help us to be
patient toward one another, kind and forgiving. May we realize by many
beatific experiences that it is better to give than to receive, better
to serve than to be served. May we be disposed, as occasion may arise,
to share, for a season, the comfort and inspiration of our home with
those who are homeless. We thank Thee for the bright assurance that
beyond the fading scenes and transitory experiences of this life, there
is, awaiting us, an eternal abiding place in "a continuing city" whose
maker and builder is God, where there shall be no more parting, and
where the shadows of our present life shall forever flee away. Amen.
CHARLES CONKLIN.
December 25
_That ever-vivid scene of Bethlehem.... A father, a mother, and a
child are there. No religion which began like that could ever lose
its character. The first unit of human life, the soul, is there, in
the new-born personality of the childhood. But the second unit of
human life, the family, is just as truly there in the familiar
relation of husband and wife and the sacred, eternal mystery of
motherhood._
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace." We take up the angel
symphony and give it new breath, this gladsome day of days. Thou who
didst send Thy Son in the likeness of a little child, that by His life
of increase in love and beauty and wisdom and power He might give us
courage to begin as children the obedience that alone leads at last to
the measure of the stature of His fulness, accept our unutterable
gratitude for all that gift. And oh, may He be born in us and formed in
us, the hope of glory, that so we may share His peace, His victory, His
exaltation, His union with Thee. Amen.
C. ELLWOOD NASH.
December 26
Two are the pathways by which mankind can to virtue mount upward;
If thou shouldst find the one barr'd, open the other will lie.
'Tis by exertion the Happy obtain her, the Suffering by patience,
Blest is the man whose kind fate guides him along upon both!
SCHILLER.
O Thou who hast kept us safely during the unconsciousness of our
slumbering hours, and brought us refreshed to this morning light,
prepare us for the duties of this day by filling us with the assurance
that we are Thine, and that Thou lovest us. Help us to be more like
Thee, to love Thee more and serve Thee better. May we manifest our love
to Thee by our willingness to be of service to our fellowmen. Make us
warm-hearted and true, helpful and kind, reflecting Thy love and doing
Thy will. We are glad to live in this beautiful world. And we pray that
we may be faithful co-laborers with Jesus Christ, in being light, love
and joy to all lives. Amen.
CHARLES R. TENNEY.
December 27
_Stronger, and more frequently, comes the temptation to stop
singing, and let discord do its own wild work. But blessed are they
that endure to the end,--singing patiently and sweetly, till all
join in with loving acquiescence, and universal harmony prevails,
without forcing into submission the free discord of a single
voice._
_This is the hardest and the bravest task which a true soul has to
perform amid the clashing elements of time. But once has it been
done perfectly unto the end; and that voice--so clear in its
meekness--is heard above all the din of a tumultuous world: one
after another chimes in with its patient sweetness; and, through
infinite discords, the listening soul can perceive that the great
tune is slowly coming into harmony._
LYDIA MARIA CHILD.
Our Father, who art in heaven! We thank Thee that we are permitted to
see the light, engage in the duties and enter into the experiences of
this new day. We thank Thee for the order and harmony of this wonderful
universe; that every force and law and being supports and balances every
other force, law and being; that every life contributes to or may
contribute to the welfare of every other life, and we pray, that each
one of us may come into such relations with Thee, the great harmonizing
soul of things, as to add our little note to the full anthem of
perpetual and adorable praise. In Christ's dear name, we ask and offer
all. Amen.
A. J. PATTERSON.
December 28
_It is said that a friend once asked the great composer, Haydn, why
his church music was always so full of gladness. He answered, "I
cannot make it otherwise; I write according to the thoughts I feel;
when I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes
dance and leap from my pen; and since God has given me a cheerful
heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful
spirit."_
_Pardoned? Nay, it will be praised and rewarded. For God looks with
approval and man turns with gratitude to everyone who shows by a
cheerful life that religion is a blessing for this world and the
next._
HENRY VAN DYKE.
Our Father in Heaven, we awake this morning with a sense of thankfulness
for the beauty and glory of Thy creation. We praise Thee that as Thy
children we can be conscious of the kingdom of heaven always about us.
So we pray for that attitude of mind and spirit of soul that will unlock
for us the divine life. Help us to be conscious of Thee in all the
varied experiences of this day. If it shall be a day of burdens, give us
strength to play our part uncomplainingly, if a day of joy to accept it
with true gratitude; and when the shades of night shall call us to our
rest, may our memory of the day bring us peace. Amen.
EDWARD C. DOWNEY.
December 29
_Ah, don't be sorrowful, darling,
And don't be sorrowful, pray;
Taking the year together, my dear,
There isn't more night than day._
_'Tis rainy weather, my darling;
Time's waves they heavily run;
But taking the year together, my dear,
There isn't more cloud than sun._
ALICE CARY.
We thank Thee, heavenly Father, for the days just as they come. Nor
would we measure the sunshine against the storm as if to test Thy
goodness by some petty form of bookkeeping. Thou presidest over all our
days, and whatever may be the face of nature we trust Thy love. Let us
go forth today, not in critical mood nor despondent mood but in the mood
of high Christian faith, anxious, not to test Thy providence, but ready
to do our own part, taking care to hold our cup of blessing open-side
up; so shall it catch the manna when it falls. Then shall each passing
day be full of blessing. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
December 30
_Fades the rose; the year grows old;
The tale is told;
Youth doth depart--
Only stays the heart._
_Ah, no! if stays the heart,
Youth can ne'er depart,
Nor the sweet tale be told--
Never the rose fade, nor the year grow old._
RICHARD WATSON GILDER.
Dear Father, we thank Thee for the year now coming to its close, and for
all that has blessed us in it. Help us to keep the good wherewith it has
done us good in lasting memory. By the flight of time which its passing
emphasizes move us to earnestness in the labors committed to our hands.
Beyond this help us that we may be undisturbed, remembering that Thou
art our dwelling place, and that we are the children of Thy love and the
sharers of Thy everlastingness. So may we keep the vision of youth, the
vision to which endings are but beginnings, the good leading to the
better, and the best forever more. May Thy blessing be upon all whom we
love and should pray for in this and every day, in Jesus' name. Amen.
CHARLES R. TENNEY.
December 31
_Be not afraid, dear friend. What of sickness! What of sorrow! What
of failure! What of misfortune! What of death! Is not this God's
world? Are not you God's child? Go forth into the New Year with
brave heart. When fortune smiles, smile with her. When fortune
frowns, smile the more, and trust in God._
GEORGE L. PERIN.
Our Heavenly Father, we stand upon the utmost verge of the old year.
Forgetting the things that are behind, we stand with our faces looking
earnestly into the future. We do not despise the past, we do not forget
its manifold blessings. We do not forget that Thou hast been with us in
the old year; for all this we would be grateful. With clear vision and
earnestness of purpose, we would stand looking into the future
expectantly, ready for its duties and its responsibilities; yet not
ostentatiously nor with over-confidence, for we know our own
infirmities, our own weaknesses. We would enter upon the New Year with
confidence, not because of our own strength, but because of Thy living
presence. Thou art always with us, Thou art pouring out Thy spirit upon
us. O Lord, let us believe in Thee, and believing, let us have a heart
for any fate. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
Services for Special Days
_Good Friday_
_Easter_
_Thanksgiving Day_
_Birth of a Baby_
_Child's Birthday_
_Father's Birthday_
_Mother's Birthday_
_General Birthday_
Good Friday
_Why dost thou glare so fierce
O Death, as thou wouldst pierce,
With thine uplifted dart,
My sinking heart?_
_Yet though men fear thee so
Wherever thou dost go,
And tremble at thy feet,
Thou art a cheat!_
_Though men thy pity crave,
Though naught from thee can save,
Thy Master rules above,
Thou servest Love._
HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.
O Thou, who didst not spare Thine own Son, but didst deliver Him up for
us all, we cannot ask Thee to withhold us from our Gethsemane nor even
from our Calvary. But when Thou callest us to go down into the gloom or
up to the cross, remember, O God, that we are dust. Might we so dwell
with Thee in Thy secret place, as to abide under Thy shadow! There,
sheltered and unafraid, we should sustain the rod as eager for its
chastening stroke, praying only for wisdom to learn its lesson and
acquire its discipline. With the picture of the crucified Savior before
us, we only cry this day as He taught us, Thy will be done. Amen.
C. ELLWOOD NASH.
Easter
_See, in that rock-hewn garden sepulchre,
The Holy One of God, despised and slain,
With nail-torn hands and feet, and spear-pierced side,
His gentle brow by mocking thorns defaced;
See where He lies, obedient unto death.
Into that pallid face the glow of life
Begins to steal, while silent and in awe
The heavenly watchers stand. Now they with haste
Unwind the scented wrappings from His form
That fill the place with rich aromas rare,
Perfume of spicery and sweet spikenard's breath
Lingering since Love her alabastron broke,
And with her tresses wiped these tear-bathed feet.
And then, their joyful faces all aglow
Like flashing sunbeams, quickly by a touch
They roll away the stone with jarring shock,
As if an earthquake passed, and sitting there
Behold their Lord go forth, Death's Conqueror!_
HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.
O Thou Eternal One, who gatherest our fleeting moments into Thy
permanence, when we draw close to Thee the terrors of change and
vicissitude pass away, and a sense of the stability and security of all
that is good brings us peace. We rejoice to know through Thy gospel that
"life is ever lord of death." "Thou didst not suffer Thy Holy One to see
corruption," and we trust that because He lives we shall live also. O
grant that, believing in Him, we may not see death save as a door to
more abounding life, and so realize our privilege daily to be risen with
Him in the newness and power of an endless life. Amen.
C. ELLWOOD NASH.
Thanksgiving
_Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands._
_Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with
singing._
_Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and
not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture._
_Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with
praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name._
_For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth
endureth to all generations._
PSALM 100.
For days of health, for nights of quiet sleep; for seasons of bounty and
of beauty, for all earth's contributions to our need through this past
year: Good Lord, we thank Thee. For our country's shelter; for our
homes; for the joy of faces, and the joy of hearts that love: for the
power of great examples; for holy ones who lead us in the ways of life
and love: for our powers of growth; for longings to be better and do
more; for Ideals that ever rise above our real: for opportunities well
used; for opportunities unused, and even those misused: Good Lord, we
humbly thank Thee! For our temptations, and for any victory over sins
that close beset us; for the gladness that abides with loyalty and the
peace of the return: for the blessedness of service and the power to fit
ourselves to others' needs: for our necessities to work; for burdens,
pain, and disappointments, means of growth; for sorrow; for death: for
all that brings us nearer to each other, nearer to ourselves, near to
Thee; for Life: We thank Thee, O our Father!
WILLIAM C. GANNETT.
Birth of a Baby
_Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here._
_Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through._
_What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in._
_Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here._
_What makes your forehead so smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by._
_What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?
Something better than anyone knows._
_Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss._
_Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands._
_Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?
From the same box as the cherub's wings._
_How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew._
_But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought of You, and so I am here._
GEORGE MACDONALD
Fresh from the Gates of Heaven, our Father, this dear child has come,
opening in our hearts springs of new and deeper affection. We thank Thee
for this life whose coming has filled our lives with sunshine. Teach us
how to live that we may guide it aright, so that as the years pass more
and more sunlight shall be radiated. Even as Thine angels kissed the
sweet rosebud lips and left a smile thereon, so may we kiss away the
tears of life. Heavenly Father, we consecrate this child to Thy service.
We pray that the ears may learn to listen for Thy voice, speaking in
truth and purity. May the tiny hands be ever ready to do a service of
love and may the feet be swift to do Thy bidding. Tenderly guide this
precious child, for it needs Thy guidance, and safely guard it through
all the years, lest it go astray. This we ask in the name of Him who
took little children in His arms and blessed them, saying--"Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the
kingdom of Heaven." Amen.
FLORENCE H. PERIN.
A Child's Birthday
_A dreary place would be this earth,
Were there no little people in it:
The song of life would lose its mirth,
Were there no children to begin it:_
_No little forms, like buds to grow,
And make the admiring heart surrender:
No little hands on breast and brow,
To keep the thrilling love-chords tender._
_The sterner souls would grow more stern,
Unfeeling nature more inhuman,
And man to stoic coldness turn,
And woman would be less than woman._
_Life's song, indeed, would lose its charm,
Were there no babies to begin it;
A doleful place this world would be,
Were there no little people in it._
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.
Our dear Heavenly Father, Thou lookest upon us all as Thy
children,--whether our hair be flaxen or brown or white with age. We
thank Thee today for the children of our own household, for our
children, and all the children, and especially do we thank Thee for the
one whose birthday we celebrate here to-day. May Thy blessing be upon
him (her), may the skies be bright over his (her) head,--may the birds
sing to him (her). May the flowers blossom around his (her) pathway.
Thro' all the journey of this life let him (her) have the guidance of
Thy Father hand. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
A Father's Birthday
_The boy enjoyed this kind of a father at the time, and later he
came to understand, with a grateful heart, that there is no richer
inheritance in all the treasury of unearned blessings. For, after
all, the love, the patience, the kindly wisdom of a grown man who
can enter into the perplexities and turbulent impulses of a boy's
heart, and give him cheerful companionship, and lead him on by free
and joyful ways to know and choose the things that are pure and
lovely and of good report, make as fair an image as we can find of
that loving, patient Wisdom which must be above us all if any good
is to come out of our childish race._
HENRY VAN DYKE.
By Thy very name, our Father, Thou hast ennobled and sanctified the
office of parenthood and attracted to it our respect and love. Thou hast
commanded us to honor father and mother, that our days may be
lengthened. Assured thus of Thy approval, O God, we call upon Thee to
hallow our joy and gratitude on this anniversary day. We thank Thee for
him whom we honor as "Father in the flesh" and pray Thee to grant him
yet many days with health and strength to minister and to be ministered
unto, to grow in grace and in favor with God and man, and to taste the
sweet tributes of love and the rewards of good deeds finely done. Amen.
C. ELLWOOD NASH.
A Mother's Birthday
_Blessings on the hand of woman!
Angels guard her strength and grace;
In the cottage, palace, hovel,--
O! no matter where the place.
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world._
_Blessings on the hand of woman!
Fathers, sons and daughters cry;
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky,--
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world._
JOHN GRAY.
Heavenly Father, Thou plantest anew Thine own love in the hearts of Thy
children and so multipliest Thyself on the earth. We thank Thee today
for the manifold incarnation of Thyself in the hearts of all true
mothers. We have known the magic charm of mother love and it relates us
anew to Thee. Here we celebrate the birthday of one who has honored us
and blessed us by a sacred ministry. We thank Thee, our Father, for all
the sweet memories of the past, for all the joy of the present relation
with her, and for the hope that these sacred associations may long
continue. Wilt Thou bless her whose birthday we honor here. Crown her
with long life and happy days and the sweet consciousness of having
ministered in love. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
General Birthday
_Birthdays, what are they? One will say they are mileposts on the
highway of life, marking the distance already traveled and
suggesting what yet remains of the journey. Another looking into
the deeper meaning of the years will suggest that they are memorial
tablets recording the service of a passing life. But no matter
under what figure you think of them, the coming into this world of
a human life with all the magic powers of thought and love and
faith and service is a thing of such transcendent moment, as to
make it well worth while to mark the passing of the years._
GEORGE L. PERIN.
Father of all, it is Thou who hast made us and given us all things
richly to enjoy; we thank Thee, therefore, for the birthday to which we
have come. We thank Thee for the physical life, and all that makes it
glad; for the power of intellect, and all the wealth it feeds upon; for
love, and all the forms of love which answer to it; for faith which
looks on Thee and heaven; for service, the exercise and opportunity of
every gift and grace. Help us to be faithful that our felicity may be
secure in Thee, and that we may ever recall the day of our birth with
rejoicing. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
CHARLES R. TENNEY.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been corrected
without comment. Unmatched quotation marks were left as they were
in the original.
page 76, March 14: "And grass in the green fields" changed to "field".