belongs 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 fountain of life in your heart."
G. MACDONALD.
March 9
_Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine
hands unto_.--DEUT. xii. 18.
_Be ye thankful_.--COL. iii. 15.
Thou 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.
If 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 happens 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.
March 10
_When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee_.--ISA.
xliii. 2.
_I 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.
Turn 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 submitted
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 cheerfulness.
J. H. NEWMAN.
March 11
_Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved_.--PS. lv. 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.
The 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 outward 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. SMITH.
March 12
_The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee: 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.
There is a faith in God, and a clear perception of His will and designs,
and providence, 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 communion 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
_He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth 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 fragrance not its own,
So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,
All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.
H. B. STOWE.
Some 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, though
silent, evidence to the eternal principle from which it emanates.
M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.
March 14
_I 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 is a refuge for us_.--PS.
lxii. 8.
Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest,
Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast;
Spread before God that wish, that care,
And change anxiety to prayer.
JANE CREWDSON.
Trouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble
and perplexity.
P. MELANCTHON.
Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy Father; put over the matter
into His hand, and so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing
care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer
anything, when 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. LEIGHTON.
March 15
_Hear me, O Lord. for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according
to the multitude of Thy tender mercies_.--PS. lxix. 16.
_Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to
Thy word unto Thy servant_.--PS. cxix. 76.
Love divine has seen and counted
Every tear it caused to fall;
And the storm which Love appointed
Was its choicest gift of all.
ANON.
O that thou couldst dwell in the knowledge and sense of this! even, that
the Lord beholds 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 His name.
I. PENINGTON.
March 16
_Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever 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.
Surely 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 religion. Whensoever 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 not look upon their daily work as the task God has
set them, and as obedience due to Him. 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 life of any degree of inward holiness; but that they are
even direct means, when rightly used, to promote our sanctification.
H. E. MANNING.
March 17
_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 done that's worth the doing?
What have I sought that I should shun?
What duties have I left undone?
PYTHAGORAS.
All 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.
SARAH W. STEPHEN.
March 18
_Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as
brethren, be pitiful, be courteous_.--I PETER iii. 8.
Make us of one heart and mind;
Courteous, pitiful, and kind;
Lowly, meek, in thought and word,
Altogether 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 conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the
faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the
street, the way your 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 or 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.
GEORGE S. MERRIAM.
March 19
_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
If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil, be duties to
God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our
life. 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 faithful. 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 is repugnant to you, ask "Wouldst Thou have me do
it? Then, unworthy though I be, I will do it gladly."
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
March 20
_Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou
serve_.--MATT. iv. 10.
_Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the
whole 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 worship and to wait on Thee.
A. L. WARING.
Resign every forbidden joy; restrain every wish that is not referred to His
will; banish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the will of God;
seek Him alone, and you will find peace.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
"I've been a great deal happier since I have given up thinking about what
is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn'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
_Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things_.--MATT. vi. 32.
All as God wills, who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold;
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.
J. G. WHITTIER.
Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I
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.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
March 22
_He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and
little_.--ECCLESIASTICUS xix. I.
One finger's-breadth at hand will mar
A world of light in heaven afar,
A mote eclipse a glorious star,
An eyelid hide the sky.
J. KEBLE.
A single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some
obscure corner of our consciousness,--a sin _which we do not intend to
renounce_,--is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of
action not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and
loving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,--any of these are
impassable 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. COBBE.
It is astonishing how soon the whole conscience 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
_Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest_.--3 JOHN 5.
_And this also we wish, even your perfection_.--2 COR. xiii. 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.
In 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. SMITH.
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.
March 24
_I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest
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.
We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His
providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; 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?
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
One 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."
MARTIN LUTHER.
March 25
_I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His
people_.--PS. lxxxv. 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.
He speaketh, but it is with 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, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or
show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?
E. B. PUSEY.
March 26
_Are they not all ministering spirits_?--HEB. i. 14
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.
Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the 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 courage. 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, without the
world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by
the very existence of that goodness.
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
March 27
_If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in
us_.--I JOHN iv. 12.
_And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And
hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given
us_.--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.
H. B. STOWE.
The 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.
March 28
_Giving thanks always for all things unto God_.--EPH. v. 20.
For blessings of the fruitful 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 for wailing,
For bitter hail and blighting frost,
For high hopes on the low earth trailing,
For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.
E. SCUDDER.
Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and
weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily 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.
ORVILLE DEWEY.
March 29
_There shall no evil befall thee_.--PS. xci. 10.
_Whoso hearkeneth unto Me 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 cometh all.
C. J. P. SPITTA.
Be like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but
it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I,
because this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has
happened 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 occasion
which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a
misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
March 30
_Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to
glory_.--PS. lxxiii. 24.
_There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of 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.
Go forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer 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
_Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts
of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy
tabernacle shall be in peace_.--JOB v. 23, 24.