He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the
truth in his heart_.--PS. xv. 1, 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.
If 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 boldest to this, expecting nothing,
fearing 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
_Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am
with you, 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.
The situation that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied
by man. Yes, here, in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable 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.
October 2
_I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress_.--PS. xvii. 3.
_In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth
his lips is wise_.--PROV. 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.
Few 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 repetition of former conversations, or a
discussion of the current petty scandal of society; much less, if you allow
yourself 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, JR.
October 3
_Judge not, that ye be not judged_.--MATT. vii. 1.
_Why beboldest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest
not 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.
When you behold an aspect for whose constant gloom and frown you
cannot account, 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--"Evangelical and narrow,"
or "Latitudinarian and Pantheistic," or "Anglican and supercilious"--that
man, in his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because his sacrifice
is a hard one, because strength and patience are failing him to speak the
difficult word, and do the difficult deed.
GEORGE ELIOT.
October 4
_Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:
for the Lord thy God is 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,
While love, almighty love, is near.
CHARLES WESLEY.
Watch your way then, as a cautious traveller; and don't be gazing at that
mountain 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
accomplish _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, having with thee the same reason which thou now usest for
present things.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
October 5
_Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not_.--ISA. xxxv.
4.
Why shouldst them 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 FLEMMING.
The 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 supplement His Providence by our own providence. The future is not yet
ours; perhaps it never will 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.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
October 6
_I had fainted, unless I bad believed to see the goodness of the Lord in
the land of the living_--PS. xxvii. 13.
_I will surely do thee good_.--GEN. xxxii. 12.
Thou know'st not what is good for thee,
But God doth know,--
Let Him thy strong reliance be,
And rest thee so.
C. F. GELLERT.
Let 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 assigned 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
_And because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying, 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 not,
Though bitter seem my lot;
For hearts unthankful can no blessing find.
M. RUTILIUS, 1604.
Resignation to the Divine Will signifies a cheerful approbation and
thankful acceptance of everything that comes from God. It is not enough
patiently to submit, but we must thankfully receive and fully approve of
everything 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. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself
disposed to uneasiness 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.
October 8
_Ye shall not go out in haste, for the Lord will go before you; and the God
of Israel will be your rearward_.--ISA. lii. 12. (R. V.).
_He that believeth shall not make haste_.--ISA. xxviii. 16.
Holy Spirit, Peace divine!
Still this restless heart of mine;
Speak to calm this tossing sea,
Stayed in Thy tranquillity.
S. LONGFELLOW.
In whatever you are called upon to do, endeavor 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 salvation 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 running 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.
October 9
_As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord_.--JOSH. xxiv. 15.
O happy house I and happy servitude!
Where all alike one Master own;
Where daily 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 holy,
When they are done as unto Thee.
C. J. P. SPITTA.
At 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 command 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. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.
October 10
_Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means_.--2
THESS. iii. 16.
_The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His
people with peace_.--PS. xxix. 11.
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.
But 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, whatever 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
_And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord_.--NUM. xi. 1.
When thou hast thanked thy God
For every blessing sent,
What time will then remain
For murmurs or lament?
R. C. TRENCH.
Let 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 according 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 Providence 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.
October 12
_Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord_.--EPH. v. 19.
_Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts_.--I PETER 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.
Strive to carry thyself with a total resignation 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 be taken up about the affairs of the condition 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. DE MOLINOS.
October 13
_We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full
assurance of hope unto the end_.--HEB. vi. 11.
_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.
Set 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 failings; never be in
a hurry, and do not yield to longings after that which is impossible to
you. My dear sister, go on steadily and quietly; if our dear Lord means you
to run, He will "strengthen your heart."
ST. 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 SWET CHINE,
October 14
_He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me
love death_.--PROV. viii. 36.
_But now being made 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.
Sin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure
from goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with
whom the happiness, and blessedness, 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 God."
GEORGE ELIOT.
Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.
JOHN WESLEY.
October 15
_Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;
therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord,
make haste to help 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!
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;
Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!
G. TERSTEEGEN.
Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart
to morning 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 springtime, 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 can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better
than that, conquered, captured and transfigured 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.
October 16
_I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth,
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.
Habitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the
Divine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest
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 commonness,--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 interposition, and, as
a breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.
J. MARTINEAU.
October 17
_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,
'Tis a holy service, trust me,
In obedience to the Lord.
ANNA SHIPTON.
It 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 all else without reserve to the will and power of God.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
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.
October 18
_Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter 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.
You perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the
Gospel, and therefore 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 intended and
carefully labored to advance yourself 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
_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 that
thou shouldest go_.--ISA. xlviii. 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.
Of 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 _wisest_ for him to do; which could he but be led or driven to do,
he were then doing "like a man," as we phrase 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 in 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 channel into an infinite sea.
R. W. EMERSON.
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. WESLEY.
If 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
_I am the Almighty God; walk before me, 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.
I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the
Lord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed,
sooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the
characteristics of the daily life. 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 God.
H. W. SMITH.
October 22
_Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not 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.