and believing the "one step" set before you to be enough for you. You will
be satisfied that even though there are clouds around, and your way seems
dark, He is directing all, and that what seems a hindrance will prove a
blessing, since He wills it.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

August 20

_Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the Lord_.--PS. xxvii. 14.

_He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth
strength_.--ISA. xl. 29.

 Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness
    His own thy will,
  And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness
    Life's task fulfil.

J. G. WHITTIER.

Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a confiding thought,
a simple movement of heart towards God will renew our powers. Whatever
He may demand of us, He will give us at the moment the strength and the
courage that we need.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

We require a certain firmness in all circumstances of life, even the
happiest, and perhaps contradictions come in order to prove and exercise
this; and, if we can only determine so to use them, the very effort brings
back tranquillity to the soul, which always enjoys having exercised its
strength in conformity to duty.

WM. VON HUMBOLDT.

August 21

_We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not
to please ourselves_.--ROM. xv. 1.

_The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know
how to speak a word in season to him that is weary_.

  If there be some weaker one,
  Give me strength to help him on;
  If a blinder soul there be,
  Let me guide him nearer Thee.

J. G. WHITTIER.

Ask Him to increase your powers of sympathy: to give you more quickness
and depth of sympathy, in little things as well as great. Opportunities of
doing a kindness are often lost from mere want of thought. Half a dozen
lines of kindness may bring sunshine into the whole day of some sick
person. Think of the pleasure you might give to some one who is much shut
up, and who has fewer pleasures than you have, by sharing with her some
little comfort or enjoyment that you have learnt to look upon as a
necessary of life,--the pleasant drive, the new book, flowers from the
country, etc. Try to put yourself in another's place. Ask "What should I
like myself, if I were hard-worked, or sick, or lonely?" Cultivate the
_habit_ of sympathy.

G. H. WILKINSON.

August 22

_I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service_.--ROM. xii. 1.

  Thou hast my flesh, Thy hallowed shrine,
    Devoted solely to Thy will;
  Here let Thy light forever shine,
    This house still let Thy presence fill;
  O Source of Life, live, dwell, and move
  In me, till all my life be love!

JOACHIM LANCE.

May it not be a comfort to those of us who feel we have not the mental
or spiritual power that others have, to notice that the living sacrifice
mentioned in Rom. xii. 1, is our "bodies"? Of course, that includes the
mental power, but does it not also include the loving, sympathizing glance,
the kind, encouraging word, _the ready errand for another_, the work of our
hands, opportunities for all of which come oftener in the day than for
the mental power we are often tempted to envy? May we be enabled to offer
willingly that which we have.

ANON.

August 23

_Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not_.--JER. xlv. 5.

  I would not have the restless will
    That hurries to and fro,
  Seeking for some great thing to do,
    Or secret thing to know;
  I would be treated as a child,
    And guided where I go.

A. L. WARING.

Oh! be little, be little; and then thou wilt be content with little; and
if thou feel, now and then, a check or a secret smiting,--in _that_ is
the Father's love; be not over-wise, nor over-eager, in thy own willing,
running, and desiring, and thou mayest feel it so; and by degrees come to
the knowledge of thy Guide, who will lead thee, step by step, in the
path of life, and teach thee to follow. Be still, and wait for light and
strength.

I. PENINGTON.

Sink into the sweet and blessed littleness, where thou livest by grace
alone. Contemplate with delight the holiness and goodness in God, which
thou dost not find in thyself. How lovely it is to be nothing when God is
all!

G. TERSTEEGEN.

August 24

_And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go
forth, and are choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring no fruit to perfection_.--LUKE viii. 14.

  Preserve me from my calling's snare,
    And hide my simple heart above,
  Above the thorns of choking care,
    The gilded baits of worldly love.

C. WESLEY.

Anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God, let it
seem ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to
fall before our enemies. Any root of bitterness cherished towards another,
any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in, any slackness in obeying
the voice of the Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one of
these things will effectually cripple and paralyze our spiritual life. I
believe our blessed Guide, the indwelling Holy Spirit, is always secretly
discovering these things to us by continual little twinges and pangs of
conscience, so that we are left without excuse,

H. W. SMITH.

August 25

_See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh_.--HEB. xii. 25.

  From the world of sin and noise
    And hurry I withdraw;
  For the small and inward voice
    I wait with humble awe;
  Silent am I now and still,
    Dare not in Thy presence move;
  To my waiting soul reveal
    The secret of Thy love.

C. WESLEY.

When therefore the smallest instinct or desire of thy heart calleth thee
towards God, and a newness of life, give it time and leave to speak; and
take care thou refuse not Him that speaketh. Be retired, silent, passive,
and humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee.

WM. LAW.

It is hardly to be wondered at that he should lose the finer consciousness
of higher powers and deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself
wrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in the streets of life, that,
penetrating too deep into the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent
and lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, far apart. He had no time
to think or feel.

G. MACDONALD.

August 26

_Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord_.--ZECH. ii. 13.

  Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn;
  Let noise and vanity be gone:
  In secret silence of the mind,
  My heaven, and there my God, I find.

I. WATTS.

It is only with the pious affection of the will that we can be spiritually
attentive to God. As long as the noisy restlessness of the thoughts goes
on, the gentle and holy desires of the new nature are overpowered and
inactive.

J. P. GREAVES.

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to
us wellnigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the
soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always
whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry,
and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.

F. W. FABER.

The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and quiet view of divine, eternal
truth. The soul rests quiet, perceiving and loving God; sweetly rejecting
all the imaginations that present themselves, calming the mind in the
Divine presence, and fixing it only on God.

M. DE MOLINOS.

August 27

_Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it_.--PHIL. i. 6.

_He that endureth to the end shall be saved_.--MATT. x. 22.

  Fill with inviolable peace;
    Stablish and keep my settled heart;
  In Thee may all my wanderings cease,
    From Thee no more may I depart:
  Thy utmost goodness called to prove,
  Loved with an everlasting love!

C. WESLEY.

If any sincere Christian cast himself with his whole will upon the Divine
Presence which dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the end. What
is it that makes us unable to persevere? Is it want of strength? By no
means. We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. When did we ever
set ourselves sincerely to any work according to the will of God, and fail
for want of strength? It was not that strength failed the will, but that
the will failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine will with the
whole love of ours; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we should be
borne along as upon "the river of the water of life." We open only certain
chambers of our will to the influence of the Divine will. We are afraid of
being wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if we would have peace, we must be
altogether united to Him.

H. E. MANNING.

August 28

_They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast
not forsaken them that seek Thee_.--PS. ix. 10.

_Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good_.--PS. lxxxv. 12.

  In Thee I place my trust,
    On Thee I calmly rest;
  I know Thee good, I know Thee just,
    And count Thy choice the best.

H. F. LYTE.

The souls that would really be richer in duty in some new position, are
precisely those who borrow no excuses from the old one; who even esteem
it full of privileges, plenteous in occasions of good, frequent in divine
appeals, which they chide their graceless and unloving temper for not
heeding more. Wretched and barren is the discontent that quarrels with its
tools instead of with its skill; and, by criticising Providence, manages
to keep up complacency with self. How gentle should we be, if we were not
provoked; how pious, if we were not busy; the sick would be patient, only
he is not in health; the obscure would do great things, only he is not
conspicuous!

J. MARTINEAU.

August 29

_Am I my brother's keeper_?--GEN. iv. 9.

  Because I held upon my selfish, road,
  And left my brother wounded by the way,
  And called ambition duty, and pressed on--
      O Lord, I do repent.

SARAH WILLIAMS.

How many are the sufferers who have fallen amongst misfortunes along
the wayside of life! "By _chance_" we come that way; chance, accident,
Providence, has thrown them in our way; we see them from a distance, like
the Priest, or we come upon them suddenly, like the Levite; our business,
our pleasure, is interrupted by the sight, is troubled by the delay; what
are our feelings, what our actions towards them? "Who is thy neighbor?" It
is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou hearest
the cry of distress, wherever thou seest any one brought across thy path by
the chances and changes of life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom
it is in thy power to help,--he, stranger or enemy though he be,--_he_ is
thy neighbor.

A. P. STANLEY.

August 30

_Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness
and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love_.--EPH.
iv. 1, 2.

  Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear
    Each other's faults, to suffer with true meekness;
  Help us each other's joys and griefs to share,
    But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness.

ANON.

You should make a special point of asking God every morning to give you,
before all else, that true spirit of meekness which He would have His
children possess. You must also make a firm resolution to practise yourself
in this virtue, especially in your intercourse with those persons to whom
you chiefly owe it. You must make it your main object to conquer yourself
in this matter; call it to mind a hundred times during the day, commending
your efforts to God. It seems to me that no more than this is needed in
order to subject your soul entirely to His will, and then you will become
more gentle day by day, trusting wholly in His goodness. You will be very
happy, my dearest child, if you can do this, for God will dwell in your
heart; and where He reigns all is peace. But if you should fail, and commit
some of your old faults, do not be disheartened, but rise up and go on
again, as though you had not fallen.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

August 31

_Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage
that which hath befallen thee_.--2 ESDRAS x. 15.

  Go, bury thy sorrow,
    The world hath its share;
  Go, bury it deeply,
    Go, hide it with care.
  Go, bury thy sorrow,
    Let others be blest;
  Go, give them the sunshine,
    And tell God the rest.

ANON.

Our veiled and terrible guest [Trouble] brings for us, if we will accept
it, the boon of fortitude, patience, self-control, wisdom, sympathy, faith.
If we reject that, then we find in our hands the other gift,--cowardice,
weakness, isolation, despair. If your trouble seems to have in it no other
possibility of good, at least set yourself to bear it like a man. Let none
of its weight come on other shoulders. Try to carry it so that no one shall
even see it. Though your heart be sad within, let cheer go out from you to
others. Meet them with a kindly presence, considerate words, helpful acts.

G. S. MERRIAM.

September 1

_Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of
their souls to Him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator_.--I PETER iv.
19.

_The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy_.--JAMES v. 11.

  On Thy compassion I repose
    In weakness and distress:
  I will not ask for greater ease,
    Lest I should love Thee less;
  Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me
    To need Thy tenderness.

A. L. WARING.

Oh, look not at thy pain or sorrow, how great soever; but look from them,
look off them, look beyond them, to the Deliverer! whose power is over
them, and whose loving, wise, and tender spirit is able to do thee good by
them. The Lord lead thee, day by day, in the right way, and keep thy mind
stayed upon Him, in whatever befalls thee; that the belief of His love and
hope in His mercy, when thou art at the lowest ebb, may keep up thy head
above the billows.

ISAAC PENINGTON

September 2

_Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God_.--MATT. v. 6.

  Grant us Thy peace, down from Thy presence falling,
    As on the thirsty earth cool night-dews sweet;
  Grant us Thy peace, to Thy pure paths recalling,
    From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet.

E. SCUDDER.

O God, who art Peace everlasting, whose chosen reward is the gift of peace,
and who hast taught us that the peacemakers are Thy children, pour Thy
sweet peace into our souls, that everything discordant may utterly vanish,
and all that makes for peace be sweet to us forever. Amen.

GELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 492.

Have you ever thought seriously of the meaning of that blessing given to
the peacemakers? People are always expecting to get peace in heaven; but
you know whatever peace they get there will be ready-made. Whatever making
of peace _they_ can be blest for, must be on the earth here: not the taking
of arms against, but the building of nests amidst, its "sea of troubles"
[like the halcyons]. Difficult enough, you think? Perhaps so, but I do not
see that any of us try. We complain of the want of many things--we want
votes, we want liberty, we want amusement, we want money. Which of us feels
or knows that he wants peace?

J. RUSKIN.

September 3

_The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due
season_.--PS. cxlv. 15.

_What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee_.--PS. lvi. 3.

  Late on me, weeping, did this whisper fall:
  "Dear child, there is no need to weep at all!
  Why go about to grieve and to despair?
  Why weep now through thy Future's eyes, and bear
  In vain to-day to-morrow's load of care?"

H. S. SUTTON.

The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and
consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is
laid upon us. But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the
dispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them
indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, everything in
them is bitter and unendurable; all seems dark and helpless. Let us throw
self aside; no more self-interest, and then God's will, unfolding every
moment in everything, will console us also every moment for all that He
shall do around us, or within us, for our discipline.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

September 4

_His delight is in the law of the Lord. And he shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his
leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper_.--PS. i.
2, 3.

  The wind that blows can never kill
    The tree God plants;
  It bloweth east; it bloweth west;
  The tender leaves have little rest,
  But any wind that blows is best.
    The tree God plants
  Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,
  Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will
    Meets all its wants.

LILLIE E. BARR.

It is a fatal mistake to suppose that we cannot be holy except on the
condition of a situation and circumstances in life such as shall suit
ourselves. It is one of the first principles of holiness to leave our times
and our places, our going out and our coming; in, our wasted and our goodly
heritage entirely with the Lord. Here, O Lord, hast Thou placed us, and we
will glorify Thee here!

T. C. UPHAM.

It is not by change of circumstances, but by fitting our spirits to the
circumstances in which God has placed us, that we can be reconciled to life
and duty.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

September 5

_O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me_.--ISA. xxxviii. 14.

  Being perplexed, I say,
    Lord, make it right!
  Night is as day to Thee,
    Darkness is light.
  I am afraid to touch
  Things that involve so much;--
    My trembling hand may shake,
    My skill-less hand may break:
    Thine can make no mistake.

ANNA B. WARNER.

The many troubles in your household will tend to your edification, if you
strive to bear them all in gentleness, patience, and kindness. Keep this
ever before you, and remember constantly that God's loving eyes are upon
you amid all these little worries and vexations, watching whether you
take them as He would desire. Offer up all such occasions to Him, and
if sometimes you are put out, and give way to impatience, do not be
discouraged, but make haste to regain your lost composure.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

September 6

_If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me_.--LUKE ix. 23.

  There lies thy cross; beneath it meekly bow;
    It fits thy stature now;
  Who scornful pass it with averted eye,
    'Twill crush them by and by.

J. KEBLE.

To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it
consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to
us.

J. H. NEWMAN.

On one occasion an intimate friend of his was fretting somewhat at not
being able to put a cross on the grave of a relation, because the rest of
the family disliked it. "Don't you see," he said to her, "that by giving up
your own way, you will be virtually putting a cross on the grave? You 'll
have it in its effect. The one is but a stone cross, the other is a true
spiritual cross."

LIFE OF JAMES HINTON.

I would have you, one by one, ask yourselves, Wherein do I take up the
cross daily?

E. B. PUSEY.

Every morning, receive thine own special cross from the hands of thy
heavenly Father.

L. SCUPOLI.

September 7

_Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world_.--JAMES i. 27.

  Not to ease and aimless quiet
    Doth that inward answer tend,
  But to works of love and duty
    As our being's end.

J. G. WHITTIER.

It is surprising how practical duty enriches the fancy and the heart, and
action clears and deepens the affections. Indeed, no one can have a true
idea of right, until he does it; any genuine reverence for it, till he has
done it often and with cost; any peace ineffable in it, till he does it
always and with alacrity. Does any one complain, that the best affections
are transient visitors with him, and the heavenly spirit a stranger to
his heart? Oh, let him not go forth, on any strained wing of thought, in
distant quest of them; but rather stay at home, and set his house in the
true order of conscience; and of their own accord the divinest guests will
enter.

J. MARTINEAU.

September 8

_Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving_.--COL. iv. 2.

_Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong_.--I COR.
xvi. 13.

  We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power.
  Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong,
  Or others--that we are not always strong,
  That we are ever overborne with care,
  That we should ever weak or heartless be,
  Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,
  And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?

R. C. TRENCH.

It is impossible for us to make the duties of our lot minister to our
sanctification without a habit of devout fellowship with God. This is the
spring of all our life, and the strength of it. It is prayer, meditation,
and converse with God, that refreshes, restores, and renews the temper of
our minds, at all times, under all trials, after all conflicts with the
world. By this contact with the world unseen we receive continual accesses
of strength. As our day, so is our strength. Without this healing and
refreshing of spirit, duties grow to be burdens, the events of life chafe
our temper, employments lower the tone of our minds, and we become fretful,
irritable, and impatient.

H. E. MANNING.

September 9

_This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm
constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to
maintain good works_.--TITUS iii. 8.

  Faith's meanest deed more favor bears
    Where hearts and wills are weighed,
  Than brightest transports, choicest prayers,
    Which bloom their hour and fade.

J. H. NEWMAN.

One secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice of inclination to duty, is
worth all the mere good thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in
which idle people indulge themselves.

J. H. NEWMAN.

It is impossible for us to live in fellowship with God without holiness in
all the duties of life. These things act and react on each other. Without a
diligent and faithful obedience to the calls and claims of others upon us,
our religious profession is simply dead. To disobey conscience when it
points to relative duties irritates the whole temper, and quenches the
first beginnings of devotion. We cannot go from strife, breaches, and angry
words, to God. Selfishness, an imperious will, want of sympathy with
the sufferings and sorrows of other men, neglect of charitable offices,
suspicions, hard censures of those with whom our lot is cast, will
miserably darken our own hearts, and hide the face of God from us.

H. E. MANNING.

September 10

_Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head_.--JOHN xiii. 9.

  Take my hands, and let them move
  At the impulse of Thy love.

  Take my feet, and let them be
  Swift and "beautiful" for Thee.

  Take my intellect, and use
  Every power as Thou shall choose.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

If a man may attain thereunto, to be unto God as his hand is to a man, let
him be therewith content, and not seek further. That is to say, let him
strive and wrestle with all his might to obey God and His commandments so
thoroughly at all times, and in all things, that in him there be nothing,
spiritual or natural, which opposeth God; and that his whole soul and body,
with all their members, may stand ready and willing for that to which God
hath created them; as ready and willing as his hand is to a man, which is
so wholly in his power, that in the twinkling of an eye, he moveth and
turneth it whither he will. And when we find it otherwise with us, we must
give our whole diligence to amend our state.

THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.

When the mind thinks nothing, when the soul covets nothing, and the body
acteth nothing that is contrary to the will of God, this is perfect
sanctification.

ANONYMOUS, _in an old Bible_, 1599.

September 11

_Thy kingdom come_.--MATT. vi. 10.

  The kingdom of established peace,
    Which can no more remove;
  The perfect powers of godliness,
    The omnipotence of love.

C. WESLEY.

My child, thou mayest not measure out thine offering unto me by what others
have done or left undone; but be it thine to seek out, even to the last
moment of thine earthly life, what is the utmost height of pure devotion to
which I have called _thine own self_. Remember that, if thou fall short of
this, each time thou utterest in prayer the words, "Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come," thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for is it
not a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not seek to promote even unto the
uttermost, within the narrow compass of thine own heart and spirit?

THE DIVINE MASTER.

If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't pray for it. But if you do, you
must do more than pray for it; you must work for it.

J. RUSKIN.

September 12

_She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not In
the Lord; she drew not near to her God_.--ZEPH. iii. 2.

  Oh! let us not this thought allow;
  The heat, the dust upon our brow,
  Signs of the contest, we may wear;
  Yet thus we shall appear more fair
    In our Almighty Master's eye,
  Than if in fear to lose the bloom,
  Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume,
    We from the strife should fly.

R. C. TRENCH.

If God requires anything of us, we have no right to draw back under the
pretext that we are liable to commit some fault in obeying. It is better
to obey imperfectly than not at all. Perhaps you ought to rebuke some
one dependent on you, but you are silent for fear of giving way to
vehemence;--or you avoid the society of certain persons, because they make
you cross and impatient. How are you to attain self-control, if you shun
all occasions of practising it? Is not such self-choosing a greater fault
than those into which you fear to fall? Aim at a steady mind to do right,
go wherever duty calls you, and believe firmly that God will forgive the
faults that take our weakness by surprise in spite of our sincere desire to
please Him.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

September 13

_It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord_.--LAM. iii. 26.

_Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation_.--PS. lxii.
I.

  Not so in haste, my heart;
    Have faith in God, and wait;
  Although He linger long,
    He never comes too late.

ANON.

The true use to be made of all the imperfections of which you are conscious
is neither to justify, nor to condemn them, but to present them before
God, conforming your will to His, and remaining in peace; for peace is the
divine order, in whatever state we may be.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

You will find it less easy to uproot faults, than to choke them by gaining
virtues. Do not think of your faults; still less of others' faults; in
every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong: honor
that; rejoice in it; and, as you can, try to imitate it; and your faults
will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.

J. RUSKIN.

September 14

_Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty
things which thou knowest not_.--JER. xxxiii. 3.

_And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked_.--I KINGS iii.
13.

  No voice of prayer to Thee can rise,
  But swift as light Thy Love replies;
  Not always what we ask, indeed,
  But, O most Kind! what most we need.

H. M. KIMBALL.

If you have any trial which seems intolerable, pray,--pray that it be
relieved or changed. There is no harm in that. We may pray for anything,
not wrong in itself, with perfect freedom, if we do not pray selfishly.
One disabled from duty by sickness may pray for health, that he may do his
work; or one hemmed in by internal impediments may pray for utterance, that
he may serve better the truth and the right. Or, if we have a besetting
sin, we may pray to be delivered from it, in order to serve God and man,
and not be ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But the answer to
the prayer may be, as it was to Paul, not the removal of the thorn, but,
instead, a growing insight into its meaning and value. The voice of God in
our soul may show us, as we look up to Him, that His strength is enough to
enable us to bear it.

J. F. CLARKE.

September 15

_Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with_?--MARK. x. 38.

  Whate'er my God ordains is right;
    Though I the cup must drink
  That bitter seems to my faint heart,
    I will not fear nor shrink.

S. RODIGAST.

The worst part of martyrdom is not the last agonizing moment; it is the
wearing, daily steadfastness. Men who can make up their minds to hold out
against the torture of an hour have sunk under the weariness and the harass
of small prolonged vexations. And there are many Christians who have the
weight of some deep, incommunicable grief pressing, cold as ice, upon their
hearts. To bear that cheerfully and manfully is to be a martyr. There is
many a Christian bereaved and stricken in the best hopes of life. For such
a one to say quietly, "Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt," is to be a
martyr. There is many a Christian who feels the irksomeness of the duties
of life, and feels his spirit revolting from them. To get up every morning
with the firm resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and do them well,
and finish the work which God has given us to do, that is to drink Christ's
cup. The humblest occupation has in it materials of discipline for the
highest heaven.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

September 16

_For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea,
as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth. But Thou
hast mercy upon all. For Thou lovest all the things that are_.--WISDOM OF
SOLOMON xi. 22-24.

  Oh! Source divine, and Life of all,
    The Fount of Being's fearful sea,
  Thy depth would every heart appal,
    That saw not love supreme in Thee.

J. STERLING.

He showed a little thing, the quantity of a hazel-nut, lying in the palm of
my hand, as meseemed, and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereon with
the eye of my understanding, and thought, "What may this be?" and it was
answered generally thus, "It is all that is made." I marvelled how it might
last; for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for littleness.
And I was answered in my understanding, "It lasteth, and ever shall: For
God loveth it. And so hath all thing being by the Love of God." In this
little thing I saw three properties. The first is, that God made it. The
second is, that God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. For this
is the cause which we be not all in ease of heart and soul: for we seek
here rest in this thing which is so little, where no rest is in: and we
know not our God that is all Mighty, all Wise, and all Good, for He is very
rest.

MOTHER JULIANA, 1373.

September 17

_Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever
of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many_.--MARK x. 43-45.

    A child's kiss
  Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad;
  A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich;
  A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strong;
  Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense
  Of service which thou renderest.

E. B. BROWNING.

Let every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and cares, and his sins too,
as it were, on the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy in this
lofty inward work, were called by some duty in the Providence of God to
cease therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick person, or any other such
service, he should do so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake
such work, and go out to preach or aught else, I should go cheerfully,
believing not only that God would be with me, but that he would vouchsafe
me it may be even greater grace and blessing in that external work
undertaken out of true love in the service of my neighbor, than I should
perhaps receive in my season of loftiest contemplation.

JOHN TAULER.

September 18

_All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His
covenant and His testimonies_.--PS. xxv. 10.

  Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth,
    Speak peace to my anxious soul,
  And help me to feel that all my ways
    Are under Thy wise control;
  That He who cares for the lily,
    And heeds the sparrows' fall,
  Shall tenderly lead His loving child:
    For He made and loveth all.

ANON.

It is not by seeking more fertile regions where toil is lighter--happier
circumstances free from difficult complications and troublesome people--but
by bringing the high courage of a devout soul, clear in principle and aim,
to bear upon what is given to us, that we brighten our inward light, lead
something of a true life, and introduce the kingdom of heaven into the
midst of our earthly day. If we cannot work out the will of God where God
has placed us, then why has He placed us there?

J. H. THOM.

September 19

_Pray for us unto the Lord thy God... that the Lord thy God may show us the
way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do_.--JER. xlii. 2, 3.

_That which I see not, teach Thou me_.--JOB xxxiv. 32.

    O father, hear!
  The way is dark, and I would fain discern
  What steps to take, into which path to turn;
    Oh! make it clear.

CHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.

"We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we can't
tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge
ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will renounce that, for the
sake of obeying the Divine voice within us,--for the sake of being true to
all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has
slipped away from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go
forever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life."

GEORGE ELIOT.

There was a care on my mind so to pass my time, that nothing might hinder
me from the most steady attention to the voice of the true Shepherd.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

September 20

_Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of
man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of
tongues_.--PS. xxxi. 20.

  The praying spirit breathe,
    The watching power impart,
  From all entanglements beneath
    Call off my anxious heart.
  My feeble mind sustain,
    By worldly thoughts oppressed;
  Appear, and bid me turn again
    To my eternal rest.

C. WESLEY.

As soon as we are with God in faith and in love, we are in prayer.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

If you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake
more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry
or flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing nervous and like one
out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple
common-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever
accomplish.

ELIZABETH PRENTISS.

September 21

_How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings_.--PS. xxxvi. 7.

_The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 27.

  Within Thy circling arms we lie,
    O God! in Thy infinity:
  Our souls in quiet shall abide,
    Beset with love on every side.

ANON.

"The Everlasting Arms." I think of that whenever rest is sweet. How the
whole earth and the strength of it, that is almightiness, is beneath every
tired creature to give it rest; _holding_ us, always! No thought of God
is closer than that. No human tenderness of patience is greater than
that which gathers in its arms a little child, and holds it, heedless of
weariness. And He fills the great earth, and all upon it, with this
unseen force of His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself, so that
everywhere we may lie down in His bosom, and be comforted.

A. D. T. WHITNEY.

September 22

_The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou
mayest do it_.--DEUT. xxx. 14.

  But, above all, the victory is most sure
  For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives
  To yield entire obedience to the Law
  Of Conscience; Conscience reverenced and obeyed,
  As God's most intimate presence in the soul,
  And His most perfect image in the world.

W. WORDSWORTH.

What we call Conscience is the voice of Divine love in the deep of
our being, desiring union with our will; and which, by attracting the
affections inward, invites them to enter into the harmonious contentment,
and "fulness of joy" which attends the being joined by "one spirit to the
Lord."

J. P. GREAVES.

I rejoice that God has bestowed upon you a relish and inclination for the
inner life. To be called to this precious and lofty life is a great
and undeserved grace of God, to which we ought to respond with great
faithfulness. God invites us to His fellowship of love, and wishes to
prepare our spirit to be His own abode and temple.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.

September 23

_Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths_--PS. xxv. 4.

  When we cannot see our way,
  Let us trust and still obey;
  He who bids us forward go,
  Cannot fail the way to show.
  Though the sea be deep and wide,
  Though a passage seem denied;
  Fearless let us still proceed,
  Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead.

ANON.

That which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His
approval of our way.

S. F. SMILEY.

There is nothing like the first glance we get at duty, before there has
been any special pleading of our affections or inclinations. Duty is never
uncertain at first. It is only after we have got involved in the mazes and
sophistries of wishing that things were otherwise than they are, that it
seems indistinct. Considering a duty is often only explaining it away.
Deliberation is often only dishonesty. God's guidance is plain, when we are
true.

F. W, ROBERTSON.

September 24

_When I awake, I am still with Thee_.--PS. cxxxix. 18.

  Let the glow of love destroy
  Cold obedience faintly given;
  Wake our hearts to strength and joy
  With the flushing eastern heaven.

C. K. VON ROSENROTH.

With his first waking consciousness, he can set himself to take a serious,
manly view of the day before him. He ought to know pretty well on what
lines his difficulty is likely to come, whether in being irritable, or
domineering, or sharp in his bargains, or self-absorbed, or whatever it be;
and now, in this quiet hour, he can take a good, full look at his enemy,
and make up his mind to beat him. It is a good time, too, for giving
his thoughts a range quite beyond himself,--beyond even his own moral
struggles,--a good time, there in the stillness, for going into the realm
of other lives. His wife,--what needs has she for help, for sympathy, that
he can meet? His children,--how can he make the day sweeter to them? This
acquaintance, who is having a hard time; this friend, who dropped a word to
you yesterday that you hardly noticed in your hurry, but that comes up to
you now, revealing in him some finer trait, some deeper hunger, than you
had guessed before,--now you can think these things over.

G. S. MERRIAM.

September 25

_Ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your
households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee_.--DEUT. xii. 7.

  Sweet is the smile of home; the mutual look
    When hearts are of each other sure;
  Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook,
    The haunt of all affections pure.

J. KEBLE.

Is there any tie which absence has loosened, or which the wear and tear
of every-day intercourse, little uncongenialities, unconfessed
misunderstandings, have fretted into the heart, until it bears something of
the nature of a fetter? Any cup at our home-table whose sweetness we have
not fully tasted, although it might yet make of our daily bread a continual
feast? Let us reckon up these treasures while they are still ours, in
thankfulness to God.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

We ought daily or weekly to dedicate a little time to the reckoning up of
the virtues of our belongings,--wife, children, friends,--contemplating
them then in a beautiful collection. And we should do so now, that we may
not pardon and love in vain and too late, after the beloved one has been
taken away from us to a better world.

JEAN PAUL RICHTER.

September 26

_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me_.--PS.
xxiii. 4.

  O will, that wiliest good alone,
    Lead Thou the way, Thou guides! best;
  A silent child, I follow on,
    And trusting lean upon Thy breast.
  And if in gloom I see Thee not,
    I lean upon Thy love unknown;
  In me Thy blessed will is wrought,
    If I will nothing of my own.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.

The devout soul is always safe in every state, if it makes everything an
occasion either of rising up, or falling down into the hands of God, and
exercising faith, and trust, and resignation to Him. The pious soul, that
eyes only God, that means nothing but being His alone, can have no stop put
to its progress; light and darkness equally assist him: in the light he
looks up to God, in the darkness he lays hold on God, and so they both do
him the same good.

WM. LAW.

September 27

_When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me_.--MICAH vii. 8.

_There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the
light of Thy countenance upon us_.--PS. iv. 6.

  How oft a gleam of glory sent
    Straight through the deepest, darkest night,
  Has filled the soul with heavenly light,
    With holy peace and sweet content.

ANON.

Suppose you are bewildered and know not what is right nor what is true. Can
you not cease to regard whether you do or not, whether you be bewildered,
whether you be happy? Cannot you utterly and perfectly love, and rejoice
to be in the dark, and gloom-beset, because that very thing is the fact of
God's Infinite Being as it is to you? Cannot you take this trial also into
your own heart, and be ignorant, not because you are obliged, but because
that being God's will, it is yours also? Do you not see that a person who
truly loves is one with the Infinite Being--cannot be uncomfortable or
unhappy? It is that which is that he wills and desires and holds best of
all to be. To know God is utterly to sacrifice self.

JAMES HINTON.

September 28

_My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in
deed, and in truth_.--I JOHN iii. 18.

_But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves_.--JAMES i. 22.

  Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers,
    Whose loves in higher love endure;
    What souls possess themselves so pure,
  Or is there blessedness like theirs?

A. TENNYSON.

Let every creature have your love. Love, with its fruits of meekness,
patience, and humility, is all that we can wish for to ourselves, and our
fellow-creatures; for this is to live in God, united to Him, both for time
and eternity. To desire to communicate good to every creature, in the
degree we can, and it is capable of receiving from us, is a divine temper;
for thus God stands unchangeably disposed towards the whole creation.

WM. LAW.

What shall be our reward for loving our neighbor as ourselves in this life?
That, when we become angels, we shall be enabled to love him better than
ourselves.

E. SWEDENBORG.

September 29

_Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God_.--MATT. v. 8.

_Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see
the Lord_.--HEB. xii. 14.

  Since Thou Thyself dost still display
    Unto the pure in heart,
  Oh, make us children of the day
    To know Thee as Thou art.
  For Thou art light and life and love;
    And Thy redeemed below
  May see Thee as Thy saints above,
    And know Thee as they know.

J. MONTGOMERY.

Doubt, gloom, impatience, have been expelled; joy has taken their place,
the hope of heaven and the harmony of a pure heart, the triumph of
self-mastery, sober thoughts, and a contented mind. How can charity towards
all men fail to follow, being the mere affectionateness of innocence and
peace? Thus the Spirit of God creates in us the simplicity and warmth of
heart which children have, nay, rather the perfections of His heavenly
hosts, high and low being joined together in His mysterious work; for what
are implicit trust, ardent love, abiding purity, but the mind both of
little children and of the adoring seraphim!

J. H. NEWMAN.

September 30

_Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?
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.

Let your will be one with His will, and be glad to be disposed of by Him.
He will order all things for you. What can cross your will, when it is one
with His will, on which all creation hangs, round which all things revolve?
Keep your hearts clear of evil thoughts; for as evil choices estrange the
will from His will, so evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide Him from
us. Whatever sets us in opposition to Him makes our will an intolerable
torment. So long as we will one thing and He another, we go on piercing
ourselves through and through with a perpetual wound; and His will advances
moving on in sanctity and majesty, crushing ours into the dust.

H. E. MANNING.

October 23

_Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me
into the land of uprightness_.--PS. cxliii. 10.

  The battle of our life is won,
    And heaven begun,
  When we can say, "Thy will be done!"
    But, Lord, until
  These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still,
  We pray Thee, "Teach us how to do Thy will!"

LUCY LARCOM.

"You are seeking your own will, my daughter. You are seeking some good
other than the law you are bound to obey. But how will you find good? It
is not a thing of choice; it is a river that flows from the foot of the
Invisible Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. I say again, man
cannot choose his duties. You may choose to forsake your duties, and
choose not to have the sorrow they bring. But you will go forth, and what
will you find, my daughter? Sorrow without duty--bitter herbs, and no
bread with them."

GEORGE ELIOT.

However dark and profitless, however painful and weary, existence may have
become, life is not done, and our Christian character is not won, so long
as God has anything left for us to suffer, or anything left for us to do.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

October 24

_The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I
am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I
praise Him_.--PS. xxviii. 7.

  Well may Thy happy children cease
    From restless wishes, prone to sin,
  And, in Thy own exceeding peace,
    Yield to Thy daily discipline.

A. L. WARING.

Talk of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, and sleeping on ashes, as means
of saintship! There is no need of them in our country. Let a woman
once look at her domestic trials as her hair-cloth, her ashes, her
scourges,--accept them,--rejoice in them,--smile and be quiet, silent,
patient, and loving under them,--and the convent can teach her no more; she
is a victorious saint.

H. B. STOWE.

Perhaps it is a greater energy of Divine Providence, which keeps the
Christian from day to day, from year to year--praying, hoping, running,
believing--against all hindrances--which maintains him as a _living
martyr_, than that which bears him up for an hour in sacrificing himself at
the stake.

R. CECIL.

October 25

_For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord_.--ROM. viii. 38,
39.

  I know not what the future hath
    Of marvel or surprise,
  Assured alone that life and death
    His mercy underlies.

J. G. WHITTIER.

Be of good faith, my dear Friends, look not out at any thing; fear none of
those things ye may be exposed to suffer, either outwardly or inwardly; but
trust the Lord over all, and your life will spring, and grow, and refresh
you, and ye will learn obedience and faithfulness daily more and more, even
by your exercises and sufferings; yea, the Lord will teach you the very
mystery of faith and obedience; the wisdom, power, love, and goodness of
the Lord ordering _every_ thing for you, and ordering _your_ hearts in
every thing.

I. PENINGTON.

October 26

_Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope_.--ZECH. ix. 12.

  O power to do; O baffled will!
    O prayer and action! ye are one.
  Who may not strive, may yet fulfil
  The harder task of standing still,
    And good but wished with God is done.

J. G. WHITTIER.

That God has circumscribed our life may add a peculiar element of trial,
but often it defines our way and cuts off many tempting possibilities that
perplex the free and the strong; whilst it leaves intact the whole body
of spiritual reality, with the Beatitude thereon, "that if we know these
things, happy are we if we do them." We know that God orders the lot; and
to meet it with the energies it requires and permits, neither more nor
less,--to fill it at every available point with the light and action of an
earnest and spiritually inventive mind, though its scene be no wider than
a sick chamber, and its action narrowed to patient suffering, and gentle,
cheerful words, and all the light it can emit the thankful quiet of a
trustful eye,--without chafing as though God had misjudged our sphere, and
placed us wrong, and did not know where we could best serve Him,--this is
what, in that condition, we _have to do_.

J. H. THOM.

October 27

_Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then
am I strong_.--2 COR. xii. 10.

  Whatever God does is well!
  In patience let us wait;
  He doth Himself our burdens bear,
    He doth for us take care,
  And He, our God, knows all our weary days.
    Come, give Him praise.

B. SCHMOLCK.

Nothing else but this seeing God in everything will make us loving and
patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only
the instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes towards us,
and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the
blessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all
murmuring or rebelling thoughts.

H. W. SMITH.

The subjection of the will is accomplished by calmly resigning thyself in
everything that internally or externally vexes thee; for it is thus only
that the soul is prepared for the reception of divine influences. Prepare
the, heart like clean paper, and the Divine Wisdom will imprint on it
characters to His own liking.

M. DE MOLINOS.

October 28

_I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end_.--JER. xxix. 11.

  Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind,
    E'en when we think it not;
  How many an anxious, faithless mind
    Sits grieving o'er its lot,
  And frets, and pines by day and night,
  As God had lost it out of sight,
    And all its wants forgot.

P. GERHARDT.

You are never to complain of your birth, your training, your employments,
your hardships; never to fancy that you could be something if only you had
a different lot and sphere assigned you. God understands His own plan, and
He knows what you want a great deal better than you do. The very things
that you most deprecate, as fatal limitations or obstructions, are probably
what you most want. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements,
are probably God's opportunities. Bring down your soul, or, rather, bring
it up to receive God's will and do His work, in your lot, in your sphere,
under your cloud of obscurity, against your temptations, and then you
shall find that your condition is never opposed to your good, but really
consistent with it.

H. BUSHNELL.

October 29

_Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in
the furnace of affliction_--ISA. xlviii. 10.

  Be patient, suffering soul! I hear thy cry.
  The trial fires may glow, but I am nigh.
    I see the silver, and I will refine
    Until My image shall upon it shine.
  Fear not, for I am near, thy help to be;
  Greater than all thy pain, My love for thee.

H. W. C.

God takes a thousand times more pains with us than the artist with his
picture, by many touches of sorrow, and by many colors of circumstance, to
bring man into the form which is the highest and noblest in His sight, if
only we received His gifts and myrrh in the right spirit. But when the cup
is put away, and these feelings are stifled or unheeded, a greater injury
is done to the soul than can ever be amended. For no heart can conceive in
what surpassing love God giveth us this myrrh; yet this which we ought
to receive to our soul's good, we suffer to pass by us in our sleepy
indifference, and nothing comes, of it. Then we come and complain: "Alas,
Lord! I am so dry, and it is so dark within me!" I tell thee, dear child,
open thy heart to the pain, and it will do thee more good than if thou wert
full of feeling and devoutness.

J. TAULER.

October 30

_That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which
dwelleth in us_.--2 TIM. i. 14.

  Oh that the Comforter would come!
    Nor visit as a transient guest,
  But fix in me His constant home,
    And keep possession of my breast:
  And make my soul His loved abode,
  The temple of indwelling God!

C. WESLEY.

Thy spirit should become, while yet on earth, the peaceful throne of the
Divine Being; think, then, how quiet, how gentle and pure, how reverent,
thou shouldst be.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.

I cannot tell you how much I love you. But that which of all things I have
most at heart, with regard to you, is the real progress of your soul in the
divine life. Heaven seems to be awakened in you. It is a tender plant. It
requires stillness, meekness, and the unity of the heart, totally given up
to the unknown workings of the Spirit of God, which will do all its work in
the calm soul, that has no hunger or desire but to escape out of the mire
of its earthly life into its lost union and life in God. I mention this,
out of a fear of your giving in to an eagerness about many things, which,
though seemingly innocent, yet divide and weaken the workings of the divine
life within you.

WM. LAW.

October 31

_And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him_.--GEN. v. 24.

  Oh for a closer walk with God,
    A calm and heavenly frame;
  A light to shine upon the road
    That leads me to the Lamb!

W. COWPER.

Is it possible for any of us in these modern days to so live that we may
walk with God? Can we walk with God in the shop, in the office, in the
household, and on the street? When men exasperate us, and work wearies us,
and the children fret, and the servants annoy, and our best-laid plans fall
to pieces, and our castles in the air are dissipated like bubbles that
break at a breath, then can we walk with God? That religion which fails us
in the every-day trials and experiences of life has somewhere in it a flaw.
It should be more than a plank to sustain us in the rushing tide, and land
us exhausted and dripping on the other side. It ought, if it come from
above, to be always, day by day, to our souls as the wings of a bird,
bearing us away from and beyond the impediments which seek to hold us down.
If the Divine Love be a conscious presence, an indwelling force with us, it
will do this.

CHRISTIAN UNION.

November 1

_Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named_.--EPH. iii. 15.

  One family, we dwell in Him;
    One church above, beneath;
  Though now divided by the stream,--
    The narrow stream of death.

  One army of the living God,
    To His command we bow:
  Part of His host has crossed the flood,
    And part is crossing now.

C. WESLEY.

Let us, then, learn that we can never be lonely or forsaken in this life.
Shall they forget us because they are "made perfect"? Shall they love us
the less because they now have power to love us more? If we forget them
not, shall they not remember us with God? No trial, then, can isolate us,
no sorrow can cut us off from the Communion of Saints. Kneel down, and you
are with them; lift up your eyes, and the heavenly world, high above all
perturbation, hangs serenely overhead; only a thin veil, it may be, floats
between. All whom we loved, and all who loved us, whom we still love no
less, while they love us yet more, are ever near, because ever in His
presence in whom we live and dwell.

H. E. MANNING.

November 2

_Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before
us_.--HEB. xii. i.

  When the powers of hell prevail
    O'er our weakness and unfitness,
  Could we lift the fleshly veil,
    Could we for a moment witness
  Those unnumbered hosts that stand
  Calm and bright on either hand;

  Oh, what joyful hope would cheer,
    Oh, what faith serene would guide us!
  Great may be the danger near,
    Greater are the friends beside us.

ANON.

We are compassed about by a cloud of witnesses, whose hearts throb in
sympathy with every effort and struggle, and who thrill with joy at every
success. How should this thought check and rebuke every worldly feeling
and unworthy purpose, and enshrine us, in the midst of a forgetful and
un-spiritual world, with an atmosphere of heavenly peace! They have
overcome--have risen--are crowned, glorified; but still they remain to us,
our assistants, our comforters, and in every hour of darkness their voice
speaks to us: "So we grieved, so we struggled, so we fainted, so we
doubted; but we have overcome, we have obtained, we have seen, we have
found,--and in our victory behold the certainty of thy own."

H. B. STOWE.

November 3

_Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for
we are members one of another_.--EPH. iv. 25.

  In conversation be sincere;
  Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
  Think how All-seeing God thy ways
  And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

THOMAS KEN.

The essence of lying is in deception, not in words; a lie may be told by
silence, by equivocation, by the accent on a syllable, by a glance of the
eye attaching a peculiar significance to a sentence; and all these kinds of
lies are worse and baser by many degrees than a lie plainly worded; so that
no form of blinded conscience is so far sunk as that which comforts itself
for having deceived because the deception was by gesture or silence,
instead of utterance.

J. RUSKIN.

He that is habituated to deceptions and artificialities in trifles, will
try in vain to be true in matters of importance; for truth is a thing of
habit rather than of will. You cannot in any given case by any sudden
and single effort will to be true, if the habit of your life has been
insincerity.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

November 4

_A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up
anger_.--PROV. xv. i,

_Doest thou well to be angry_?--JONAH iv. 4.

  Renew Thine image, Lord, in me,
  Lowly and gentle may I be;
    No charms but these to Thee are dear;
  No anger mayst Thou ever find,
  No pride in my unruffled mind,
    But faith, and heaven-born peace be there.

P. GERHARDT.

Neither say nor do aught displeasing to thy neighbor; and if thou hast been
wanting in charity, seek his forgiveness, or speak to him with gentleness.
Speak always with mildness and in a low tone of voice.

L. SCUPOLI.

Injuries hurt not more in the receiving than in the remembrance. A small
injury shall go as it comes; a great injury may dine or sup with me; but
none at all shall lodge with me. Why should I vex myself because another
hath vexed me? Grief for things past that cannot be remedied, and care for
things to come that cannot be prevented, may easily hurt, can never benefit
me. I will therefore commit myself to God in both, and enjoy the present.

JOSEPH HALL.

November 5

_The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are_.--I COR. iii. 17.

  Now shed Thy mighty influence abroad
  On souls that would their Father's image bear;
  Make us as holy temples of our God,
  Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer.

C. J. P. SPITTA.

This pearl of eternity is the church or temple of God within thee, the
consecrated place of divine worship, where alone thou canst worship God
in spirit and in truth. When once thou art well grounded in this inward
worship, thou wilt have learned to live unto God above time and place. For
every day will be Sunday to thee, and, wherever thou goest, thou wilt have
a priest, a church, and an altar along with thee. For when God has all that
He should have of thy heart, when thou art wholly given up to the obedience
of the light and spirit of God within thee, to will only in His will, to
love only in His love, to be wise only in His wisdom, then it is that
everything thou dost is as a song of praise, and the common business of thy
life is a conforming to God's will on earth as angels do in heaven.

WM. LAW.

November 6

_He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their
cry, and will save them_;--PS. cxlv. 19.

_Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of
thine heart_.--PS. xxxvii. 4.

  Though to-day may not fulfil
  All thy hopes, have patience still;
  For perchance to-morrow's sun
  Sees thy happier days begun.

P. GERHARDT.

His great desire and delight is God; and by desiring and delighting, he
hath Him. _Delight thou in the Lord, and He shall give thee thy heart's
desire,_--HIMSELF; and then surely thou shall have all. Any other thing
_commit it to Him_, and He shall bring it to pass.

R. LEIGHTON.

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly
be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not
in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask; yet they
will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.

MARTIN LUTHER.

November 7

_I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision_.--ACTS xxvi. 19.

_The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey_.--JOSH. xxiv.
24.

  I will shun no toil or woe,
  Where Thou leadest I will go,
    Be my pathway plain or rough;
  If but every hour may be
  Spent in work that pleases Thee,
    Ah, dear Lord, it is enough!

G. TERSTEEGEN.

All these longings and doubts, and this inward distress, are the voice of
the Good Shepherd in your heart, seeking to call you out of all that is
contrary to His will. Oh, let me entreat of you not to turn away from His
gentle pleadings.

H. W. SMITH.

The fear of man brings a snare. By halting in our duty and giving back in
the time of trial, our hands grow weaker, our ears grow dull as to hearing
the language of the true Shepherd; so that when we look at the way of the
righteous, it seems as though it was not for us to follow them.

J. WOOLMAN.

November 8

_Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God_.--HEB. x. 9.

_Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God_.--PS. cxliii. 10.

  Lo! I come with joy to do
    The Father's blessed will;
  Him in outward works pursue,
    And serve His pleasure still.
  Faithful to my Lord's commands,
    I still would choose the better part;
  Serve with careful Martha's hands,
    And loving Mary's heart.

C. WESLEY.

A soul cannot be regarded as truly subdued and consecrated in its will,
and as having passed into union with the Divine will, until it has a
disposition to do promptly and faithfully all that God requires, as well as
to endure patiently and thankfully all that He imposes.

T. C. UPHAM.

When we have learned to offer up every duty connected with our situation
in life as a sacrifice to God, a settled employment becomes just a settled
habit of prayer.

THOMAS ERSKINE.

"_Do the duty which lies nearest thee_," which thou knowest to be a duty.
Thy second duty will already have become clearer.

T. CARLYLE.

November 9

_Say not thou, I will hide myself from the Lord: shall any remember me from
above? I shall not be remembered among so many people: for what is my soul
among such an infinite number of creatures_?--ECCLESIASTICUS xvi. 17.

  Among so many, can He care?
  Can special love be everywhere?
  A myriad homes,--a myriad ways,--
  And God's eye over every place?

  I asked: my soul bethought of this;--
  In just that very place of His
  Where He hath put and keepeth you,
  God hath no other thing to do!

A. D. T. WHITNEY.

Give free and bold play to those instincts of the heart which believe that
the Creator must care for the creatures He has made, and that the only real
effective care for them must be that which takes each of them into His
love, and knowing it separately surrounds it with His separate sympathy.
There is not one life which the Life-giver ever loses out of His sight; not
one which sins so that He casts it away; not one which is not so near to
Him that whatever touches it touches Him with sorrow or with joy.

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

November 10

_In Him we live, and move, and have our being_.--ACTS xvii. 28.

_Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy
presence_?--PS. cxxxix. 7.

  Yea! In Thy life our little lives are ended,
    Into Thy depths our trembling spirits fall;
  In Thee enfolded, gathered, comprehended,
    As holds the sea her waves--Thou hold'st us all.

E. SCUDDER.

Where then is _our_ God? You say, He is _everywhere:_ then show me
_anywhere_ that you have met Him. You declare Him _everlasting:_ then tell
me _any moment_ that He has been with you. You believe Him ready to succor
them that are tempted, and to lift those that are bowed down: then in what
passionate hour did you subside into His calm grace? in what sorrow lose
yourself in His "more exceeding" joy? These are the testing questions by
which we may learn whether we too have raised our altar to an "unknown God"
and pay the worship of the blind; or whether we commune with Him "in whom
we live, and move, and have our being."

J. MARTINEAU.

November 11

_Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with
joyfulness_.--COL. i. 10, ii.

  To be the thing we seem,
  To do the thing we deem
    Enjoined by duty;
  To walk in faith, nor dream
  Of questioning God's scheme
    Of truth and beauty.

ANON.

To shape the whole Future is not our problem; but only to shape faithfully
a small part of it, according to rules already known. It is perhaps
possible for each of us, who will with due earnestness inquire, to
ascertain clearly what he, for his own part, ought to do; this let him,
with true heart, do, and continue doing. The general issue will, as it has
always done, rest well with a Higher Intelligence than ours. This day thou
knowest ten commanded duties, seest in thy mind ten things which should be
done for one that thou doest! _Do_ one of them; this of itself will show
thee ten others which can and shall be done.

T. CARLYLE.

November 12

_I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night
cometh, when no man can work_.--JOHN ix. 4.

_Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task_?--EX. v. 14.

    He who intermits
  The appointed task and duties of the day
  Untunes full oft the pleasures of the day;
  Checking the finer spirits that refuse
  To flow, when purposes are lightly changed.

W. WORDSWORTH.

By putting off things beyond their proper times, one duty treads upon the
heels of another, and all duties are felt as irksome obligations,--a yoke
beneath which we fret and lose our peace. In most cases the consequence of
this is, that we have no time to do the work as it ought to be done. It is
therefore done precipitately, with eagerness, with a greater desire simply
to get it done, than to do it well, and with very little thought of God
throughout.

F. W. FABER.

Sufficient for each day is the _good_ thereof, equally as the evil. We must
do at once, and with our might, the merciful deed that our hand findeth to
do,--else it will never be done, for the hand will find other tasks, and
the arrears fall through. And every unconsummated good feeling, every
unfulfilled purpose that His spirit has prompted, shall one day charge us
as faithless and recreant before God.

J. H. THOM.

November 13

_Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of
Thy law_.--PS. xciv

_Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it_.--JER. x. 19.

  Hold in thy murmurs, heaven arraigning!
    The patient see God's loving face;
  Who bear their burdens uncomplaining,
    'Tis they that win the Father's grace.

ANON.

Do not run to this and that for comfort when you are in trouble, but bear
it. Be uncomfortably quiet--be uneasily silent--be patiently unhappy.

J.P. GREAVES.

Hard words _will_ vex, unkindness _will_ pierce; neglect _will_ wound;
threatened evils _will_ make the soul quiver; sharp pain or weariness
_will_ rack the body, or make it restless. But what says the Psalmist?
"When my heart is vexed, I will complain." To whom? Not _of_ God, but _to_
God.

E.B. PUSEY.

Surely, I have thought, I do not want to have a grief which would not be
a grief. I feel that I shall be able to take up my cross in a religious
spirit soon, and then it will be all right.

JAMES HINTON.

November 14

_Thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel,
thou shalt not be forgotten of me_.--ISA. xliv. 21.

  Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still,
      And bear Thy will;
  Courage to venture wholly on the arm
      That will not harm;
  The wisdom that will never let me stray
      Out of my way;
  The love, that, now afflicting, knoweth best
      When I should rest.

J. M. NEALE.

Supposing that you were never to be set free from such trials, what would
you do? You would say to God, "I am Thine--if my trials are acceptable to
Thee, give me more and more." I have full confidence that this is what you
would say, and then you would not think more of it--at any rate, you would
not be anxious. Well, do the same now. Make friends with your trials, as
though you were always to live together; and you will see that when you
cease to take thought for your own deliverance, God will take thought for
you; and when you cease to help yourself eagerly, He will help you.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

Ah, if you knew what peace there is in an accepted sorrow!

MADAME GUYON.

November 15

_Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I
will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness_.--ISA. xli. 10.

  Lord, be Thou near and cheer my lonely way;
    With Thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill;
  Scatter my cares and fears; my griefs allay,
      And be it mine each day
      To love and please Thee still.

P. CORNEILLE.

What if the wicked nature, which is as a sea casting out mire and dirt,
rage against thee? There is a river, a sweet, still, flowing river, the
streams whereof will make glad thy heart. And, learn but in quietness and
stillness to retire to the Lord, and wait upon Him; in whom thou shall feel
peace and joy, in the midst of thy trouble from the cruel and vexatious
spirit of this world. So, wait to know thy work and service to the Lord
every day, in thy place and station; and the Lord make thee faithful
therein, and thou wilt want neither help, support, nor comfort.

I. PENINGTON.

November 16

_Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because
he trusteth in Thee_.--ISA. xxvi. 3.

  What comforts, Lord, to those are given,
    Who seek in Thee their home and rest!
  They find on earth an opening heaven,
    And in Thy peace are amply blest.

W. C. DESSLER.

God is a tranquil Being, and abides in a tranquil eternity. So must thy
spirit become a tranquil and clear little pool, wherein the serene light
of God can be mirrored. Therefore shun all that is disquieting and
distracting, both within and without. Nothing in the whole world is worth
the loss of thy peace; even the faults which thou hast committed should
only humble, but not disquiet thee. God is full of joy, peace, and
happiness. Endeavor then to obtain a continually joyful and peaceful
spirit. Avoid all anxious care, vexation, murmuring, and melancholy, which
darken thy soul, and render thee unfit for the friendship of God. If thou
dost perceive such feelings arising, turn gently away from them.

G. TERSTEEGEN.

November 17

_Every day will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name for ever and
ever_.--PS. cxlv. 2.

_Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be
established_.--PROV. xvi. 3.

  Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
  Disperse my sins as morning dew;
  Guard my first springs of thought and will,
  And with Thyself my spirit fill.

THOMAS KEN.

Morning by morning think, for a few moments, of the chief employments of
the day, any one thing of greater moment than others, thine own especial
trial, any occasions of it which are likely to come that day, and by one
short strong act commend thyself beforehand in all to God; offer all thy
thoughts, words, and deeds to Him--to be governed, guided, accepted by Him.
Choose some great occasions of the day, such as bring with them most trial
to thee, on which, above others, to commend thyself to God.

E. B. PUSEY.

Will you not, before venturing away from your early quiet hour, "commit thy
works" to Him definitely, the special things you have to do to-day, and the
unforeseen work which He may add in the course of it?

F. R. HAVERGAL.

November 18

_Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He bath given
us of His Spirit_.--I JOHN iv. 13.

    Within! within, oh turn
    Thy spirit's eyes, and learn
  Thy wandering senses gently to control;
  Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within thy soul,
    And asks thyself of thee,
  That heart, and mind, and sense, He may make whole
    In perfect harmony.

G. TERSTEEGEN.

Wait patiently, trust humbly, depend only upon, seek solely to a God of
Light and Love, of Mercy and Goodness, of Glory and Majesty, ever dwelling
in the inmost depth and spirit of your soul. There you have all the secret,
hidden, invisible Upholder of all the creation, whose blessed operation
will always be found by a humble, faithful, loving, calm, patient
introversion of your heart to Him, who has His hidden heaven within you,
and which will open itself to you, as soon as your heart is left wholly to
His eternal, ever-speaking Word, and ever-sanctifying Spirit within you.
Beware of all eagerness and activity of your own natural spirit and temper.
Run not in any hasty ways of your own. Be patient under the sense of your
own vanity and weakness; and patiently wait for God to do His own work, and
in His own way.

WM. LAW.

November 19

_If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain_.--JAMES i. 26.

_I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue_.--PS.
xxxix. I.

  No sinful word, nor deed of wrong,
    Nor thoughts that idly rove;
  But simple truth be on our tongue,
    And in our hearts be love.

ST. AMBROSE.

Let us all resolve,--First, to attain the grace of SILENCE; Second, to deem
all FAULT-FINDING that does no good a SIN, and to resolve, when we are
happy ourselves, not to poison the atmosphere for our neighbors by calling
on them to remark every painful and disagreeable feature of their daily
life; Third, to practise the grace and virtue of PRAISE.

HARRIET B. STOWE.

Surrounded by those who constantly exhibit defects of character and
conduct, if we yield to a complaining and impatient spirit, we shall mar
our own peace without having the satisfaction of benefiting others.

T. C. UPHAM.

November 20

_Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the--will of God, ye
might receive the promise_.--HEB. x. 36.

    Sweet Patience, come:
  Not from a low and earthly source,--
  Waiting, till things shall have their course,--
  Not as accepting present pain
  In hope of some hereafter gain,--
  Not in a dull and sullen calm,--
  But as a breath of heavenly balm,
  Bidding my weary heart submit
  To bear whatever God sees fit:
    Sweet Patience, come!

HYMNS OF THE CHURCH MILITANT.

Patience endues her scholars with content of mind, and evenness of temper,
preventing all repining grumbling, and impatient desires, and inordinate
affections; disappointments here are no crosses, and all anxious thoughts
are disarmed of their sting; in her habitations dwell quietness,
submission, and long-suffering, all fierce turbulent inclinations are
hereby allayed. The eyes of the patient fixedly wait the inward power of
God's providence, and they are thereby mightily enabled towards their
salvation and preservation.

THOMAS TRYON.

November 21

_Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God_.--MATT. iv. 4.

_A man's life conisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth_.--LUKE xii. 15.

  Whate'er God does is well,
  Whether He gives or takes!
  And what we from His hand receive
    Suffices us to live.
  He takes and gives, while yet He loves us still;
    Then love His will.

B. SCHMOLCK.

Is that beast better, that hath two or three mountains to graze on, than
a little bee, that feeds on dew or manna, and lives upon what falls every
morning from the storehouse of heaven, clouds, and providence?

JEREMY TAYLOR.

For myself I am certain that the good of human life cannot lie in the
possession of things which for one man to possess is for the rest to lose,
but rather in things which all can possess alike, and where one man's
wealth promotes his neighbor's.

B. SPINOZA.

Every lot is happy to a person who bears it with tranquillity.

BOETHIUS.

November 22

_Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of_.--MATT. vi. 8.

_Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you_.--MATT. vi. 33.

  Thy kingdom come, with power and grace,
    To every heart of man;
  Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness
    In all our bosoms reign.

C. WESLEY.

God bids us, then, by past mercies, by present grace, by fears of coming
ill, by hopes in His goodness, earnestly, with our whole hearts, seek Him
and His righteousness, and all these things, all ye need for soul and body,
peace, comfort, joy, the overflowing of His consolations, shall be added
over and above to you.

E. B. PUSEY.

Grant us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, always to seek Thy kingdom and
righteousness, and of whatsoever Thou seest us to stand in need, mercifully
grant us an abundant portion. Amen.

Be content to be a child, and let the Father proportion out daily to thee
what light, what power, what exercises, what straits, what fears, what
troubles He sees fit for thee.

I. PENINGTON.

November 23

_I have taught thee In the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right
paths_.--PROV. iv. 11.

  We know not what the path may be
    As yet by us untrod;
  But we can trust our all to Thee,
    Our Father and our God.

WM. J. IRONS.

We have very little command over the circumstances in which we may be
called by God to bear our part--unlimited command over the temper of our
souls, but next to no command over the outward forms of trial. The most
energetic will cannot order the events by which our spirits are to be
perilled and tested. Powers quite beyond our reach--death, accident,
fortune, another's sin--may change in a moment all the conditions of our
life. With to-morrow's sun existence may have new and awful aspects for any
of us.

J. H. THOM.

Oh, my friend, look not _out_ at what stands in the way; what if it look
dreadfully as a lion, is not the Lord stronger than the mountains of prey?
but look _in_, where the law of life is written, and the will of the Lord
revealed, that thou mayest know what is the Lord's will concerning thee.

I. PENINGTON.

November 24

_Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope
in the Lord_.--PS. xxxi. 24.

_Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid_.--JOHN xiv. 27.

  In heavenly love abiding,
    No change my heart shall fear;
  And safe is such confiding,
    For nothing changes here.

A. L. WARING.

A true Christian, that hath power over his own will, may live nobly and
happily, and enjoy a clear heaven within the serenity of his own mind
perpetually. When the sea of this world is most rough and tempestuous
about him, then can he ride safely at anchor within the haven, by a sweet
compliance of his will with God's will. He can look about him, and with an
even and indifferent mind behold the world either to smile or frown upon
him; neither will he abate of the least of his contentment for all the ill
and unkind usage he meets withal in this life. He that hath got the mastery
over his own will feels no violence from without, finds no contests within;
and when God calls for him out of this state of mortality, he finds in
himself a power to lay down his own life; neither is it so much taken from
him, as quietly and freely surrendered up by him.

DR. JOHN SMITH.

November 25

_And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee,
He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be
dismayed_.--DEUT. xxxi. 8.

  Know well, my soul, God's hand controls
    Whatever thou fearest;
  Round Him in calmest music rolls
    Whate'er thou hearest.

J. G. WHITTIER.

The lessons of the moral sentiment are, once for all, an emancipation from
that anxiety which takes the joy out of all life. It teaches a great peace.
It comes itself from the highest place. It is that, which being in all
sound natures, and strongest in the best and most gifted men, we know to be
implanted by the Creator of men. It is a commandment at every moment, and
in every condition of life, to do the duty of that moment, and to abstain
from doing the wrong.

R. W. EMERSON.

Go face the fire at sea, or the cholera in your friend's house, or the
burglar in your own, or what danger lies in the way of duty, knowing you
are guarded by the cherubim of Destiny.

R. W. EMERSON.

November 26

_Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou
guest_.--GEN. xxviii. 15.

    Be quiet, soul:
  Why shouldst thou care and sadness borrow,
  Why sit in nameless fear and sorrow,
    The livelong day?
  God will mark out thy path to-morrow
    In His best way.

ANON.

I had hoped, Madame, to find you here, and was rejoicing in that hope; but
God has sent you elsewhere. The best place is wherever He puts us, and
any other would be undesirable, all the worse because it would please our
fancy, and would be of our own choice. Do not think about distant events.
This uneasiness about the future is unwholesome for you. We must leave to
God all that depends on Him, and think only of being faithful in all that
depends upon ourselves. When God takes away that which He has given you, He
knows well how to replace it, either through other means or by Himself.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

November 27

_The Lord hath been mindful of us: He will bless us_.--PS. cxv. 12.

  My Father! what am I, that all
  Thy mercies sweet like sunlight fall
    So constant o'er my way?
  That Thy great love should shelter me,
  And guide my steps so tenderly
    Through every changing day?

ANON.

What a strength and spring of life, what hope and trust, what glad,
unresting energy, is in this one thought,--to serve Him who is "my Lord,"
ever near me, ever looking on; seeing my intentions before He beholds my
failures; knowing my desires before He sees my faults; cheering me to
endeavor greater things, and yet accepting the least; inviting my poor
service, and yet, above all, content with my poorer love. Let us try to
realize this, whatsoever, wheresoever we be. The humblest and the simplest,
the weakest and the most encumbered, may love Him not less than the busiest
and strongest, the most gifted and laborious. If our heart be clear before
Him; if He be to us our chief and sovereign choice, dear above all, and
beyond all desired; then all else matters little. That which concerneth us
He will perfect in stillness and in power.

H. E. MANNING.

November 28

_Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving
kindness have I drawn thee_.--JER. xxxi. 3.

  On the great love of God I lean,
  Love of the Infinite, Unseen,
  With nought of heaven or earth between.
    This God is mine, and I am His;
    His love is all I need of bliss.

H. BONAR.

If ever human love was tender, and self-sacrificing, and devoted; if ever
it could bear and forbear; if ever it could suffer gladly for its loved
ones; if ever it was willing to pour itself out in a lavish abandonment for
the comfort or pleasure of its objects; then infinitely more is Divine love
tender, and self-sacrificing, and devoted, and glad to bear and forbear,
and to suffer, and to lavish its best of gifts and blessings upon the
objects of its love. Put together all the tenderest love you know of, the
deepest you have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever been poured out
upon you, and heap upon it all the love of all the loving human hearts in
the world, and then multiply it by infinity, and you will begin, perhaps,
to have some faint glimpse of what the love of God is.

H. W. SMITH.

November 29

_My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand
before Him, to serve Him_.--2 CHRON. xxix. 11.

  Bright be my prospect as I pass along;--
    An ardent service at the cost of all,--
  Love by untiring ministry made strong,
    And ready for the first, the softest call.

A. L. WARING.

There are many things that appear trifles, which greatly tend to enervate
the soul, and hinder its progress in the path to virtue and glory. The
habit of indulging in things which our judgment cannot thoroughly approve,
grows stronger and stronger by every act of self-gratification, and we are
led on by degrees to an excess of luxury which must greatly weaken our
hands in the spiritual warfare. If we do not endeavor to do that which is
right in every particular circumstance, though trifling, we shall be in
great danger of letting the same negligence take place in matters more
essential.

MARGARET WOODS.

The will can only be made submissive by frequent self-denials, which must
keep in subjection its sallies and inclinations. Great weakness is often
produced by indulgences which seem of no importance.

M. DE MOLINOS.

November 30

_Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?
hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His
countenance_.--PS. xlii. 5.

_We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed_.--2 COR. iv. 8.

  Oh, my soul, why art thou vexed?
    Let things go e'en as they will;
  Though to thee they seem perplexed,
    Yet His order they fulfil.

A. H. FRANCKE.

The vexation, restlessness, and impatience which small trials cause, arise
wholly from our ignorance and want of self-control. We may be thwarted
and troubled, it is true, but these things put us into a condition for
exercising patience and meek submission, and the self-abnegation wherein
alone the fulness of God is to be found.

DE RENTY.

Every day deny yourself some satisfaction;--bearing all the inconveniences
of life (for the love of God), cold, hunger, restless nights, ill health,
unwelcome news, the faults of servants, contempt, ingratitude of friends,
malice of enemies, calumnies, our own failings, lowness of spirits, the
struggle in overcoming our corruptions;--bearing all these with patience
and resignation to the will of God. Do all this as unto God, with the
greatest privacy.

THOMAS WILSON.

December 1

_Charity envieth not, ... thinketh no evil_--I COR. xiii. 4, 5.

_Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy
brother_?--ROM. xiv. 10.

_He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth_.--PROV. xiv. 21.

  Look thou with pity on a brother's fall,
  But dwell not with stern anger on his fault;
  The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all;
  Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt.

J. EDMESTON.

If, on hearing of the fall of a brother, however differing or severed from
us, we feel the least inclination to linger over it, instead of hiding it
in grief and shame, or veiling it in the love which covereth a multitude
of sins; if, in seeing a joy or a grace or an effective service given to
others, we do not rejoice, but feel depressed, let us be very watchful; the
most diabolical of passions may mask itself as humility, or zeal for the
glory of God.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

Love taketh up no malign elements; its spirit prompteth it to cover in
mercy all things that ought not to be exposed, to believe all of good that
can be believed, to hope all things that a good God makes possible, and to
endure all things that the hope may be made good.

J. H. THOM.

December 2

_Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest:
for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that
judgest doest the same things_.--ROM. ii. I.

  Search thine own heart. What paineth thee
    In others, in thyself may be;
  All dust is frail, all flesh is weak;
    Be thou the true man thou dost seek.

J. G. WHITTIER.

A saint's life in one man may be less than common honesty in another. From
us, whose consciences He has reached and enlightened, God may look for a
martyr's truth, a Christian's unworldly simplicity, before He will place us
on a level even with the average of the exposed classes. We perhaps think
our lives at least harmless. We do not consider what He may think of them,
when compared with the invitations of His that we have slighted, with the
aims of His Providence we are leaving without our help, with the glory for
ourselves we are refusing and casting away, with the vast sum of blessed
work that daily faithfulness in time can rear without overwork on any
single day.

J. H. THOM.

December 3

_Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye
may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost_.--ROM. xv. 13.

  To heaven I lift my waiting eyes;
    There all my hopes are laid;
  The Lord that built the earth and skies
    Is my perpetual aid.

I. WATTS.

Grovel not in things below, among earthly cares, pleasures, anxieties,
toils, if thou wouldst have a good strong hope on high. Lift up thy cares
with thy heart to God, if thou wouldst hope in Him. Then see what in thee
is most displeasing to God. This it is which holdeth thy hope down. Strike
firmly, repeatedly, in the might of God, until it give way. Thy hope will
soar at once with thy thanks to God who delivered thee.

E. B. PUSEY.

The snares of the enemy will be so known to thee and discerned, the way of
help so manifest and easy, that their strength will be broken, and the poor
entangled bird will fly away singing, from the nets and entanglements of
the fowler; and praises will spring up, and great love in thy heart to the
Forgiver and Redeemer.

I. PENINGTON.

December 4

_Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou
art also called_.--I TIM. vi. 12.

    Oh, dream no more of quiet life;
  Care finds the careless out; more wise to vow
    Thy heart entire to faith's pure strife;
  So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how.

LYRA APOSTOLICA.

Who art thou that complainest of thy life of toil? Complain not. Look
up, my wearied brother; see thy fellow-workmen there, in God's Eternity;
surviving there, they alone surviving; sacred band of the Immortals,
celestial body-guard of the empire of mankind. To thee Heaven, though
severe, is _not_ unkind; Heaven is kind,--as a noble mother; as that
Spartan mother, saying while she gave her son his shield, "With it, my son,
or upon it." Thou too shall return _home_ in honor; to thy far-distant
Home, in honor; doubt it not,--if in the battle thou keep thy shield!
Thou, in the Eternities and deepest death-kingdoms art not an alien; thou
everywhere art a denizen. Complain not.

T. CARLYLE.

December 5

_The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you_.--I PET. v. 10.

_Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted_.--ISA. vii.
4.

  How shall thou bear the cross that now
    So dread a weight appears?
  Keep quietly to God, and think
    Upon the Eternal Years.

F. W. FABER.

God forgive them that raise an ill report upon the sweet cross of Christ;
it is but our weak and dim eyes, that look but to the black side, that
makes us mistake; those that can take that crabbed tree handsomely upon
their backs, and fasten it on cannily, shall find it such a burden as wings
unto a bird, or sails to a ship.

S. RUTHERFORD.

Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming, which God has been so good as
to fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.

F. W. FABER.

We cannot say this or that trouble shall not befall, yet we may, by help of
the Spirit, say, nothing that doth befall shall make me do that which is
unworthy of a Christian.

R. SIBBES.

December 6

_This God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto
death_.--PS. xlviii. 14.

_For the Lord shall be thy confidence_.--PROV. iii. 26.

  Be still, my soul! Thy God doth undertake
    To guide the future, as He has the past:
  Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake,
    All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

J. BORTHWJCK.

He has kept and folded us from ten thousand ills when we did not know it:
in the midst of our security we should have perished every hour, but that
He sheltered us "from the terror by night and from the arrow that flieth by
day"--from the powers of evil that walk in darkness, from snares of our own
evil will. He has kept us even against ourselves, and saved us even from
our own undoing. Let us read the traces of His hand in all our ways, in all
the events, the chances, the changes of this troubled state. It is He that
folds and feeds us, that makes us to go in and out,--to be faint, or to
find pasture,--to lie down by the still waters, or to walk by the way that
is parched and desert.

H. E. MANNING.

We are never without help. We have no right to say of any good work, it is
too hard for me to do, or of any sorrow, it is too hard for me to bear; or
of any sinful habit, it is too hard for me to overcome.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

December 7

_Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace_.--JOB xxii. 21.

_All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace
of thy children_.--ISA. liv. 13.

  Unite, my roving thoughts, unite
    In silence soft and sweet;
  And thou, my soul, sit gently down
    At thy great Sovereign's feet.

P. DODDRIDGE.

Yes! blessed are those holy hours in which the soul retires from the world
to be alone with God. God's voice, as Himself, is everywhere. Within and
without, He speaks to our souls, if we would hear. Only the din of the
world, or the tumult of our own hearts, deafens our inward ear to it.
Learn to commune with Him in stillness, and He, whom thou hast sought in
stillness, will be with thee when thou goest abroad.

E. B. PUSEY.

The great step and direct path to the fear and awful reverence of God, is
to meditate, and with a sedate and silent hush to turn the eyes of the mind
inwards; there to seek, and with a submissive spirit wait at the gates of
Wisdom's temple; and then the Divine Voice and Distinguishing Power will
arise in the light and centre of a man's self.

THOMAS TRYON.

December 8

_Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings_.--EPH. i. 3.

_As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing_.--2 COR. vi. 10.

  It is not happiness I seek,
  Its name I hardly dare to speak;
  It is not made for man or earth,
  And Heaven alone can give it birth.

  There is a something sweet and pure,
  Through life, through death it may endure;
  With steady foot I onward press,
  And long to win that Blessedness.

LOUISA J. HALL.

The elements of _happiness_ in this present life no man can command, even
if he could command himself, for they depend on the action of many wills,
on the purity of many hearts, and by the highest law of God the holiest
must ever bear the sins and sorrows of the rest; but over the _blessedness_
of his own spirit circumstance need have no control; God has therein given
an unlimited power to the means of preservation, of grace and growth, at
every man's command.

J. H. THOM.

There is in man a higher than love of happiness: he can do without
happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness!

T. CARLYLE.

December 9

_For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou
mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come
nigh unto him_.--PS. xxxii. 6.

  Be not o'ermastered by thy pain,
    But cling to God, thou shall not fall;
  The floods sweep over thee in vain,
    Thou yet shall rise above them all;
  For when thy trial seems too hard to bear,
  Lo! God, thy King, hath granted all thy prayer:
  Be thou content.

P. GERHARDT.

It is the Lord's mercy, to give thee breathings after life, and cries unto
Him against that which oppresseth thee; and happy wilt thou be, when He
shall fill thy soul with that which He hath given thee to breathe after. Be
not troubled; for if troubles abound, and there be tossing, and storms,
and tempests, and no peace, nor anything visible left to support; yet, lie
still, and sink beneath, till a secret hope stir, which will stay the heart
in the midst of all these; until the Lord administer comfort, who knows how
and what relief to give to the weary traveller, that knows not where it is,
nor which way to look, nor where to expect a path.

I. PENINGTON.

December 10

_Behold, we count them happy which endure_.--JAMES v. 11.

_If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons_.--HEB. xii. 7.

  Trials must and will befall;
    But with humble faith to see
  Love inscribed upon them all,
    This is happiness to me.

W. COWPER.

Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee. It
is with the wind and storm of tribulation that God separates the true wheat
from the chaff. Always remember, therefore, that God comes to thee in thy
sorrows, as really as in thy joys. He lays low, and He builds up. Thou wilt
find thyself far from perfection, if thou dost not find God in everything.

M. DE MOLINOS.

God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for His children, could they
improve and use it; a calm and firm conviction in all the storms and
troubles that are about them, however things go, to find content, and be
careful for nothing.

R. LEIGHTON.

December 11

_Oh, that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and that Thine hand might be
with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve
me_!--I CHRON. iv. 10.

_Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread and thy
water_.--EX. xxiii. 25.

  What I possess, or what I crave,
    Brings no content, great God, to me,
  If what I would, or what I have,
    Be not possest, and blest, in Thee;
    What I enjoy, O make it mine,
    In making me that have it, Thine.

J. QUARLES.

Offer up to God all pure affections, desires, regrets, and all the bonds
which link us to home, kindred, and friends, together with all our works,
purposes, and labors. These things, which are not only lawful, but sacred,
become then the matter of thanksgiving and oblation. Memories, plans for
the future, wishes, intentions; works just begun, half done, all but
completed; emotions, sympathies, affections,--all these things throng
tumultuously and dangerously in the heart and will. The only way to master
them is to offer them up to Him, as once ours, under Him, always His by
right.

H. E. MANNING.

December 12

_I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart_.--PS.
xl. 8.

  A patient, a victorious mind,
  That life and all things casts behind,
    Springs forth obedient to Thy call;
  A heart that no desire can move,
  But still to adore, believe, and love,
    Give me, my Lord, my Life, my All.

P. GERHARDT.

That piety which sanctifies us, and which is a true devotion to God,
consists in doing all His will precisely at the time, in the situation, and
under the circumstances, in which He has placed us. Perfect devotedness
requires, not only that we do the will of God, but that we do it with love.
God would have us serve Him with delight; it is our hearts that He asks of
us.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Devotion is really neither more nor less than a general inclination and
readiness to do that which we know to be acceptable to God. It is that
"free spirit," of which David spoke when he said, "I will run the way
of Thy commandments, when Thou hast set my heart at liberty." People of
ordinary goodness walk in God's way, but the devout run in it, and at
length they almost fly therein. To be truly devout, we must not only do
God's will, but we must do it cheerfully.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

December 13

_So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto
wisdom_.--PS. xc. 12.

_Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of
doubtful mind_.--LUKE xii. 29.

  Our days are numbered: let us spare
  Our anxious hearts a needless care:
  'T is Thine to number out our days;
  'T is ours to give them to Thy praise.

MADAME GUYON.

Every day let us renew the consecration to God's service; every day let
us, in His strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do His will, even in the
veriest trifle, and to turn aside from anything that may displease Him.
He does not bid us bear the burdens of tomorrow, next week, or next year.
Every day we are to come to Him in simple obedience and faith, asking
help to keep us, and aid us through that day's work; and to-morrow, and
to-morrow, and to-morrow, through years of long to-morrows, it will be but
the same thing to do; leaving the future always in God's hands, sure that
He can care for it better than we. Blessed trust! that can thus confidingly
say, "This hour is mine with its present duty; the next is God's, and when