February 19
My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work.—JOHN iv. 34.
I am glad to thinkI am not bound to make the world go right;But only to discover and to do,With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.I will trust in Him,That He can hold His own; and I will takeHis will, above the work He sendeth me,To be my chiefest good.
Don't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be reckoned of infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were it but the more perfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting-away of your clothes and trinkets, the arranging of your papers,—"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,do itwith all thy might," and all thy worth and constancy. Much more, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have brothers, sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie upon you, on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing needful, to paythemmore and more honestly and nobly what you owe. What matter how miserable one is, if one can do that? That is the sure and steady disconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries one has in this world.
February 20
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way.—ROM. xiv. 13.
Them that were entering in, ye hindered.—LUKE xi. 52.
My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day,And I said pettish words, and did not keepLong-suffering patience well, and now how deepMy trouble for this sin! in vain I weepFor foolish words I never can unsay.
A vexation arises, and our expressions of impatience hinder others from taking it patiently. Disappointment, ailment, or even weather depresses us; and our look or tone of depression hinders others from maintaining a cheerful and thankful spirit. We say an unkind thing, and another is hindered in learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. We say a provoking thing, and our sister or brother is hindered in that day's effort to be meek. How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act! For wrong feeling is more infectious than wrong doing; especially the various phases of ill temper,—gloominess, touchiness, discontent, irritability,—do we not know how catching these are?
February 21
If ye then, being evil, know bow to give good gifts unto your children, bow much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them that ask Him?—MATT. vii. 11.
For His great love has compassedOur nature, and our needWe know not; but He knoweth,And He will bless indeed.Therefore, O heavenly Father,Give what is best to me;And take the wants unanswered,As offerings made to Thee.
Whatsoever we ask which is not for our good, He will keep it back from us. And surely in this there is no less of love than in the granting what we desire as we ought. Will not the same love which prompts you to give a good, prompt you to keep back an evil, thing? If, in our blindness, not knowing what to ask, we pray for things which would turn in our hands to sorrow and death, will not our Father, out of His very love, deny us? How awful would be our lot, if our wishes should straightway pass into realities; if we were endowed with a power to bring about all that we desire; if the inclinations of our will were followed by fulfilment of our hasty wishes, and sudden longings were always granted. One day we shall bless Him, not more for what He has granted than for what He has denied.
February 22
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.—PHIL. iv. 6.
We tell Thee of our care,Of the sore burden, pressing day by day,And in the light and pity of Thy face,The burden melts away.
We breathe our secret wish,The importunate longing which no man may see;We ask it humbly, or, more restful still,We leave it all to Thee.
That prayer which does not succeed in moderating our wish, in changing the passionate desire into still submission, the anxious, tumultuous expectation into silent surrender, is no true prayer, and proves that we have not the spirit of true prayer. That life is most holy in which there is least of petition and desire, and most of waiting upon God; that in which petition most often passes into thanksgiving. Pray till prayer makes you forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it in God's will. The Divine wisdom has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the good things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn to do without them; not as a means whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become strong to meet it.
February 23
Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight.—I CHRON. xix. 13.
Let Thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.—PS. XXXIII. 22.
I cannot feelThat all is well, when darkening clouds concealThe shining sun;But then, I knowHe lives and loves; and say, since it is so,Thy will be done.
No felt evil or defect becomes divine until it is inevitable; and only when resistence to it is exhausted and hope has fled, does surrender cease to be premature. The hardness of our task lieshere; that we have to strive against the grievous things of life, while hope remains, as if they were evil; and then, when the stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand of God, and doubt not they are good. But to the loving, trusting heart, all things are possible; and even this instant change, from overstrained will to sorrowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete surrender is realized without convulsion.
February 24
These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.—JOHN xvi. 33.
O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace,Who shedd'st Thy breathing quiet all around,In me command that pain and conflict cease,And turn to music every jarring sound.
Accustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice. Abide in peace in the presence of God, who sees all these evils more clearly than you do, and who permits them. Be content with doing with calmness the little which depends upon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were not.
It is rare when injustice, or slights patiently borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the day filled with marvellous joy and peace.
February 25
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.—ISA. xliii. I.
Thou art as much His care as if besideNor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth;Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide,To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth.
God beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. "He calls thee by thy name." He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more than He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou wilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.
February 26
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.—PS. cxlv. 18.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.—PS. xxxiv. 4.
Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!So shall each murmuring thought be gone;And grief and fear and care shall fly,As clouds before the mid-day sun.
Take courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into material for spiritual progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching you, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions. He sends you help, and blesses your affliction. This thought should enable you to bear your troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who only allows you to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart continually to God, seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of your consolation be your happiness in being His. All vexations and annoyances will be comparatively unimportant while you know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a Refuge. May God be ever in your heart.
February 27
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.—PS. xxxvii. 3.
Build a little fence of trustAround to-day;Fill the space with loving work,And therein stay;Look not through the sheltering barsUpon to-morrow,God will help thee bear what comes,Of joy or sorrow.
Let us bow our souls and say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" Let us lift up our hearts and ask, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" Then light from the opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, revealing the grains of gold, where yesterday all seemed dust; a hand shall sustain us and our daily burden, so that, smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say, "This is easy, this is light;" every "lion in the way," as we come up to it, shall be seen chained, and leave open the gates of the Palace Beautiful; and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as we are, ministries shall be assigned, and through our hands blessings shall be conveyed in which the spirits of just men made perfect might delight.
February 28
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.—I JOHN iv. 7.
So to the calmly gathered thoughtThe innermost of life is taught,The mystery dimly understood,That love of God is love of good;That to be saved is only this,—Salvation from our selfishness.
J. G. Whittler.
The Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness, because it is the truth and reality of God in the soul; and therefore is in the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on every occasion. Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It is this God of Love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness, which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For all wants are satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, no life is any longer a burden, every day is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes a help to you, because everything you see or do is all done in the sweet, gentle element of Love.
February 29
Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.—MAL. iv. 2.
O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me.—PS. xliii. 3.
Open our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness,That we may see that glorious world of Thine!It shines for us in vain, while drooping sadnessEnfolds us here like mist; come, Power benign,Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile,Our wintry course do Thou beguile,Nor by the wayside ruins let us mourn,Who have th' eternal towers for our appointed bourn.
Because all those scattered rays of beauty and loveliness which we behold spread up and down over all the world, are only the emanations of that inexhausted light which is above; therefore should we love them all in that, and climb up always by those sunbeams unto the eternal Father of lights: we should look upon Him, and take from Him the pattern of our lives, and always eying Him, should, as Hierocles speaks, "polish and shape our souls into the clearest resemblance of Him;" and in all our behavior in this world (that great temple of His) deport ourselves decently and reverently, with that humility, meekness, and modesty that becomes His house.
March 1
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.—MATT. vi. 25.
One there lives whose guardian eyeGuides our earthly destiny;One there lives, who, Lord of all,Keeps His children lest they fall;Pass we, then, in love and praise,Trusting Him through all our days,Free from doubt and faithless sorrow,—God provideth for the morrow.
It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when to-morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.
Cast thy burdens upon the Lord,—hand it over, heave it upon Him,—and He shall sustain thee; shall bear both, if thou trust Him with both, both thee and thy burden:He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
March 2
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.—HEB. xiii. 16.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.—I JOHN iii. 11.
Be useful where thou livest, that they mayBoth want and wish thy pleasing presence still.…Find out men's wants and will,And meet them there. All worldly joys go lessTo the one joy of doing kindnesses.
Let the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words, sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness,—these cost very little, but they are priceless in their value. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses.
Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.
March 3
I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.—PS. cxix. 60.
Ye know not what shall be on the morrow.—JAMES iv. 14.
Never delayTo do the duty which the hour brings,Whether it be in great or smaller things;For who doth knowWhat he shall do the coming day?
It is quite impossible that an idle, floating spirit can ever look up with clear eye to God; spreading its miserable anarchy before the symmetry of the creative Mind; in the midst of a disorderly being, that has neither centre nor circumference, kneeling beneath the glorious sky, that everywhere has both; and for a life that isallfailure, turning to the Lord of the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, that "not one faileth." The heavens, with their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no sadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the slattern in their prayers.
March 4
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.—WISDOM OF SOLOMON iii. 1-3.
But souls that of His own good life partake,He loves as His own self; dear as His eyeThey are to Him: He 'll never them forsake:When they shall die, then God Himself shall die;They live, they live in blest eternity.
Though every good man is not so logically subtile as to be able by fit mediums to demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in a higher light: his soul, being purged and enlightened by true sanctity, is more capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in conjunction with God. It knows that God will never forsake His own life which He hath quickened in it; He will never deny those ardent desires of a blissful fruition of Himself, which the lively sense of His own goodness hath excited within it: those breathings and gaspings after an eternal participation of Him are but the energy of His own breath within us; if He had had any mind to destroy it, He would never have shown it such things as He hath done.
March 5
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.—I JOHN iii. 3.
Now, Lord, what wait I for?On Thee aloneMy hope is all rested,—Lord, seal me Thine own!Only Thine own to be,Only to live to Thee.Thine, with each day begun,Thine, with each set of sun,Thine, till my work is done.
Now, believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. At some time in our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life finds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our best. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, or mother. Here is God,—God standing silently at the door all day long,—God whispering to the soul, that to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short of that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.
March 6
The shadow of a great rock in a weary land.—ISA. xxxii. 2.
In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.—ISA. xxx. 15.
O Shadow in a sultry land!We gather to Thy breast,Whose love, enfolding like the night,Brings quietude and rest,Glimpse of the fairer life to be,In foretaste here possessed.
Strive to see God in all things without exception, and-acquiesce in His will with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance, or by the overflowing of your heart towards Him. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.
March 7
There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.—I COR. xii. 6.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.—ISA. xlv. 7.
"All is of God that is, and is to be;And God is good." Let this suffice us still,Resting in childlike trust upon His will,Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill.
This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through man's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in every the least circumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to us without God's permission, it would be something out of God's control. God's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and love.
March 8
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.—2 TIM. ii. 15.
And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.—GAL. vi. 9.
The task Thy wisdom hath assigned,Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil;In all my works Thy presence find,And prove Thine acceptable will.
"What is my next duty? What is the thing that lies nearest to me?" "That belongs to your every-day history. No one can answer that question but yourself. Your next duty is just to determine what your next duty is. Is there nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you know you ought not to do? You would know your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and were not ambitious of great things." "Ah, then," responded she, "I suppose it is something very commonplace, which will make life more dreary than ever. That cannot help me." "It will, if it be as dreary as reading the newspapers to an old deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something more. Your duty will begin to comfort you at once, but will at length open the unknown fountain of life in your heart."
March 9
Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.—DEUT. xii. 18.
Be ye thankful.—COL. iii. 15.
Thou that hast given so much to me,Give one thing more, a grateful heart.Not thankful when it pleaseth me,As if thy blessings had spare days;But such a heart, whose pulse may beThy praise.
If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.
March 10
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.—ISA. xliii. 2.
I am with thee to deliver thee.—JER. i. 8.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
Turn it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to suffer what is appointed thee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in all our sorrows and troubles, and God would lay His shoulder under our burdens, and help us to bear them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we submitted ourselves to God, no suffering would be unbearable.
Learn to be as the angel, who could descend among the miseries of Bethesda without losing his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. Gain healing from troubled waters. Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life. By the blessing of God this will prepare you for it; it will make you thoughtful and resigned without interfering with your cheerfulness.
March 11
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.—PS. lv. 22.
Now our wants and burdens leavingTo His care who cares for all,Cease we fearing, cease we grieving,At His touch our burdens fall.
The circumstances of her life she could not alter, but she took them to the Lord, and handed them over into His management; and then she believed that He took it, and she left all the responsibility and the worry and anxiety with Him. As often as the anxieties returned she took them back; and the result was that, although the circumstances remained unchanged, her soul was kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. And the secret she found so effectual in her outward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in her inward ones, which were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. She abandoned her whole self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that she had; and, believing that He took that which she had committed to Him, she ceased to fret and worry, and her life became all sunshine in the gladness of belonging to Him. H. W. SMITH.
March 12
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.—NUM. vi. 24-26.
O Love, how cheering is Thy ray!All pain before Thy presence flies;Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away,Where'er Thy healing beams arise.O Father, nothing may I see,Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.
There is a faith in God, and a clear perception of His will and designs, and providence, and glory, which gives to its possessor a confidence and patience and sweet composure, under every varied and troubling aspect of events, such as no man can realize who has not felt its influences in his own heart. There is a communion with God, in which the soul feels the presence of the unseen One, in the profound depths of its being, with a vivid distinctness and a holy reverence, such as no words can describe. There is a state of union with God, I do not say often reached, yet it has been attained in this world, in which all the past and present and future seem reconciled, and eternity is won and enjoyed; and God and man, earth and heaven, with all their mysteries, are apprehended in truth as they lie in the mind of the Infinite.
March 13
He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit.—JOHN xv. 5.
Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.—PS. xc. 17.
As some rare perfume in a vase of clayPervades it with a fragrance not its own,So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.
Some glances of real beauty may be seen in their faces, who dwell in true meekness. There is a harmony in the sound of that voice to which Divine love gives utterance, and some appearance of right order in their temper and conduct whose passions are regulated.
I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell in any heart, without an external testimony in manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach the witness within the heart of the beholder, and bear an unmistakable, though silent, evidence to the eternal principle from which it emanates.
March 14
I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.—PS. xvii. 6.
Ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.—PS. lxii. 8.
Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest,Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast;Spread before God that wish, that care,And change anxiety to prayer.
Trouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble and perplexity.
Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy Father; put over the matter into His hand, and so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer anything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it, and acquaint Him with it; yea, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy duty, and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God.
March 15
Hear me, O Lord. for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies.—PS. lxix. 16.
Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Thy word unto Thy servant.—PS. cxix. 76.
Love divine has seen and countedEvery tear it caused to fall;And the storm which Love appointedWas its choicest gift of all.
O that thou couldst dwell in the knowledge and sense of this! even, that the Lord beholds thy sufferings with an eye of pity; and is able, not only to uphold thee under them, but also to do thee good by them. Therefore, grieve not at thy lot, be not discontented, look not out at the hardness of thy condition; but, when the storm and matters of vexation are sharp, look up to Him who can give meekness and patience, can lift up thy head over all, and cause thy life to grow, and be a gainer by all. If the Lord God help thee proportionably to thy condition of affliction and distress, thou wilt have no cause to complain, but to bless His name.
March 16
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.—I COR. x. 31.
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men.—EPH. vi. 7.
A Servant, with this clause,Makes drudgery divine:Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws,Makes that and th' action fine.
Surely the truth must be, that whatsoever in our daily life is lawful and right for us to be engaged in, is in itself a part of our obedience to God; a part, that is, of our very religion. Whensoever we hear people complaining of obstructions and hindrances put by the duties of life in the way of devoting themselves to God, we may be sure they are under some false view or other. They do not look upon their daily work as the task God has set them, and as obedience due to Him. We may go farther; and say, not only that the duties of life, be they never so toilsome and distracting, are no obstructions to a life of any degree of inward holiness; but that they are even direct means, when rightly used, to promote our sanctification.
March 17
Where hast thou gleaned to-day?—RUTH ii. 19.
What have I learnt where'er I've been,From all I've heard, from all I've seen?What know I more that's worth the knowing?What have I done that's worth the doing?What have I sought that I should shun?What duties have I left undone?
All of this world will soon have passed away. But God will remain, and thou, whatever thou hast become, good or bad. Thy deeds now are the seed-corn of eternity. Each single act, in each several day, good or bad, is a portion of that seed. Each day adds some line, making thee more or less like Him, more or less capable of His love.
There is something very solemn in the thought that that part of our work which we have left undone may first be revealed to us at the end of a life filled up, as we had fondly hoped, with useful and necessary employments.
March 18
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.—I PETER iii. 8.
Make us of one heart and mind;Courteous, pitiful, and kind;Lowly, meek, in thought and word,Altogether like our Lord.
A little thought will show you how vastly your own happiness depends on the way other people bear themselves toward you. The looks and tones at your breakfast-table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the street, the way your cook and housemaid do their work, the letters you get, the friends or foes you meet,—these things make up very much of the pleasure or misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and remember that just so much are you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other people's days. And this is the half of the matter which you can control. Whether any particular day shall bring to you more of happiness or of suffering is largely beyond your power to determine. Whether each day of your life shall give happiness or suffering rests with yourself.
March 19
Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.—TITUS ii. 10.
If on our daily course our mindBe set to hallow all we find,New treasures still, of countless price,God will provide for sacrifice.
If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil, be duties to God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our life. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day.
He who is faithful over a few things is a lord of cities. It does not matter whether you preach in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, so you be faithful. The faithfulness is all.
I would have you invoke God often through the day, asking Him to kindle a love for your vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, "'Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?' Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the lowest ministries of Thy house? too happy if I may but serve Thee anyhow." And when any special thing is repugnant to you, ask "Wouldst Thou have me do it? Then, unworthy though I be, I will do it gladly."
March 20
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.—MATT. iv. 10.
Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.—PS. cxix. 2.
The comfort of a mind at restFrom every care Thou hast not blest;A heart from all the world set free,To worship and to wait on Thee.
Resign every forbidden joy; restrain every wish that is not referred to His will; banish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the will of God; seek Him alone, and you will find peace.
"I've been a great deal happier since I have given up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own will. Our life is determined for us; and it makes the mind very free when we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to do."
March 21
Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.—MATT. vi. 32.
All as God wills, who wisely heedsTo give or to withhold;And knoweth more of all my needsThan all my prayers have told.
Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee; I open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do according to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.
March 22
He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little.—ECCLESIASTICUS xix. I.
One finger's-breadth at hand will marA world of light in heaven afar,A mote eclipse a glorious star,An eyelid hide the sky.
A single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some obscure corner of our consciousness,—a sinwhich we do not intend to renounce,—is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of action not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and loving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,—any of these are impassable obstacles. If we know of a kind act which we might, but do not intend to, perform,—if we be aware that our moral health requires the abandonment of some pleasure which yet we do not intend to abandon, here is cause enough for the loss of all spiritual power.
It is astonishing how soon the whole conscience begins to unravel, if a single stitch drops; one little sin indulged makes a hole you could put your head through.
March 23
Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest.—3 JOHN 5.
And this also we wish, even your perfection.—2 COR. xiii. 9.
In all the little things of life,Thyself, Lord, may I see;In little and in great alikeReveal Thy love to me.
So shall my undivided lifeTo Thee, my God, be given;And all this earthly course belowBe one dear path to heaven.
In order to mould thee into entire conformity to His will, He must have thee pliable in His hands, and this pliability is more quickly reached by yielding in the little things than even by the greater. Thy one great desire is to follow Him fully; canst thou not say then a continual "yes" to all His sweet commands, whether small or great, and trust Him to lead thee by the shortest road to thy fullest blessedness?
With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of your condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise that do the business.
March 24
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.—PS. iv. 8.
He giveth His beloved sleep.—PS. cxxvii. 2.
He guides our feet, He guards our way,His morning smiles bless all the day;He spreads the evening veil, and keepsThe silent hours while Israel sleeps.
We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; no more restless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the place we are in; for it is God who has put us there, and who holds us in His arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?
One evening when Luther saw a little bird perched on a tree, to roost there for the night, he said, "This little bird has had its supper, and now it is getting ready to go to sleep here, quite secure and content, never troubling itself what its food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow. Like David, it 'abides under the shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its little twig content, and lets God take care."
March 25
I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people.—PS. lxxxv. 8.
There is a voice, "a still, small voice" of love,Heard from above;But not amidst the din of earthly sounds,Which here confounds;By those withdrawn apart it best is heard,And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.
He speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to drown His voice. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." It is a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still, small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?
March 26
Are they not all ministering spirits?—HEB. i. 14
May I reachThat purest heaven, be to other soulsThe cup of strength in some great agony,Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,And in diffusion ever more intense!So shall I join the choir invisibleWhose music is the gladness of the world.
Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to whom we owe the most. Among the common people whom we know, it is not necessarily those who are busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever on the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage. It seems to me that there is reassurance here for many of us who seem to have no chance for active usefulness. We can do nothing for our fellow-men. But still it is good to know that we can be something for them; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
March 27
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.—I JOHN iv. 12.
And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.—I JOHN iii. 24.
Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy loveEach half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin;Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire,And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.
The Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It cannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be sympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot delight in the rectitude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.
March 28
Giving thanks always for all things unto God.—EPH. v. 20.
For blessings of the fruitful season,For work and rest, for friends and home,For the great gifts of thought and reason,—To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.
Yes, and for weeping and for wailing,For bitter hail and blighting frost,For high hopes on the low earth trailing,For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.
Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the inward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout thanksgiving to the great Author of my being. For more and more am I unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called "a thanksgiving for mercies,"—for any benefits or blessings that are peculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of this, I would have it to be gratitude forallthat belongs to my life and being,—for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because I believe that all is meant for good.
March 29
There shall no evil befall thee.—PS. xci. 10.
Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.—PROV. i. 33.
I ask not, "Take away this weight of care;"No, for that love I pray that all can bear,And for the faith that whatsoe'er befallMust needs be good, and for my profit prove,Since from my Father's heart most rich in love,And from His bounteous hands it cometh all.
Be like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I, because this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present, nor fearing the future. Will then this which has happened prevent thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure against inconsiderate opinions and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.
March 30
Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.—PS. lxxiii. 24.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.—HEB. iv. 9.
Guide us through life; and when at lastWe enter into rest,Thy tender arms around us cast,And fold us to Thy breast.
Go forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer the trials of existence, believing in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will support you in duty, and duty firmly done will strengthen faith; till at last, when all is over here, and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades upon your dying ear, and you hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound of the ocean of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining on its waters still and fair in their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song of conquest, and in its retrospect of the life which has ended, and its forward glance upon the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration of the Hebrew king, "Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
March 31
Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace.—JOB v. 23, 24.
Love had he found in huts where poor men lie;His daily teachers had been woods and rills,The silence that is in the starry sky,The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
W. Wordsworth.
That spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which seems to come forth to such from every dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, and half-embedded stone, on which the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the poor and hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. If thou fill thy brain with Boston and New York, with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate thy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, thou shall find no radiance of wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods.
As a countenance is made beautiful by the soul's shining through it, so the world is beautiful by the shining through it of a God.
April 1
For Thou Invest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of souls.—WISDOM OF SOLOMON xi. 24, 26.
He prayeth well who loveth wellBoth man and bird and beast;He prayeth best who loveth bestAll things both great and small;For the dear God who loveth us,He made and loveth all.
To know that Love alone was the beginning of nature and creature, that nothing but Love encompasses the whole universe of things, that the governing Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all, is nothing but omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infinity of wisdom, to save every misguided creature from the miserable works of its own hands, and make happiness and glory the perpetual inheritance of all the creation, is a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every intelligent creature that is sensible of it.
April 2
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?—I COR. iii. 16.
Father! replenish with Thy graceThis longing heart of mine;Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place,Thy sacred inmost shrine!
Not man's manifold labors, but his manifold cares, hinder the presence of God. Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine own feverish vanities, and busy thoughts, and cares; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the light of His countenance will stream down upon thee. He will make a secret cell in thine heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou find Him. And if thou hast found Him there, all around shall reflect Him, all shall speak to Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly thou mayest be doing the work of thy calling; inwardly if thou commend thy work to God, thou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven.
April 3
As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.—DEUT. xviii. 14.
Lord, for the erring thoughtNot into evil wrought;Lord, for the wicked willBetrayed and baffled still;For the heart from itself kept,Our Thanksgiving accept.
What an amazing, what a blessed disproportion between the evil we do, and the evil we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on the very verge of doing! If my soul has grown tares, when it was full of the seeds of nightshade, how happy ought I to be! And that the tares have not wholly strangled the wheat, what a wonder it is! We ought to thank God daily for the sins we have not committed.
We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual merciespositive; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies negative! We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered usnotto do,notto be.
You are surprised at your imperfections—why? I should infer from that, that your self-knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be astonished that you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous faults, and thank God for His upholding grace.
April 4
Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.—MATT. xxv. 23.
O father! help us to resignOur hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee;Then even lowliest work of ThineMost noble, blest, and sweet will be.
Nothing is too little to be ordered by our Father; nothing too little in which to see His hand; nothing, which touches our souls, too little to accept from Him; nothing too little to be done to Him.
A soul occupied with great ideas best performs small duties; the divinest views of life penetrate most clearly into the meanest emergencies; so far from petty principles being best proportioned to petty trials, a heavenly spirit taking up its abode with us can alone sustain well the daily toils, and tranquilly pass the humiliations of our condition.
Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he ought to do, because it seems to him too small a thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, but too great for him, that he doeth it not.
April 5
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.—I KINGS xix. 18.
He went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in his heart,—the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet learnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still small voice asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" that however we may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is nowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all. Seven thousand at least in Israel had been braced and encouraged by his example, and silently blessed him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In God's world, for those who are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in vain.
April 6
In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.—PS. xciv. 19.
Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed.—2 COR. iv. 8, 9.
Discouraged in the work of life,Disheartened by its load,Shamed by its failures or its fears,I sink beside the road;—But let me only think of Thee,And then new heart springs up in me.
Discouragement is an inclination to give up all attempts after the devout life, in consequence of the difficulties by which it is beset, and our already numerous failures in it. We lose heart; and partly in ill-temper, partly in real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we first grow querulous and peevish with God, and then relax in our efforts to mortify ourselves and to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, and will lead us into numberless venial sins the first half-hour we give way to it.
Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious of our faults that we are the most wicked; on the contrary, we are less so. We see by a brighter light; and let us remember, for our consolation, that we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.
April 7
That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.—ROM. xii. 2.
Thou knowest what is best;And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know?In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest;Beneath that will my humble head shall bow.
To those who are His, all things are not only easy to be borne, but even to be gladly chosen. Their will is united to that will which moves heaven and earth, which gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of the world. It is a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that know so little must needs speak little. To be at the centre of that motion, where is everlasting rest; to be sheltered in the peace of God; even now to dwell in heaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."
Study to follow His will in all, to have no will but His. This is thy duty, and thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt and vex thyself; but by complying all is gained—sweet peace. It is the very secret, the mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His will, to be disposed of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought.
April 8
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.—PS. xxiii. 1.
They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.—PS. xxxiv. 10.
God, who the universe doth holdIn his fold,Is my shepherd kind and heedful,Is my shepherd, and doth keepMe, his sheep,Still supplied with all things needful.
F. Davison.
Whois it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing,—HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought, you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?
H. W. Smith.