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 mindSits 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.
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.
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 refineUntil 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 roadThat leads me to the Lamb!
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.
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.
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.
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 prevailO'er our weakness and unfitness,Could we lift the fleshly veil,Could we for a moment witnessThose unnumbered hosts that standCalm 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.
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."
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 waysAnd all thy secret thoughts surveys.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
November 5
The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.—I COR. iii. 17.
Now shed Thy mighty influence abroadOn souls that would their Father's image bear;Make us as holy temples of our God,Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer.
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.
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 fulfilAll thy hopes, have patience still;For perchance to-morrow's sunSees thy happier days begun.
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 thingcommit it to Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
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.
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 beSpent in work that pleases Thee,Ah, dear Lord, it is enough!
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.
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.
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 doThe 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.
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.
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.
"Do the duty which lies nearest thee," which thou knowest to be a duty. Thy second duty will already have become clearer.
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 HisWhere He hath put and keepeth you,God hath no other thing to do!
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.
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.
Where then isourGod? You say, He iseverywhere:then show meanywherethat you have met Him. You declare Himeverlasting:then tell meany momentthat 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."
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 deemEnjoined by duty;To walk in faith, nor dreamOf questioning God's schemeOf truth and beauty.
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!Doone of them; this of itself will show thee ten others which can and shall be done.
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 intermitsThe appointed task and duties of the dayUntunes full oft the pleasures of the day;Checking the finer spirits that refuseTo flow, when purposes are lightly changed.
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.
Sufficient for each day is thegoodthereof, 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.
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.
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.
Hard wordswillvex, unkindnesswillpierce; neglectwillwound; threatened evilswillmake the soul quiver; sharp pain or wearinesswillrack the body, or make it restless. But what says the Psalmist? "When my heart is vexed, I will complain." To whom? NotofGod, buttoGod.
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.
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 armThat will not harm;The wisdom that will never let me strayOut of my way;The love, that, now afflicting, knoweth bestWhen I should rest.
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.
Ah, if you knew what peace there is in an accepted sorrow!
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 dayTo love and please Thee still.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 turnThy spirit's eyes, and learnThy 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 wholeIn perfect harmony.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 painIn hope of some hereafter gain,—Not in a dull and sullen calm,—But as a breath of heavenly balm,Bidding my weary heart submitTo bear whatever God sees fit:Sweet Patience, come!
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.
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 receiveSuffices us to live.He takes and gives, while yet He loves us still;Then love His will.
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?
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.
Every lot is happy to a person who bears it with tranquillity.
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 righteousnessIn all our bosoms reign.
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.
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.
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 beAs yet by us untrod;But we can trust our all to Thee,Our Father and our God.
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.
Oh, my friend, look notoutat what stands in the way; what if it look dreadfully as a lion, is not the Lord stronger than the mountains of prey? but lookin, 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.
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 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.
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 controlsWhatever thou fearest;Round Him in calmest music rollsWhate'er thou hearest.
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.
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.
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-morrowIn His best way.
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.
November 27
The Lord hath been mindful of us: He will bless us.—PS. cxv. 12.
My Father! what am I, that allThy mercies sweet like sunlight fallSo constant o'er my way?That Thy great love should shelter me,And guide my steps so tenderlyThrough every changing day?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 theeIn others, in thyself may be;All dust is frail, all flesh is weak;Be thou the true man thou dost seek.
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.
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 skiesIs my perpetual aid.
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.
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.
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 vowThy heart entire to faith's pure strife;So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how.
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, isnotunkind; 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 returnhomein 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.
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 nowSo dread a weight appears?Keep quietly to God, and thinkUpon the Eternal Years.
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.
Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming, which God has been so good as to fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.
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.
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 undertakeTo guide the future, as He has the past:Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake,All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
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.
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.
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, uniteIn silence soft and sweet;And thou, my soul, sit gently downAt thy great Sovereign's feet.
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.
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.
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.
The elements ofhappinessin 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 theblessednessof 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.
There is in man a higher than love of happiness: he can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness!
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.
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.
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 seeLove inscribed upon them all,This is happiness to me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 spareOur anxious hearts a needless care:'T is Thine to number out our days;'T is ours to give them to Thy praise.
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 it comes, His presence will come with it."
December 14
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.—GAL. vi. 16.
Lord, I have given my life to Thee,And every day and hour is Thine,—What Thou appointest let them be;Thy will is better, Lord, than mine.
Begin at once; before you venture away from this quiet moment, ask your King to take you wholly into His service, and place all the hours of this day quite simply at His disposal, and ask Him to make and keep youreadyto do just exactly what He appoints. Never mind about to-morrow; one day at a time is enough. Try it to-day, and see if it is not a day of strange, almost curious peace, so sweet that you will be only too thankful, when to-morrow comes, to ask Him to take it also,—till it will become a blessed habit to hold yourself simply and "wholly at Thy commandment foranymanner of service." The "whatsoever" is not necessarily active work. It may be waiting (whether half an hour or half a life-time), learning, suffering, sitting still. But shall we be less ready for these, if any of them are His appointments for to-day? Let us ask Him to prepare us for all that He is preparing for us.
December 15
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.—PS. cxvi. 7.
We which have believed do enter into rest.—HEB. iv. 3.
Rest is not quittingThe busy career;Rest is the fittingOf self to its sphere.
'T is loving and servingThe highest and best!'T is onwards, unswerving,—And that is true rest.
As a result of this strong faith, the inner life of Catherine of Genoa was characterized, in a remarkable degree, by what may be termed rest, or quietude; which is only another form of expression for true interior peace. It was not, however, the quietude of a lazy inaction, but the quietude of an inward acquiescence; not a quietude which feels nothing and does nothing, but that higher and divine quietude which exists by feeling and acting in the time and degree of God's appointment and God's will. It was a principle in her conduct, to give herself to God in the discharge of duty; and to leave all results without solicitude in His hands.
December 16
Thou understandest my thought afar off.—PS. cxxxix. 2.
Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults.—PS. xix. 12.
My newest griefs to Thee are old;My last transgression of Thy law,Though wrapped in thought's most secret fold,Thine eyes with pitying sadness saw.