Far up the crag, 'twixt sea and sky,Where winds tempestuous, blowing by,Leave giant boulders swept and bare;Where forked lightnings fitful flare,And petrels sound their stormy cry.A dainty bluebell, sweet and shy,Lifted its head complacently,As guarded by the tenderest care,Far up the crag.And now, whenever fear draws nigh,In thought I stand 'twixt sea and sky,And, as of old in my despair,I bless the Power that set it there—That tiny thing with courage high,Far up the crag!Florence E. Coates.
Far up the crag, 'twixt sea and sky,Where winds tempestuous, blowing by,Leave giant boulders swept and bare;Where forked lightnings fitful flare,And petrels sound their stormy cry.A dainty bluebell, sweet and shy,Lifted its head complacently,As guarded by the tenderest care,Far up the crag.And now, whenever fear draws nigh,In thought I stand 'twixt sea and sky,And, as of old in my despair,I bless the Power that set it there—That tiny thing with courage high,Far up the crag!
Florence E. Coates.
Eternal Presence, may we now speak to Thee? or, consciously within Thy presence, should our lips be still? Art Thou the Infinite Mercy, and shall we say, be merciful? Shall we persuade the love that can not once withhold itself? We would not ask, were prayer to change established law. But, we will open here our hearts, and so receive the blessedness that seeks us and has sought us,—sought us as the sunlight sought us early,—seeks us as the raindrops seek us in the storm. Not more canst Thou withhold the goodness from us. We wait receptively, unbarring all our rust-hinged doors to welcome the true favors that now find us. In sweet trust, asking or unasking, we abide ever in Thee. Amen.
Perry Marshall.
July 6
God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where he wishes us to be employed, and that employment is truly "our Father's business." He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough and sense enough for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him if we are not happy ourselves.
God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where he wishes us to be employed, and that employment is truly "our Father's business." He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough and sense enough for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him if we are not happy ourselves.
John Ruskin.
Father Divine, Thou art indeed kind. Thine are the ways of kindness, of wisdom, and of love,—the ways of pleasantness and the paths of peace. In simple and humble spirit as becometh Thy children, may we walk with Thee accomplishing the work to which Thou dost call us. Our work is Thy work, our business the Father's business; the business of justice, mercy and truth. When loyal and true, we are what we are, and do what we do by Thy grace. So help us to honor Thee in all the duties of life,—"Not slothful in business,—fervent in spirit,"—pleasing Thee and therefore happy ourselves. Amen.
Isaac P. Coddington.
July 7
Threefold is the form of Space:Length, with ever restless motion,Seeks eternity's wide ocean;Breadth with boundless sway extends;Depth to unknown realms descends.All as types to thee are given;Thou must onward strive for heaven,Never still or weary be,Wouldst thou perfect glory see;Far must thy researches goWouldst thou learn the world to know;Thou must tempt the dark abyssWouldst thou prove what Being is.Naught but firmness gains the prize,—Naught but fulness makes us wise,—Buried deep, truth ever lies!Proverbs of Confucius.
Threefold is the form of Space:Length, with ever restless motion,Seeks eternity's wide ocean;Breadth with boundless sway extends;Depth to unknown realms descends.All as types to thee are given;Thou must onward strive for heaven,Never still or weary be,Wouldst thou perfect glory see;Far must thy researches goWouldst thou learn the world to know;Thou must tempt the dark abyssWouldst thou prove what Being is.Naught but firmness gains the prize,—Naught but fulness makes us wise,—Buried deep, truth ever lies!
Proverbs of Confucius.
Our Heavenly Father, help us this day to make good our privilege to feel and think of Thee as we do. Help us this day to make ourselves part of our brotherhood, and our brotherhood part of Thee. We know not what the day hath in store for us, but we pray Thee to help us have in store for it our better heart, our better hands. Send Thy holy spirit into our life to calm and to strengthen; that we may be steadfast and true; that we may give and be forgiven. Bless all Thy children this day, and may our labor end as it began, in Thee, with Thee, for Thee. Amen.
Louis H. Buckshorn.
July 8
O Impatient Ones! Do the leaves say nothing to you as they murmur to-day? They are not fashioned this spring, but months ago; and the summer just begun will fashion others for another year. At the bottom of every leaf-stem is a cradle, and in it is an infant germ; and the winds will rock it, and the birds will sing to it all summer long, and next season it will unfold. So God is working for you and carrying forward to the perfect development all the processes of our lives.
O Impatient Ones! Do the leaves say nothing to you as they murmur to-day? They are not fashioned this spring, but months ago; and the summer just begun will fashion others for another year. At the bottom of every leaf-stem is a cradle, and in it is an infant germ; and the winds will rock it, and the birds will sing to it all summer long, and next season it will unfold. So God is working for you and carrying forward to the perfect development all the processes of our lives.
Henry Ward Beecher.
O Eternal Father, giver of all spiritual grace, we thank Thee for Thy presence in our hearts. May we realize that Thou hast the best possible plan for every human life. Help us to be patient and joyful in the consciousness that Thou art carrying forward Thy blessed work in us. Thy love, O Lord, is equal to Thy wisdom, and Thou wilt always do what is best for us. May Thy holy will be our delight, so that we may each trust in Thee at all times and cheerfully say, Thy will, O Lord, not mine, be done. Thou who dost care for the birds and the lilies art ever mindful of us, Thy children. Deliver us from worry and may Thy peace guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
George H. Cheney.
July 9
Let us hope that one day all mankind will be happy and wise; and though this day never should dawn to have hoped for it cannot be wrong. And in any event, it is helpful to speak of happiness to those who are sad, that thus at least they may learn what it is that happiness means. They are ever inclined to regard it as something beyond them, extraordinary, out of their reach. But if all who may count themselves happy were to tell, very simply, what it was that brought happiness to them, the others would see that between sorrow and joy the difference is but as between a gladsome, enlightened acceptance of life and a hostile gloomy submission; between a large and harmonious conception of life, and one that is stubborn and narrow.
Let us hope that one day all mankind will be happy and wise; and though this day never should dawn to have hoped for it cannot be wrong. And in any event, it is helpful to speak of happiness to those who are sad, that thus at least they may learn what it is that happiness means. They are ever inclined to regard it as something beyond them, extraordinary, out of their reach. But if all who may count themselves happy were to tell, very simply, what it was that brought happiness to them, the others would see that between sorrow and joy the difference is but as between a gladsome, enlightened acceptance of life and a hostile gloomy submission; between a large and harmonious conception of life, and one that is stubborn and narrow.
Maeterlinck.
O Lord, we thank Thee for the special providence which is over everything which Thou hast created, and wherein Thou residest with all Thine infinite perfections. We thank Thee that Thou carest for us all, that in our day of joy we know it is Thou who fillest our cup, by giving us the faculties which make it run over at the brim. We thank Thee that Thou art with us in our days of hardship and of calamity, that when our own heart cries out against us, Thou art greater than our heart, and, understanding all things, blessest us in secret ways; and when we are cast down and go stooping and feeble, with hungering eyes and a failing heart, that Thou still art with us, and leadest us from strength to strength and blessest us continually. Amen.
Theodore Parker.
July 10
Were any of us really disappointed or melancholy in a hayfield? Did we ever lie fairly back on a haycock and look up into the blue sky, and listen to the merry sounds, the whetting of scythes and the laughing prattle of women and children, and think evil thoughts of the world or our brethren? Not we! Or, if we have so done we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, and deserve never again to be out of town during hay-harvest.
Were any of us really disappointed or melancholy in a hayfield? Did we ever lie fairly back on a haycock and look up into the blue sky, and listen to the merry sounds, the whetting of scythes and the laughing prattle of women and children, and think evil thoughts of the world or our brethren? Not we! Or, if we have so done we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, and deserve never again to be out of town during hay-harvest.
Thomas Hughes.
Dear Heavenly Father, we devoutly thank Thee for the beautiful open face of Nature shining upon us; for the splendor of the fields where the birds wing their merry flight; for the breath of the flowers and the grass beneath the scythe, like the odor of incense; and most of all, for the merry shouts of women and children and men in the meadow, in the heyday of happiness, as they fill their souls with the freedom of the children of God, and live in the open where no evil breath can come. Grant that we may live spiritually forever in the fragrant hayfields of life, where the birds sing and the children shout, and where no covering or roof can ever shut out the sunshine of life's eternal bliss. Amen.
Robert S. Kellerman.
July 11
A story is told of a king who went into his garden one morning and found everything withering and dying. He asked an oak that stood near the gate what the trouble was. He found that it was sick of life and determined to die, because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine was out of heart because it could not bear grapes like the vine; the vine was going to throw its life away, because it could not stand erect and have as fine fruit as the pomegranate; and so on throughout the garden. Coming to the heart'sease, the king found its bright face uplifted, as full of cheerfulness as ever. Said the king, "Well, heart'sease, I am glad to find one brave little flower in this general discouragement and dying. You don't seem one bit disheartened." "No, your majesty. I know I am of small account; but I concluded you wanted a heart'sease when you planted me. If you had wanted an oak, or a pine, or a vine, or a pomegranate, you would have set one out. So I am bound to be the best heart'sease that ever I can."
A story is told of a king who went into his garden one morning and found everything withering and dying. He asked an oak that stood near the gate what the trouble was. He found that it was sick of life and determined to die, because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine was out of heart because it could not bear grapes like the vine; the vine was going to throw its life away, because it could not stand erect and have as fine fruit as the pomegranate; and so on throughout the garden. Coming to the heart'sease, the king found its bright face uplifted, as full of cheerfulness as ever. Said the king, "Well, heart'sease, I am glad to find one brave little flower in this general discouragement and dying. You don't seem one bit disheartened." "No, your majesty. I know I am of small account; but I concluded you wanted a heart'sease when you planted me. If you had wanted an oak, or a pine, or a vine, or a pomegranate, you would have set one out. So I am bound to be the best heart'sease that ever I can."
William Moodie.
Like the wise King of old, I pray Thee, gracious Lord, give unto me wisdom. May Thy Pillar of Light guide my footsteps so that I go not astray in the wilderness of sin and selfish ambition. Help me to acquire a pure heart and a contented spirit. Amidst all the vicissitudes of fortune, let faith induce me to say, "Whatever God doeth is well." Amen.
M. M. Eichler.
July 12
What shall I do to be just?What shall I do for the gainOf the world—for its sadness?Teach me, O seers that I trust!Chart me the difficult mainLeading out of my sorrow and madness,Preach me the purging of pain.Shall I wrench from my finger the ringTo cast to the tramp at my door?Shall I tear off each luminous thingTo drop in the palm of the poor?What shall I do to be just?Teach me, O Ye in the light,Whom the poor and the rich alike trust;My heart is aflame to be right.Hamlin A. Garland.
What shall I do to be just?What shall I do for the gainOf the world—for its sadness?Teach me, O seers that I trust!Chart me the difficult mainLeading out of my sorrow and madness,Preach me the purging of pain.Shall I wrench from my finger the ringTo cast to the tramp at my door?Shall I tear off each luminous thingTo drop in the palm of the poor?What shall I do to be just?Teach me, O Ye in the light,Whom the poor and the rich alike trust;My heart is aflame to be right.
Hamlin A. Garland.
Infinite Spirit, Thou seest us just as we are. In Thy sight there can be no make-believe; we need not seek to offer Thee as a penance for our sins some cheap alms to the poor, for Thy favor cannot be bought. We pray simply that we may be just,—that we may be true. If we have wronged anyone, help us to right the wrong. If we have been false to ourselves or false to our neighbors, O Lord, make us true,—we seek no easy admission to a far-off heaven, we seek Thy presence here and now, today, by the only pathway open, the pathway of righteousness and truth. That we may enter this pathway, grant us we pray Thee the illumination of Thy Holy Spirit. Amen.
George L. Perin.
July 13
The law of worthy life is fundamentally the law of strife. It is only through labor, painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.
The law of worthy life is fundamentally the law of strife. It is only through labor, painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.
Theodore Roosevelt.
If we would please God we must watch every stroke and touch upon the canvas of our lives; we may not think we can lay it on with a trowel and yet succeed. We ought to live as miniature painters work, for they watch every line and tint.
If we would please God we must watch every stroke and touch upon the canvas of our lives; we may not think we can lay it on with a trowel and yet succeed. We ought to live as miniature painters work, for they watch every line and tint.
Spurgeon.
As we begin this new day, O our Father, may such energy and vigor, such strength and courage, such faith and hope be ours that the problems and tasks awaiting us may be boldly and gladly met as challenges to our powers. May that abundant life be in us which shall make our difficulties a tonic, and the struggle to achieve high aims a joy. May we be resourceful, equal to life, adequate to every situation, able to stand this universe,—men who can. May we count it a privilege to live, to have a vision of life's possibilities, and to have the fellowship of so many good men and women by the way. Amen.
George R. Dodson.
July 14
With place, with gold, with power—oh, ask me notWith these my little hour of life to blot.A little hour indeed! and I would fainIts moments spend in what is worth its pain.What traveler would faint through troublous landsTo gather only what must leave his handsThe moment that he takes his homeward ship?Earth's goods and gauds give every man the slip;But wealth of thought and richer wealth of love,Must pass for coin in any world above.The good to others done while here I striveIs all at last that shall my dying shrive;And, setting sail, my slight self-conquest's storeIs all my freight if I shall come to shore.Anonymous.
With place, with gold, with power—oh, ask me notWith these my little hour of life to blot.A little hour indeed! and I would fainIts moments spend in what is worth its pain.What traveler would faint through troublous landsTo gather only what must leave his handsThe moment that he takes his homeward ship?Earth's goods and gauds give every man the slip;But wealth of thought and richer wealth of love,Must pass for coin in any world above.The good to others done while here I striveIs all at last that shall my dying shrive;And, setting sail, my slight self-conquest's storeIs all my freight if I shall come to shore.
Anonymous.
O Father, God! The span of our influence is both near and far; may it also be direct and strong. Thou hast planted mighty virtue and unquenchable love in our hearts. Love knows the secret of imparting virtue's value to all the wretchedness in life. So, we beseech Thee, direct our hearts to altitudes of holiness and set our feet in the highways of helpfulness. May the charm of gentleness be in every service to-day, and may the tone of tenderness carry love's message over all barriers to the hearts that need. Thus would we keep our confidence with Thee and bind ourselves more profitably to our fellows. So shall Thy great name be honored among men. Amen.
J. O. Randall.
July 15
What seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by, is the love and peace and tenderness of it. Not its wit and cleverness and grandeur of knowledge, but just the laughter of little children, and the friendship of friends, and the cosy talk of the fireside, and the sight of flowers and the sound of music.
What seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by, is the love and peace and tenderness of it. Not its wit and cleverness and grandeur of knowledge, but just the laughter of little children, and the friendship of friends, and the cosy talk of the fireside, and the sight of flowers and the sound of music.
J. R. Green.
Now that Thou givest us the light of a new day, grant that it carry with it the brightness of hope and courage for whatsoever the day may offer. Always behind the clouds is the shining that never fails; always beyond the labor which irks us is the joy of attainment. Open our eyes that we may see the best which shall be in the day; its love of friends, its sights of beauty, its music, its wisdom such as no day before could possess, its voices of the Spirit awaiting the listening ear, its tears of compassion and sympathy. Give us our daily bread such as shall feed the heart and enrich the mind and grant us forgiveness when we are blind to the common treasures of this Thy world. Amen.
George A. Thayer.
July 16
Methought that in a solemn church I stood.Its marble acres, worn with knees and feet,Lay spread from door to door, from street to street.Midway the form hung high upon the roodOf Him who gave His life to be our good;Beyond, priests flitted, bowed, and murmured meetAmong the candles shining still and sweet.Men came and went, and worshipped as they could;And still their dust a woman with her broom,Bowed to her work, kept sweeping to the door.Then saw I slow through all the pillared gloomAcross the church a silent figure come."Daughter," it said, "Thou sweepest well my floor!""It is the Lord!" I cried, and saw no more.George MacDonald.
Methought that in a solemn church I stood.Its marble acres, worn with knees and feet,Lay spread from door to door, from street to street.Midway the form hung high upon the roodOf Him who gave His life to be our good;Beyond, priests flitted, bowed, and murmured meetAmong the candles shining still and sweet.Men came and went, and worshipped as they could;And still their dust a woman with her broom,Bowed to her work, kept sweeping to the door.Then saw I slow through all the pillared gloomAcross the church a silent figure come."Daughter," it said, "Thou sweepest well my floor!""It is the Lord!" I cried, and saw no more.
George MacDonald.
Our Father, who art ever with us, help us this day so to reveal Thee through our common tasks, our relations with one another, in our homes and at our work, that men may know and love Thee better. This is Thy most beautiful world. May we not mar its glory by our selfishness, but by the gentleness and sweetness of our lives make it more beautiful. May we this day not add to another's burden of care or pain. But may we by our words and deeds sweeten and brighten and strengthen the lives of those whom we meet. For Thy goodness and mercy to us, for the opportunity of service, for love and sympathy, we thank Thee and pray that our devotion to Thy truth may reveal the thankfulness of our hearts. Amen.
Arthur L. Wheatherly.
July 17
For I, a man, with men am linked,And not a brute with brutes; no gainThat I experience must remainUnshared; but should my best endeavorTo share it, fail—subsisteth everGod's care above, and I exultThat God, by God's own ways occult,May—doth, I will believe—bring backAll wanderers to a single track.Robert Browning.
For I, a man, with men am linked,And not a brute with brutes; no gainThat I experience must remainUnshared; but should my best endeavorTo share it, fail—subsisteth everGod's care above, and I exultThat God, by God's own ways occult,May—doth, I will believe—bring backAll wanderers to a single track.
Robert Browning.
Father of all souls in all worlds, our best friend forever, in Thy good keeping we cannot wander beyond Thy loving care. We thank Thee for life, for the fair world we live in, enriched by Thy countless benefits, for the glad tidings of Thy fatherly love that never fails, for the brotherhood that binds together all Thy children, and for the immortal hope that beckons us up and on. By faithful living may we make life divine, and by brotherly service show Thee our gratitude and love. May the gospel of Jesus prevail in all hearts, speedily bring all wanderers home, draw our souls heavenward, and prepare us for higher and larger realms of service, where we shall forever live to Thy glory. Amen.
Rush R. Shippen.
July 18
That man has a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease and pleasure the work that it is capable of; whose intellect is a clear logic engine, ready to spin the gossamer as well as forge the anchors of the mind—one full of life and fire but whose passions are trained to come to heel by a rigorous will; the servant of a tender conscience; who has learned to love beauty, to hate vileness and to respect others as himself; such a one is in harmony with nature; they will get on together.
That man has a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease and pleasure the work that it is capable of; whose intellect is a clear logic engine, ready to spin the gossamer as well as forge the anchors of the mind—one full of life and fire but whose passions are trained to come to heel by a rigorous will; the servant of a tender conscience; who has learned to love beauty, to hate vileness and to respect others as himself; such a one is in harmony with nature; they will get on together.
Thomas Henry Huxley.
Our Father, we would face this day in conscious companionship with Thee. Give us to know Thy will, to do Thy work. Help us to interpret aright Thy constant revelation of love in nature and in the experiences of life. Give us strength so to will and so to act that we may make this day rich in the joy that comes from helpful living. May divine impulse find quick expression in righteous deed. In Thine unresting effort to make this world Thine own may we join with glad hearts. Rejoicing in Thy love, strong in the consciousness of Thy presence, may we go to our day's work with unwavering purpose to do Thy will. Amen.
Lathan A. Crandall.
July 19
A lily grows mysteriously, pushing up its solid weight of stem and leaf in the teeth of gravity. Shaped into beauty by secret and invisible fingers, the flower develops we know not how. But we do not wonder at it. Every day the thing is done; it is Nature, it is God. We are spiritual enough at least to understand that. But when the soul rises slowly above the world, pushing up its delicate virtues in the teeth of sin, shaping itself mysteriously into the image of Christ, we deny that the power is not of man. A strong will, we say, a high ideal, the reward of virtue, Christian influence—these will account for it. Spiritual character is merely the product of anxious work, self-command, and self-denial. We allow, that is to say, a miracle to the lily, but none to the man. The lily may grow; the man must fret and toil and spin.
A lily grows mysteriously, pushing up its solid weight of stem and leaf in the teeth of gravity. Shaped into beauty by secret and invisible fingers, the flower develops we know not how. But we do not wonder at it. Every day the thing is done; it is Nature, it is God. We are spiritual enough at least to understand that. But when the soul rises slowly above the world, pushing up its delicate virtues in the teeth of sin, shaping itself mysteriously into the image of Christ, we deny that the power is not of man. A strong will, we say, a high ideal, the reward of virtue, Christian influence—these will account for it. Spiritual character is merely the product of anxious work, self-command, and self-denial. We allow, that is to say, a miracle to the lily, but none to the man. The lily may grow; the man must fret and toil and spin.
Henry Drummond.
This morning, our God, we need Thee! Give us Thyself afresh in the holy inspiration of heart warmth and burning love, that today we may have power from above while we walk and toil with things and folks of earth. May we be the vase to hold the blossoming beauty of Thy unfolding. So may that beauty which Thou givest unfold in acts which we are led to perform, and the holiness of this day set fast character drawn from Thee. Thus may we all who are Thy children gladden the earth with unfolding beauty and kindness and shut out the things that are earthy. Amen.
E. E. Small.
July 20
The more simply you live, the more secure is your future; you are less at the mercy of surprises and reverses. An illness or a period of idleness does not suffice to dispossess you; a change of position, even considerable, does not put you to confusion. Having simple needs, you find it less painful to accustom yourself to the hazards of fortune. You remain a man, though you lose your office or your income, because the foundation on which your life rests is not your table, your cellar, your horses, your goods and chattels, or your money. In adversity you will not act like a nursling deprived of its bottle and rattle. Stronger, better armed for the struggle, presenting like those with shaven heads, less advantage to the hands of your enemy, you will also be of more profit to your neighbor.
The more simply you live, the more secure is your future; you are less at the mercy of surprises and reverses. An illness or a period of idleness does not suffice to dispossess you; a change of position, even considerable, does not put you to confusion. Having simple needs, you find it less painful to accustom yourself to the hazards of fortune. You remain a man, though you lose your office or your income, because the foundation on which your life rests is not your table, your cellar, your horses, your goods and chattels, or your money. In adversity you will not act like a nursling deprived of its bottle and rattle. Stronger, better armed for the struggle, presenting like those with shaven heads, less advantage to the hands of your enemy, you will also be of more profit to your neighbor.
Charles Wagner.
O Thou who art ever the same, with the growing light of a new day, we would again take Thy name upon our lips; and again invite the dear consciousness of Thy presence. We do not know what this day may yield us. It may bring disaster; perhaps cherished hopes must be surrendered; plans may miscarry, clouds may gather, and storms may rage, but we will not be unmanned. We will not surrender our hold upon Thee. May we thus be enabled to meet disaster with courage, and unlooked for joy with the poise of humility. Guard our goings-out and our comings-in, and lead us into the beauteous paths of ripe content. Amen.
James Harry Holden.
July 21
Love wore a suit of hodden grayAnd toiled within the fields all day.Love wielded pick and carried packAnd bent to heavy loads the back.Though meagre fed and sorely lashed,The only wage Love ever asked,A child's wan face to kiss at night,A woman's smile by candle light.Margaret Sangster.
Love wore a suit of hodden grayAnd toiled within the fields all day.Love wielded pick and carried packAnd bent to heavy loads the back.Though meagre fed and sorely lashed,The only wage Love ever asked,A child's wan face to kiss at night,A woman's smile by candle light.
Margaret Sangster.
Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for love. How rich a gift it has been to us, and how exhaustless. It has been the source of all other gifts. We thank Thee for the brightness and gladness with which love invests the sunny day, and more for the patience and hope which it inspires when the sky is overcast and the way grows weary. In joy or sorrow we can ask nothing better than that it be our constant guest. We thank Thee for home life which offers us every hour its opportunity to give and to receive love. May it be to us the symbol of Thy great household which Thy love pervades. And as we thus think of it may our home life grow to us more holy and divine and Thy love for all Thy children more personal and tender until Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Vincent E. Tomlinson.
July 22
The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things—not merely industrious, but to love industry—not merely learned, but to love knowledge—not merely pure, but to love purity—not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.
The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things—not merely industrious, but to love industry—not merely learned, but to love knowledge—not merely pure, but to love purity—not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.
John Ruskin.
O Father, fill us with Thy love today, with love for Thee, and love for the morning light and all Thy glory. Fill us with love for the work that Thou dost give us to do, with love for the truth that Thou dost reveal to us and with love for the ideals of purity and righteousness that Thou dost set before us. May we have love for all Thy children. Make us realize that they are all our brothers and sisters. Make us strive to have Thy will done in their lives. Make us eager to have them know Thee. Amen.
Charles B. Bliss.
July 23
If you were toiling up a weary hill,Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear.Straining each nerve untiringly and stillStumbling and losing foothold here and thereAnd each one passing by would do so muchAs give one upward lift and go his way,Would not the slight reiterated touchOf help and kindness lighten all the day?If you were breasting a keen wind which tossedAnd buffeted and chilled you as you strove,Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lostThe power to see the way, and aim and move,And one, if only for a moment's space,Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast,Would you not find it easier to faceThe storm again when the brief rest was past?Susan Coolidge.
If you were toiling up a weary hill,Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear.Straining each nerve untiringly and stillStumbling and losing foothold here and thereAnd each one passing by would do so muchAs give one upward lift and go his way,Would not the slight reiterated touchOf help and kindness lighten all the day?If you were breasting a keen wind which tossedAnd buffeted and chilled you as you strove,Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lostThe power to see the way, and aim and move,And one, if only for a moment's space,Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast,Would you not find it easier to faceThe storm again when the brief rest was past?
Susan Coolidge.
Our Father, as we thank Thee for the friendly service and sympathy that bless and strengthen our daily lives, we pray that our gratitude may move us to give a like service and sympathy as freely as we receive. In the day to whose beginning Thou hast brought us, let our hearts and hands be ready to meet the needs of those with whom we come in touch. So influence our wayward wills that we shall not walk in selfish ways, nor forget the ties that bind us to one another, and to Thee. Keep us conscious of our birthright as Thy children, that our acts and aims may be filial and fraternal and loyal to Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Costello Weston.
July 24
It matters little where I was born,Whether my parents were rich or poor,Whether they shrank from the cold world's scornOr walked in the pride of wealth secure;But whether I live an honest man,And hold my integrity firm in my clutch,I tell you brother, plain as I am,It matters much.From the Swedish.Dear Father in Heaven, good Giver of all,For birth in a land fair and free,For parents with pluck, if not the best luck,Who toiled and who suffered for me.Who never knew fear, though the scorners were near,Whom circumstance filled not with pride,I thank Thee! These gifts, more than all on the lists,Have mattered with me, and abide.While striving and struggling my manhood to build,To live like Thine own perfect Son,I find on Earth's face not just one single placeWhere such work so well can be doneAs in the fair land which from Thy gracious handComes to me a home to enjoy,Where man, who should grow, may all liberty knowIn seeking the soul's high employ.Amen.Frederick C. Priest.
It matters little where I was born,Whether my parents were rich or poor,Whether they shrank from the cold world's scornOr walked in the pride of wealth secure;But whether I live an honest man,And hold my integrity firm in my clutch,I tell you brother, plain as I am,It matters much.
From the Swedish.
Dear Father in Heaven, good Giver of all,For birth in a land fair and free,For parents with pluck, if not the best luck,Who toiled and who suffered for me.Who never knew fear, though the scorners were near,Whom circumstance filled not with pride,I thank Thee! These gifts, more than all on the lists,Have mattered with me, and abide.While striving and struggling my manhood to build,To live like Thine own perfect Son,I find on Earth's face not just one single placeWhere such work so well can be doneAs in the fair land which from Thy gracious handComes to me a home to enjoy,Where man, who should grow, may all liberty knowIn seeking the soul's high employ.Amen.
Frederick C. Priest.
July 25
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 it with 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 pay them more 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.
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 it with 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 pay them more 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.
Thomas Carlyle.
Creator of things, Father of Spirits, standing at the dawn of a new day we seek Thy blessing. We know not what awaits us, Thou knowest, grant us guidance! Help us to see all our duties in the light of Thy countenance. Thou hast made the little and the large, help us to see our duties in their relation to Thy plans. Whatsoever we do, help us to do all to Thy glory. Help us to sweep our floors as to Thy laws, right our rooms as a part of Thy universe, care for our clothes as gifts from Thee. Help us to see Thee in the souls Thou hast sent into the world, to treat them as thinking-thoughts of Thine, expressions of Thy life. May we owe no man anything but to love, may the sun never set on an unpaid bill. For Thy name's sake. Amen.
O. P. Gifford.
July 26
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is doomsday. Today is a king in disguise. Today always looks mean to the thoughtless, in the face of an uniform experience that all good and great and happy actions are made up precisely of these blank todays. Let us not be so deceived, let us unmask the king as he passes.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is doomsday. Today is a king in disguise. Today always looks mean to the thoughtless, in the face of an uniform experience that all good and great and happy actions are made up precisely of these blank todays. Let us not be so deceived, let us unmask the king as he passes.
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Our Father, we thank Thee for this morning that ushers in the only day of which we have promise. Whether it proves to be a day of sunshine or of clouds,—of joy or of sorrow,—may we live it with thankfulness, with perfect confidence that Thou wilt always give us that which is for our own good. Help us to spend this day in doing well what our hands find to do; may our souls breathe the spirit of love and helpfulness to all, and may we have abundantly the influence of Thy divine spirit to keep us pure. Amen.
Luther F. McKinney.
July 27
I like the man who faces what he mustWith heart triumphant and a step of cheer;Who fights the daily battle without fear;Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trustThat God is God; that somehow, true and just,His plans work out for mortals; not a tearIs shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,Falls from his grasp; better, with love, a crustThan living in dishonor; envies not,Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,Nor even murmurs at his humbler lot;But with a smile and words of hope, gives zestTo every toiler; he alone is greatWho by a life heroic conquers fate.Sarah Knowles Bolton.
I like the man who faces what he mustWith heart triumphant and a step of cheer;Who fights the daily battle without fear;Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trustThat God is God; that somehow, true and just,His plans work out for mortals; not a tearIs shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,Falls from his grasp; better, with love, a crustThan living in dishonor; envies not,Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,Nor even murmurs at his humbler lot;But with a smile and words of hope, gives zestTo every toiler; he alone is greatWho by a life heroic conquers fate.
Sarah Knowles Bolton.
Gracious Father, last night we laid ourselves down in peace to sleep, but it was Thou who madest us to dwell in safety, and when we awoke this morning we found ourselves still with Thee. Thy loving favor was keeping faithful watch and ward while we slumbered. We thank Thee for Thy kindly care of our lives during the darkness and danger of the night. Confident of Thy continued presence and armed with Thy unfailing strength, we would go forth to meet the duties and delights of the new day. God with us, we will overcome every temptation, endure every trial, bear every burden, and improve every opportunity of character-building and service-rendering, in the trustful and courageous spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ralph E. Conner.
July 28
How large a part of our Godward life is travelled, not by clear landmarks seen far off in the promised land, but as travellers climb a mountain peak, by putting footstep after footstep, slowly and patiently, into the prints which someone going before us, with keener sight, with stronger nerves, tied to us by the cord of saintly sympathy, has planted deep into the pathless snow of the bleak distance that stretches up between humanity and God.... So we ascend by one another. We live by one another's blessings.
How large a part of our Godward life is travelled, not by clear landmarks seen far off in the promised land, but as travellers climb a mountain peak, by putting footstep after footstep, slowly and patiently, into the prints which someone going before us, with keener sight, with stronger nerves, tied to us by the cord of saintly sympathy, has planted deep into the pathless snow of the bleak distance that stretches up between humanity and God.... So we ascend by one another. We live by one another's blessings.
Phillips Brooks.
Our Father, we thank Thee for the light of a new day. May a new spirit and new courage come to our hearts. We thank Thee for all those who by patient toil and self-forgetting effort have made life as sweet and precious to us as it is. If we can no longer hear the voices nor see the faces of those we love or have reason to revere, may we be able to see their foot-prints and to take the way they trod, though that way seem steep and hard. May we be assured that the upward way leads to the expanding view and brings us to the splendor of the setting sun or of the still more glorious dawn. Amen.
Hilary Bygrave.
July 29
A prince went into the vineyard to examine it. He came to a peach tree, and said, "What are you doing for me?" The tree said, "In the spring I give my blossoms and fill the air with fragrance, and on my boughs hangs the fruit which men will gather and carry into the palace for you." "Well done!" said the prince. To the chestnut he said, "What are you doing?" "I am making nests for the birds, and shelter cattle with my leaves and spreading branches." And the prince said, "Well done!" Then he went down to the meadow and asked the grass what it was doing. "We are giving our lives for others, for your sheep and cattle that they may be nourished." And the prince said, "Well done!" Last of all he asked the tiny daisy what it was doing, and the daisy said, "Nothing, nothing. I cannot make a nesting-place for the birds, and I cannot give shelter for the cattle, and I cannot send fruit into the palace, and I cannot even give food for the sheep and cows,—they do not want me in the meadow. All I can do is to be the best little daisy I can be." And the prince bent down and kissed the daisy, and said, "There is none better than thou."
A prince went into the vineyard to examine it. He came to a peach tree, and said, "What are you doing for me?" The tree said, "In the spring I give my blossoms and fill the air with fragrance, and on my boughs hangs the fruit which men will gather and carry into the palace for you." "Well done!" said the prince. To the chestnut he said, "What are you doing?" "I am making nests for the birds, and shelter cattle with my leaves and spreading branches." And the prince said, "Well done!" Then he went down to the meadow and asked the grass what it was doing. "We are giving our lives for others, for your sheep and cattle that they may be nourished." And the prince said, "Well done!" Last of all he asked the tiny daisy what it was doing, and the daisy said, "Nothing, nothing. I cannot make a nesting-place for the birds, and I cannot give shelter for the cattle, and I cannot send fruit into the palace, and I cannot even give food for the sheep and cows,—they do not want me in the meadow. All I can do is to be the best little daisy I can be." And the prince bent down and kissed the daisy, and said, "There is none better than thou."
Anonymous.
Help us, O Father, not to wait for the great opportunities which may never come. Help us to do with faithfulness the duties which lie close at hand. In our homes this day and wherever we may be—at school or on the street or at our work—fill our hearts with the spirit of Christ and let that spirit speak in every word which passes our lips and shine from our faces and work with our hands. Amen.
Walter A. Tuttle.
July 30
I will be glad all day for this cool draughtAnd the clear drops I dash upon my brow;For the fresh glint of sunlight on the treeAnd the bird singing on the bough.I will be glad for that stored strength of lifeWhich lasts the day because the spirit wills;For the live air that wings from far and breathesThe vigor of the everlasting hills.What scope of toil, what loss or what reward,I do not know. It is enough that nowI pledge the day's good cheer with this cool draughtAnd the drops dashed upon my brow.Charles P. Cleaves.
I will be glad all day for this cool draughtAnd the clear drops I dash upon my brow;For the fresh glint of sunlight on the treeAnd the bird singing on the bough.I will be glad for that stored strength of lifeWhich lasts the day because the spirit wills;For the live air that wings from far and breathesThe vigor of the everlasting hills.What scope of toil, what loss or what reward,I do not know. It is enough that nowI pledge the day's good cheer with this cool draughtAnd the drops dashed upon my brow.
Charles P. Cleaves.
Our Father, we are nursed in Thine arms, we are rested in the heart of Jesus, so that we know no more the emptiness of earth and the poverty of time, for our citizenship is in heaven, already do we walk the streets of gold. Out of the highest rapture may we come to do earth's plainest work, earth's hardest toil, with patient hearts and willing hands, knowing that death can be but for a moment, that all things are meant, in the sovereignty of God to give themselves up to the rule of life. Thus may Thy children be loyal citizens, patient workers, honest merchantmen, wise parents. Be with all men who trust Thee; melt the mountains before their coming, and open the gates of difficulty ere they reach them, and give them to feel that the greatness of Thy mercy is the proof of its divinity. Amen.
Joseph Parker.
July 31
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come.Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come.
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romansviii. 38-39.
These verses seem to me to express completely the remedial power of God's love. In this rough and tumble world of ours, of hard conditions, of disasters many, of untold misery, there are temptations enough for men to lose faith in God's love. It is well now and then to have an outburst of faith like this with the assurance that nothing can ever separate any child of God from the divine compassion and the divine care.
These verses seem to me to express completely the remedial power of God's love. In this rough and tumble world of ours, of hard conditions, of disasters many, of untold misery, there are temptations enough for men to lose faith in God's love. It is well now and then to have an outburst of faith like this with the assurance that nothing can ever separate any child of God from the divine compassion and the divine care.
George L. Perin.
Our Heavenly Father, it is good for us to believe that through all storms and all darkness and all sickness and all infirmity, even through death itself, Thy love abides. As we enter upon this day, we know not whither we shall go, but we thank Thee for the assurance that we may not go away from Thee. Thou followest us with Thy care and wrappest us around with Thy love, as with a garment. In all that we do today may we know that Thou seest us, and if our way be steep, may we be sure that Thou lovest us. Amen.
George L. Perin.
August 1
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet this day with the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, can neither be injured by any of them—for no one can fix on me what is ugly—nor can I be angry with my neighbor, nor hate him. We are made for coöperation; to act against one another, that is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and turn away.
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet this day with the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, can neither be injured by any of them—for no one can fix on me what is ugly—nor can I be angry with my neighbor, nor hate him. We are made for coöperation; to act against one another, that is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and turn away.
Marcus Aurelius.
Eternal Spirit of Love, teach us the power of love. Help us to learn that love is supreme, and hence envieth not, nor vaunteth itself, nor seeketh its own, but suffereth long and is kind. We, who in Jesus of Nazareth have seen the glory of Thy likeness and experienced the sweetness of Thy love, desire like Him to reveal Thee in our lives, to be loving and gentle, sincere and generous, to cooperate with friend and stranger in all that is good, to live so that they can work with us for the advancement of everything righteous. Fill us, therefore, with Thy spirit, and send us forth today in Thy service. Amen.
William W. Guth.
August 2
"God!" let the torrents, like a shout of nations,Answer! and let the ice-plain echo, "God!""God!" sing, ye meadow streams, with gladsome voiceYe pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!And they, too have a voice, yon piles of snow,And in their perilous fall shall thunder, "God!"Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost!Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest!Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm!Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds!Ye signs and wonders of the elements!Utter forth "God!" and fill the hills with praise!Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
"God!" let the torrents, like a shout of nations,Answer! and let the ice-plain echo, "God!""God!" sing, ye meadow streams, with gladsome voiceYe pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!And they, too have a voice, yon piles of snow,And in their perilous fall shall thunder, "God!"Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost!Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest!Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm!Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds!Ye signs and wonders of the elements!Utter forth "God!" and fill the hills with praise!
Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Heavenly Father, how long have Thy servants thirsted after Thee—Thou spring of everlasting life! In this land of our home the meditations of ages surround us, and through the treasured thoughts of the wise in many generations we are lifted into a light beyond the solitary soul. Countless are Thy witnesses, Eternal God! the stars without number are but a little part of them; and the prayers and aspirings of every heart of man can never cease to speak Thee. Humbled and blind amid Thy manifold glories, may we find rest in the simplicity of Christ, and be among the pure in heart who alone can see Thee. Amen.
James Martineau.
August 3