Chapter 3

March 4th.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John i. 9.

The same moment which brings the consciousness of sin ought to bring also the confession of it and the consciousness of forgiveness.—Smith.

March 5th.

As captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. Josh. v. 14.

Surely Israel might now face the foe with unwavering confidence, and sing of victory even before the battle was gained. And so may the Christian. It is to no conflict of uncertain issue that he advances; the result of the battle is not doubtful. The struggle may be severe, the warfare long; he may sometimes, like the pilgrim, be beaten to the ground, and well-nigh lose his sword; but "though cast down" he is "not destroyed." The Captain of salvation is on his side, and in the midst of sharpest conflict he can say, "Thanks be unto God,who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."—S. A. Blackwood.

March 6th.

To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Phil. i. 21.

Live in Christ, and you are in the suburbs of heaven. There is but a thin wall between you and the land of praises. You are within one hour's sailing of the shore of the new Canaan.—William Rutherford.

March 7th.

He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. John viii. 29.

He who holds nearest communion with heaven can best discharge the duties of everyday life.—Selected.

March 8th.

Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thess. v. 19.

In order that you may not quench the Spirit, you must make it a constant study to know what is the mind of the Spirit. You must discriminate with the utmost care between His suggestions and the suggestions of your own deceitful heart. You will keep in constant recollection what are the offices of the Spirit as described by Christ in the Gospel of John. You will be on your guard against impulsive movements, inconsiderate acts, rash words. You will abide in prayer. Search the Word. Confess Christ on all possible occasions. Seek the society of His people. Shrink from conformity to the world, its vain fashions, unmeaning etiquette. Be scrupulous in your reading. "What I say unto you, I say unto all, watch!" "Have oil in your lamps." "Quench not the Spirit."—Bowen.

March 9th.

When He cometh into the world, He saith,. . . A body hast Thou prepared me. Heb. x. 5.

This word of Christ must be adopted by each of His followers. Nothing will help us to live in this world and keep ourselves unspotted but the Spirit that wasin Christ, that looked upon His body as prepared by God for His service; that looks upon our body as prepared by Him too, that we might offer it to Him. Like Christ, we too have a body in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Like Christ, we too must yield our body, with every member, every power, every action, to fulfil His will, to be offered up to Him, to glorify Him. Like Christ, we must prove in our body that we are holy to the Lord.—Andrew Murray.

March 10th.

Full of [satisfied with] years. Gen. xxv. 8.

Scaffoldings are for buildings, and the moments and days and years of our earthly lives are scaffolding. What are you building inside it? What kind of a structure will be disclosed when the scaffolding is knocked away? Days and years are ours, that they may give us what eternity cannot take away—a character built upon the love of God in Christ, and moulded into His likeness.

Has your life helped you to do that? If so, you have got the best out of it, and your life is completed, whatever may be the number of its days. Quality, not quantity, is the thing that determines the perfectness of a life. Has your life this completeness?—Alex. McLaren.

March 11th.

Keep yourselves in the love of God. Jude 21.

Fruit ripened in the sun is sweetest.—Selected.

March 12th.

Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me. Acts i. 8.

Look at it! Think of it! A hundred and twenty men and women having no patronage, no promise of any earthly favor, no endowment, no wealth—a company of men and women having to get their living bycommon daily toil, and busied with all the household duties of daily life—and yettheyare to begin the conquests of Christianity! To them is entrusted a work which is to turn the world upside down. None so exalted but the influence of this lowly company shall reach to them, until the throne of the Cæsars is claimed for Christ. None so far off but the power of this little band gathered in an upper room shall extend to them until the whole world is knit into a brotherhood! Not a force is there on the earth, either of men or devils, but they shall overcome it, until every knee shall bow to their Master, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.

A thing impossible, absurd, look at it as you will, until you admit this—they are to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Then difficulties melt into the empty air. Then there is no limit to their hopes, for there is no limit to their power. Their strength is not only "as the strength of ten," it is as the strength of the Almighty.

This is Christ's idea of Christianity; the idea not of man—it is infinitely too sublime—the idea of God!—Mark Guy Pearse.

March 13th.

He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. John xv. 5.

Too much taken up with our work, we may forget our Master; it is possible to have the hand full, and the heart empty. Taken up with our Master we cannot forget our work; if the heart is filled with His love, how can the hands not be active in His service?—Adolphe Monod.

March 14th.

He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. John vi. 57.

To feed on Christ is to get His strength into us to be our strength. You feed on the corn field, and the strength of the corn field comes into you, and is yourstrength. You feed on Christ, and then go and live your life; and it is Christ in you that lives your life, that helps the poor, that tells the truth, that fights the battles, and that wins the crown.—Phillips Brooks.

Match 15th.

I sought Him, but I found Him not. Song of Sol. iii. 1.

Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find Him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Him in no other way than by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Him in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, "Look for a thing where you dropped it; it is there." So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away.—Spurgeon.

March 16th.

Come behind in no gift. 1 Cor. i. 7.

The Scripture gives four names to Christians, taken from the four cardinal graces so essential to man's salvation:Saintsfor their holiness,believersfor their faith,brethrenfor their love,disciplesfor their knowledge.—Thomas Fuller.

March 17th.

They rest not day and night. Rev. iv. 8.

O blessed rest! When we rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!"—when we shall rest from sin, but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, but not from joy! O blessed day, when I shall rest with God; when I shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and praising; when my perfect soul and body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect God; when God, who is love itself, shallperfectly love me, and rest in His love to me, and I shall rest in my love to Him; when He shall rejoice over me with joy, and joy over me with singing, and I shall rejoice in Him!—Baxter.

March 18th.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint. Isa. xl. 31.

The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself as to how it is to cross rivers.—Selected.

March 19th.

Their eyes were holden. Luke xxiv. 16.Their eyes were opened. Luke xxiv. 31.

Their eyes were holden. Luke xxiv. 16.

Their eyes were opened. Luke xxiv. 31.

There is much precious significance in this. The Lord is often present in our lives in things that we do not dream possess any significance. We are asking God about something which needs His mighty working, and the very instrument by which He is to work is by our side, perhaps for weeks and months and years all unrecognized, until suddenly, some day it grows luminous and glorious with the very presence of the Lord, and becomes the mighty instrument of His victorious working. He loves to show His hand through the unexpected. Often he keeps us from seeing His way until just before He opens it, and then, immediately that it is unfolded, we find that He was walking by our side in the very thing, long before we even suspected its meaning.—A. B. Simpson.

March 20th.

All things work together for good to them that love God. Rom. viii. 28.

If our circumstances find us in God, we shall find God in all our circumstances.—Selected.

March 21st.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Ps. xxiii. 3.

He always has a purpose in His leading. He knows where the bits of green pasture are, and He would lead His flock to these. The way may be rough, but it is the right way to the pasture. "Paths of righteousness" may not be straight paths; but they are paths that lead somewhere—to the right place. Many desert paths are illusive. They start out clear and plain, but soon they are lost in the sands. They go nowhere. But the paths of righteousness have a goal to which they unerringly lead.—J. R. Miller.

March 22nd.

And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. Ex. iv. 13.

It was a very grudging assent. It was as much as to say, "Since Thou art determined to send me and I must undertake the mission, then let it be so; but I would that it might have been another, and I go because I am compelled." So often do we shrink back from the sacrifice or obligation to which God calls us, that we think we are going to our doom. We seek every reason for evading the divine will, little realizing that He is forcing us out from our quiet homes into a career which includes, among other things, the song of victory on the banks of the Red Sea; the two lonely sojourns for forty days in converse with God; the shining face; the vision of glory; the burial by the hand of Michael; and the supreme honor of standing beside the Lord on the Transfiguration mount.—F. B. Meyer.

March 23rd.

See then that ye walk circumspectly. Eph. v. 15.

There is no such thing as negative influence. We are all positive in the place we occupy, making the world better or making it worse.—T. DeWitt Talmage.

March 24th.

She took for him an ark of bulrushes . . . and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. Ex. ii. 3.

The mother of Moses laid the ark in the flags by the river's brink. Ay, but before doing so, she laid it on the heart of God! She could not have laid it so courageously upon the Nile, if she had not first devoutly laid it upon the care and love of God.

We are often surprised at the outward calmness of men who are called upon to do unpleasant and most trying deeds; but could we have seen them in secret, we should have known the moral preparation which they underwent before coming out to be seen by men. Be right in the sanctuary, if you would be right in the market-place. Be steadfast in prayer, if you would be calm in affliction. Start your race from the throne of God itself, if you would run well, and win the prize.—Joseph Parker.

March 25th.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Gal. vi. 2.

By lifting the burdens of others we lose our own.—Selected.

March 26th.

I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. John xvii. 4.

Was the work of the Master indeed done? Was not its heaviest task yet to come? He had not yet met the dread hour of death. Why did He say that His work was done? It was because He knew that, when the will is given, the battle is ended. He was only in the shadows of the garden; but to conquer these shadows was already to conquer all. He who has willed to die has already triumphed over death. All that remains to Him is but the outer husk, the shell.

The cup which our Father giveth us to drink is a cup for the will. It is easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it. Not on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup presented; the act is easy after the choice. The realbattle-field is in the silence of the spirit. Conquer there, and thou art crowned.—George Matheson.

March 27th.

A great multitude . . . stood before the throne. Rev. vii. 9.

Astation on the feetin front of the throne inheavenis the effect of being oftenon the kneesbefore the throne onearth.—Selected.

March 28th.

God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Gen. i. 4.

No sooner is there a good thing in the world than adivision is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord's work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever.

We should by our distinct separation from the world divide the light from the darkness. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world's first day.

O Lord Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for Thy light is the light of men.—Spurgeon.

March 29th.

The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov. iv. 18.

Have I begun this path of heavenly love and knowledge now? Am I progressing in it? Do I feel some dawnings of the heavenly light, earnests and antepasts of the full day of glory? Let all God's dealings serve to quicken me in my way. Let every affection it mayplease Him to send, be as the moving pillar-cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent onward, saying, "Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest." Let me be often standing now on faith's lofty eminences, looking for "the day of God"—the rising sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds. Wondrous progression! How will all earth's learning, its boasted acquirements and eagle-eyed philosophy sink into the lispings of very infancy in comparison with this manhood of knowledge! Heaven will be the true "Excelsior," its song, "a song of degrees," Jesus leading His people from height to height of glory, and saying, as He said to Nathaniel, "Thou shalt seegreaterthings than these!"—Macduff.

March 30th.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. Song of Sol. ii. 15. (R. V.)

How numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises with the world; disobedience to the still, small voice in little things; little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty, and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!—J. Hudson Taylor.

March 31st.

The children of your Father which is in heaven. Matt. v. 45.

The best name by which we can think of God is Father. It is a loving, deep, sweet, heart-touching name, for the name of father is in its nature full of inborn sweetness and comfort. Therefore, also, we must confess ourselves children of God, for by this name we deeply touch our God, since there is not a sweeter sound to the father than the voice of the child.—Martin Luther.

APRIL

April 1st.

In the morning came the word of the Lord unto me. Ezek. xii. 8.

A quiet hour spent alone with God at the beginning of the day is the best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. A brief season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and seeking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helps us to carry our religion into the business of the day. It brings joy and peace within the heart. And as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of the Lord, faithfully striving to do His will, we have a joyful trust that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our Father's hand is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our toils.—Selected.

April 2nd.

The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 7.

And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds—dust and deity! It touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of God.

My soul, art thou living up to thy twofold origin? Art thou remembering thy double parentage, and therefore thy double duty? Thou hast a duty to thy God, for His breath is in thee; thou hast a duty to the earth, for out of it wast thou taken.—George Matheson.

April 3rd.

Always rejoicing. 2 Cor. vi. 10.

No Christian can ever know what is meant by thosetwo little words, "always rejoicing," but the Christian who takes up his cross and follows Jesus.—W. Hay Aitken.

April 4th.

All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. Gen. xiii. 15.

God's promises are ever on the ascending scale. One leads up to another, fuller and more blessed than itself. In Mesopotamia God said, "I will show thee the land." At Bethel, "This is the land." Here, "I will give thee all the land, and children innumerable as the grains of sand." And we shall find even these eclipsed.

It is thus that God allures us to saintliness. Not giving anything till we have dared to act—that He may test us. Not giving everything at first—that He may not overwhelm us. And always keeping in hand an infinite reserve of blessing. Oh, the unexplored remainders of God! Whoever saw His last star?—F. B. Meyer.

April 5th.

That night they caught nothing. John xxi. 3.

God may let the sinful world succeed in their forbidden schemes, but, blessed be His name, He does not allow His chosen ones to prosper in the path which leads them out of His holy will! He has a storm to send after every Jonah, and an empty net for every unbelieving and inconsistent Simon.—A. B. Simpson.

April 6th.

They made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Song of Sol. i. 6.

Our attention is here drawn to a danger which is preeminently one of this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in serviceto the neglect of personal communion;but such neglect will not only lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the highest service.—J. Hudson Taylor.

April 7th.

We came unto the land whither thou sentest us . . . we saw the children of Anak there. Num. xiii. 27, 28.

It is when we are in the way ofdutythat we findgiants. It was when Israel was goingforwardthat the giants appeared. When they turned back into the wilderness they found none.—Selected.

April 8th.

Each one resembled the children of a king. Judg. viii. 18.

Frances Ridley Havergal says: "If the King is indeed near of kin to us, the royal likeness will be recognizable."

April 9th.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. Psa. xxiii. 2.

This suggests the rest into which our Good Shepherd leads His flock. Life is not all toil. God gives us many quiet resting-places in our pilgrim way.

Night is one of these, when, after the day's toil, struggle, and exhaustion, we are led aside, and the curtains are drawn to shut out the noise, and He giveth His beloved sleep, in sleep giving the wonderful blessings of renewal. The Sabbath is another of these quiet resting-places. God would have us drop our worldly tasks, and have a day for the refreshing of both body and soul. . . . Friendship's trysts are also quiet resting-places, where heart may commune with heart, where Jesus comes, too, unseen, and gives His blessing. All ordinances of Christian worship—seasons of prayer and devotion, hours of communion with God—are quiet resting-places.

Far more than we are apt to realize do we need these silent times in our busy life, needing them all the more the busier the life may be.—J. R. Miller.

April 10th.

A daily rate for every day. 2 Kings xxv. 30.

One staff aids a traveler, but a bundle of staves is a heavy burden.—Spurgeon.

April 11th.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Gal. vi. 2.

However perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of truth, one refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something for some one beside yourself. At the times when you cannot see God, there is still open to you this sacred possibility, toshowGod: for it is the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine reality comes home to men, whether they name it or not. Let this thought, then, stay with you: there may be times when you cannotfindhelp, but there is no time when you cannotgivehelp.—George Merriam.

April 12th.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Phil. ii. 12, 13.

It is not your business and mine to study whether we shall get to heaven, or even to study whether we shall be good men; it is our business to study how we shall come into the midst of the purposes of God and have the unspeakable privilege in these few years of doing something of His work.—Phillips Brooks.

April 13th.

God . . . hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 6.

Christian! rest not until thou knowest the full, the unbroken shining of God in thy heart. To this end, yield to every stirring of it that shows thee some unconquered and perhaps unconquerable evil. Just bringit to the light; let the light shine upon it, and shine it out. Wait upon the Lord more than watchers for the morning, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day." Count upon it that God wants to fill thee with the light of His glory: wait on Him more than watchers for the morning. "Wait, I say, on the Lord."—Andrew Murray.

April 14th.

My soul, wait thou only upon God. Psa. lxii. 5.

Did it ever occur to you that if you do not hear God's answer to prayer, it may be not because He is dumb, but because you are deaf; not because He has no answer to give, but because you have not been listening for it? We are so busy with our service, so busy with our work, and sometimes so busy with our praying, that it does not occur to us to stop our own talking and listen if God has some answer to give us with "the still small voice"; to be passive, to be quiet, to do nothing, say nothing, in some true sense think nothing; simply to be receptive and waiting for the voice. "Wait thou only upon God," says the Psalmist; and again "Wait on the Lord."—Selected.

April 15th.

Could ye not watch with me one hour? Matt. xxvi. 40.

Oh! ye who sigh and languish, and mourn your lack of power,Heed ye this gentle whisper, "Could ye not watch one hour?"To fruitfulness and blessing, there is no "royal road";The power for holy service is intercourse with God.—Selected.

April 16th.

My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. John iv. 34.

Seek your life's nourishment in your life's work.—Phillips Brooks.

April 17th.

It is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Phil. ii. 13.

Full salvation is to realize that everything we see in Christ, our Example, may be ours, not by imitation, but by reproduction.—Selected.

April 18th.

Lo, I am with you all the days. Matt, xxviii. 20. (R. V., margin.)

"All the days"—in winter days, when joys are fled; in sunless days, when the clouds return again and again after rain; in days of sickness and pain; in days of temptation and perplexity, as much as in days when the heart is as full of joy as the woodlands in spring are full of song. That day never comes when the Lord Jesus is not at the side of His saints. Lover and friend may stand afar, but He walks with them through the fires; He fords with them the rivers; He stands by them when face to face with the lion. We can never be alone. We must always add His resources to our own when making our calculations.—F. B. Meyer.

April 19th.

Having . . . boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart. Heb. x. 19, 22.

Oh, the glory of the message! For fifteen centuries Israel had a sanctuary with a Holiest of All, into which, under pain of death, no one might enter. Its one witness was: Man cannot dwell in God's presence; cannot abide in His fellowship. And now how changed is all! As then the warning sounded: "No admittance! enter not!" so now the call goes forth: "Enter in! the veil is rent; the Holiest is open; God waits to welcome you to His bosom; henceforth you are to live with Him." This is the message. Child! thy Father longs for thee to enter, to dwell, and to go out no more forever.—Andrew Murray.

April 20th.

There stood by me this night the angel of God . . . saying, Fear not, Paul. . . . God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore . . . be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts xxvii. 23, 24, 25.

An active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not yet performed; knowing that God's bonds are as good as ready money.—Matthew Henry.

April 21st.

In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Phil, iv. 6.

The natural temptation with every difficulty is to plan for it, to put it out of the way yourself; but stop short with all your planning, your thinking, your worry, and talk to Him! "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." You may not always be able to do this in a moment or two. Then keep on with supplication until you know He has it, and prayer becomes praise. Rest, trust, and wait, and see how He does that which you wanted to do, and had so much care about. "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."—A. E. Funk.

April 22nd.

They that wait upon the Lord shall . . . mount up with wings as eagles. Isa. xl. 31.

All creatures that have wings can escape from every snare that is set for them, if only they will fly high enough; and the soul that uses its wings can always find a sure "way to escape" from all that can hurt or trouble it.—Smith.

April 23rd.

Perfect love casteth out fear. 1 John iv. 18.

Fear and love rise up in antagonism to each other as motives in life, like those two mountains from which respectively the blessings and curses of the old law werepronounced—the Mount of Cursing all barren, stony, without verdure and without water; the Mount of Blessing green and bright with many a flower, and blessed with many a trickling rill. Fear is barren. Love is fruitful. The one is a slave, and its work is little worth. The other is free, and its deeds are great and precious. From the blasted summit of the mountain which gendereth to bondage may be heard the words of the law; but the power to keep all these laws must be sought on the sunny hill where liberty dwells in love and gives energy to obedience. Therefore, if you would use in your own life the highest power that God has given us for our growth in grace, draw your arguments, not from fear, but from love.—Alex. McLaren.

April 24th.

The love of Christ constraineth us. 2 Cor. v. 14.

The love of Christ is too large for any heart to hold it. It will overflow into others' hearts: it will give itself out, give itself away, for the enriching of other lives. The heart of Christ is a costly thing for any one to have. It will lead those who have it where it led Him. If it cost Him the cross, it will cost them no less.—J. M. Campbell.

April 25th.

I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Isa. xli. 13.

Don't try to hold God's hand; let Him hold yours. Let Him do theholding, and you do thetrusting.—H. W. Webb Peploe.

April 26th.

Consider how great things He hath done for you. 1 Sam. xii. 24.

Look back on all the way the Lord your God has led you. Do you not see it dotted with ten thousand blessings in disguise? Call to mind the needed succor sent at the critical moment; the right way chosen for you, instead of the wrong way you had chosen for yourself; the hurtful thing to which your heart so fondly clung, removed out of your path; the breathing-time granted, which your tried and struggling spirit just at the moment needed. Oh, has not Jesus stood at your side when you knew it not? Has not Infinite Love encircled every event with its everlasting arms, and gilded every cloud with its merciful lining? Oh, retrace your steps, and mark His footprint in each one! Thank Him for them all, and learn the needed lesson of leaning more simply on Jesus.—F. Whitfield.

April 27th.

He . . . said . . . I . . . hid thy talent in the earth. . . . His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant. Matt. xxv. 24-26.

Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.—Monod.

April 28th.

To Him be glory both now and forever. 2 Pet. iii. 18.

Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying Himnow?The apostle's words are, "To Him be glory bothnowand forever."—C. H. Spurgeon.

April 29th.

Thou shall know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Isa. xlix. 23.

J. Hudson Taylor says: "Quiet waiting before God could save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow."

April 30th.

Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Matt. xv. 28.

Oh, the victories of prayer! They are the mountain-tops of the Bible. They take us back to the plains ofMamre, to the fords of Peniel, to the prison of Joseph, to the triumphs of Moses, to the transcendent victories of Joshua, to the deliverances of David, to the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, to the whole story of the Master's life, to the secret of Pentecost, to the key-note of Paul's unparalleled ministry, to the lives of saints and the deaths of martyrs, to all that is most sacred and sweet in the history of the Church and the experience of the children of God. And when, for us, the last conflict shall have passed, and the footstool of prayer shall have given place to the harp of praise, the spots of time that shall be gilded with the most celestial and eternal radiance, shall be those, often linked with deepest sorrow and darkest night, over which we have the inscription, "Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord was there!"—A. B. Simpson.

MAY

May 1st.

Thou art my God: early will I seek Thee. Psa. lxiii. 1.

In a world where there is so much to ruffle the spirit's plumes, how needful that entering into the secret of God's pavilion, which will alone bring it back to composure and peace! In a world where there is so much to sadden and depress, how blessed the communion with Him in whom is the one true source and fountain of all true gladness and abiding joy! In a world where so much is ever seeking to unhallow our spirits, to render them common and profane, how high the privilege of consecrating them anew in prayer to holiness and to God.—Archbishop Trench.

May 2nd.

In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. John i. 4. Ye are the light of the world. Matt. v. 14.

In the light we can walk and work. We walk in the light and become entirely children of light. We let our light, the light of God, shine, so that men may see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven. Gently, silently, lovingly, unceasingly, we give ourselves to transmit the light and the love God so unceasingly shines into us. Our one work is to wait, and admit, and then transmit the light of God in Christ.—Andrew Murray.

May 3d.

Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. 1 Cor. xv. 58.

Activity in doing good is one recipe for being cheerful Christians; it is like exercise to the body, and it keeps the soul in health.—Bishop Ryle.

May 4th.

Looking up to heaven He sighed. Mark vii. 34.

Too often we sigh and look within; Jesus sighed and looked without. We sigh, and look down; Jesus sighed, and looked up. We sigh, and look to earth; Jesus sighed, and looked to heaven. We sigh, and look to man; Jesus sighed, and looked to God.—Stork.

May 5th.

We glory in tribulations. Rom. v. 3.

Have you ever thought that some day you will never have anything to try you or anybody to vex you again?—A. B. Simpson.

May 6th.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. iii. 2.

He who has his affections set on things above is like one who hangs on by the skies; and, having a secure hold of these, could say, though he saw the world roll away from beneath his feet, "My heart is fixed; myheart is fixed; O Lord, I will sing and give praise!"—Guthrie.

May 7th.

The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. Luke xxiv. 34.They . . . gladly received (Peter's) word; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts ii. 41.

The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. Luke xxiv. 34.

They . . . gladly received (Peter's) word; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts ii. 41.

Before the Lord can use us in His service we must have close individual dealing with Himself. He always will have to do insecretwith that soul that He intends to use in blessing others.

Do you want to speak for Jesus to those around you? Then you must go to Jesus Himself for your message. What you sayforJesus must be gotfromJesus.

Oh, how much breath falls powerless on every side because it has not been inhaled in the sanctuary! We want more secret dealing with the living God. We run without being sent: we speak before God has spoken to us: no wonder we so often fail. Oh, what secret prayer and what heart-searching discipline the heart needs before God can use it!—F. Whitfield.

May 8th.

The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul. Prov. xiii. 25.

Christ must satisfy; then, if we are not satisfied, it must be because we are not feeding on Him wholly and only. The fault is not in the provision which is made.—Frances Ridley Havergal.

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