Chapter 14

At Dudson there was no rushing after anything, either worldly or intellectual. It was a home of constant activity, issuing from, and retiring to, a centre of deep repose. There was an earnest application of excellent sense to the daily duties of life, to the minutest courtesy and kindness, as well as to the real interests of others. Everything great and everything little seemed done in the same spirit, and with the same degree of fidelity, because it was the will of God; and that which could not be traced to His will was not undertaken at all. Nothing at Dudson was esteemed too little to be cared for, and nothing too great to be undertaken at the command of God; and for this they daily exercised their mental and bodily powers on the things around them; knowing that our Lord thoroughly furnishes each of His soldiers for his work, and places before each the task he has to do.

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.

October 10

_Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means_.--2 THESS. iii. 16.

_The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace_.--PS. xxix. 11.

In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy Abides, and when pain seems to have its will, Or we despair,--oh, may that peace rise slowly, Stronger than agony, and we be still.

S. JOHNSON.

But if a man ought and is willing to lie still under God's hand, he must and ought also to lie still under all things, whether they come from God, himself, or the creatures, nothing excepted. And he who would be obedient, resigned, and submissive to God, must and ought to be also resigned, obedient, and submissive to all things, in a spirit of yielding, and not of resistance; and take them in silence, resting on the hidden foundations of his soul, and having a secret inward patience, that enableth him to take all chances or crosses willingly; and, whatever befalleth, neither to call for nor desire any redress, or deliverance, or resistance, or revenge, but always in a loving, sincere humility to cry, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"

THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.

October 11

_And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord_.--NUM. xi. 1.

When thou hast thanked thy God For every blessing sent, What time will then remain For murmurs or lament?

R. C. TRENCH.

Let him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, yield himself up to suffer whatever God shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, according to his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmost that he can discern it, and never complain of his distresses but to God alone, with entire and humble resignation, praying that he may be strong to endure all his sufferings according to the will of God.

JOHN TAULER.

He who complains, or thinks he has a right to complain, because he is called in God's Providence to suffer, has something within him which needs to be taken away. A soul whose will is lost in God's will, can never do this. Sorrow may exist; but complaint never.

CATHERINE ADORNA.

October 12

_Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord_.--EPH. v. 19.

_Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts_.--I PETER iii. 15.

There are in this loud stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime; Who carry music in their heart Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, Plying their daily task with busier feet, Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.

J. KEBLE.

Strive to carry thyself with a total resignation to the Divine Will, that God may do with thee and all thine according to His heavenly pleasure, relying on Him as on a kind and loving Father. Never recall that intention, and though thou be taken up about the affairs of the condition wherein God hath placed thee, yet thou wilt still be in prayer, in the presence of God, and in perpetual acts of resignation. "A just man leaves not off to pray unless he leaves off to be just." He always prays who always does well. The good desire is prayer, and if the desire be continued so also is the prayer.

M. DE MOLINOS.

October 13

_We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end_.--HEB. vi. 11.

_The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil_.--2 THESS. iii. 3.

Long though my task may be, Cometh the end. God't is that helpeth me, His is the work, and He New strength will lend.

ANON.

Set yourself steadfastly to those duties which have the least attractive exterior; it matters not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in great or small matters. Be patient with yourself and your own failings; never be in a hurry, and do not yield to longings after that which is impossible to you. My dear sister, go on steadily and quietly; if our dear Lord means you to run, He will "strengthen your heart."

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

Always begin by doing that which costs me most, unless the easier duty is a pressing one. Examine, classify, and determine at night the work of the morrow; arrange things in the order of their importance, and act accordingly. Dread, above all things, bitterness and irritation. Never say, or indirectly recall anything to my advantage.

MADAME SWET CHINE,

October 14

_He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death_.--PROV. viii. 36.

_But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord_.--ROM. vi. 22, 23.

O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry! Give me Thyself, or else I die! Save me from death; from hell set free! Death, hell, are but the want of Thee. Quickened by Thy imparted flame, Saved when possessed of Thee, I am: My life, my only heaven Thou art; O might I feel Thee in my heart!

C. WESLEY.

Sin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure from goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with whom the happiness, and blessedness, and heaven of a soul doth consist. Avoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable.

SAMUEL SHAW.

"I could n't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God."

GEORGE ELIOT.

Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.

JOHN WESLEY.

October 15

_Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me_.--PS. xl. 12, 13.

_Sin shall not have dominion over you_.--ROM. vi. 14.

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight The darkness shineth as the light! Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee; Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!

G. TERSTEEGEN.

Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart to morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of friendliness,--this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for me so long,--this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I at last shall say, "My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force."

W. C. GANNETT.

October 16

_I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant_.--GEN. xxxii. 10.

Some murmur if their sky is clear, And wholly bright to view, If one small speck of dark appear In their great heaven of blue: And some with thankful love are filled, If but one streak of light, One ray of God's good mercy, gild The darkness of their night.

R. C. TRENCH.

Habitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the Divine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest cheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy, their blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them fresh and brilliant as the first day's morning and evening light to the dwellers in Paradise. With the happy it is their constant peace that seems to come by nature, and to be blunted by its commonness,--and their griefs to come from God, sharpened by their sacred origin; with the sufferer, it is his pain that appears to be a thing of course, and to require no explanation, while his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as a breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.

J. MARTINEAU.

October 17

_Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice_.--I SAM. XV. 22.

_Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day_--EX. xiv. 13.

The folded hands seem idle: If folded at His word, 'Tis a holy service, trust me, In obedience to the Lord.

ANNA SHIPTON.

It is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see our duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, as to a living person whose will is to be its law, whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of living before the face of God, and not the simply doing certain things.

J. B. BROWN.

October 18

_Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven_.--MATT. v. 20.

The freedom from all wilful sin, The Christian's daily task,-- Oh these are graces far below What longing love would ask! Dole not thy duties out to God.

F. W. FABER.

You perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the Gospel, and therefore you are content with your failings. But this is saying nothing to the purpose: for the question is not whether Gospel perfection can be fully attained, but whether you come as near it as a sincere intention and careful diligence can carry you. Whether you are not in a much lower state than you might be if you sincerely intended and carefully labored to advance yourself in all Christian virtues.

WM. LAW.

We know not exactly how low the least degree of obedience is, which will bring a man to heaven; but this we are quite sure of, that he who aims no higher will be sure to fall short even of that, and that he who goes farthest beyond it will be most blessed.

JOHN KEBLE.

October 19

_Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go_.--ISA. xlviii. 17.

I seek Thy aid, I ask direction, Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee; I can bear toil, endure affliction, Only Thy leadings let me see.

ANON.

Of all paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a _best path_ for every man; a thing which, here and now, it were of all things _wisest_ for him to do; which could he but be led or driven to do, he were then doing "like a man," as we phrase it. His success, in such case, were complete, his felicity a maximum. This path, to find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.

T. CARLYLE.

Every man has his own vocation. There is one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.

R. W. EMERSON.

October 20

_Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good_.--ROM. xii. 21.

Come, in this accepted hour; Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in; Fill us with Thy glorious power, Rooting out the seeds of sin.

C. WESLEY.

If we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome it by good. There are doubtless many ways of overcoming the evil in our own hearts, but the simplest, easiest, most universal, is to overcome it by active occupation in some good word or work. The best antidote against evil of all kinds, against the evil thoughts which haunt the soul, against the needless perplexities which distract the conscience, is to keep hold of the good we have. Impure thoughts will not stand against pure words, and prayers, and deeds. Little doubts will not avail against great certainties. Fix your affections on things above, and then you will be less and less troubled by the cares, the temptations, the troubles of things on earth.

A. P. STANLEY.

October 21

_I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect_.--GEN. xvii. I.

_Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord_.--EX. xxxii. 29.

Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the characteristics of the daily life. A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will; sweetness under provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle; yieldingness to the wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights and affronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear;--all these, and many similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural outward development of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.

H. W. SMITH.

October 22

_Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done_.--LUKE xxii. 42.

Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will; Give me but this, the heart to be content, And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still, Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent, And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant.

SUSAN COOLIDGE.

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

H. E. MANNING.

October 23

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

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

LUCY LARCOM.

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

GEORGE ELIOT.

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

F. W. ROBERTSON.

October 24

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

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

A. L. WARING.

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

H. B. STOWE.

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

R. CECIL.

October 25

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

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

J. G. WHITTIER.

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

I. PENINGTON.

October 26

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

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

J. G. WHITTIER.

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

J. H. THOM.

October 27

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

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

B. SCHMOLCK.

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

H. W. SMITH.

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

M. DE MOLINOS.

October 28

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

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

P. GERHARDT.

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

H. BUSHNELL.

October 29

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

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

H. W. C.

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

J. TAULER.

October 30

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

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

C. WESLEY.

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

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.