Chapter 5

Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin; Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire, And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.

H. B. STOWE.

The Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It cannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be sympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot delight in the rectitude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.

J. H. THOM.

March 28

_Giving thanks always for all things unto God_.--EPH. v. 20.

For blessings of the fruitful season, For work and rest, for friends and home, For the great gifts of thought and reason,-- To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.

Yes, and for weeping and for wailing, For bitter hail and blighting frost, For high hopes on the low earth trailing, For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.

E. SCUDDER.

Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the inward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout thanksgiving to the great Author of my being. For more and more am I unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called "a thanksgiving for mercies,"--for any benefits or blessings that are peculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of this, I would have it to be gratitude for _all_ that belongs to my life and being,--for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because I believe that all is meant for good.

ORVILLE DEWEY.

March 29

_There shall no evil befall thee_.--PS. xci. 10.

_Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil_.--PROV. i. 33.

I ask not, "Take away this weight of care;" No, for that love I pray that all can bear, And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall Must needs be good, and for my profit prove, Since from my Father's heart most rich in love, And from His bounteous hands it cometh all.

C. J. P. SPITTA.

Be like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I, because this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present, nor fearing the future. Will then this which has happened prevent thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure against inconsiderate opinions and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.

MARCUS ANTONINUS.

March 30

_Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory_.--PS. lxxiii. 24.

_There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God_.--HEB. iv. 9.

Guide us through life; and when at last We enter into rest, Thy tender arms around us cast, And fold us to Thy breast.

H. F. LYTE.

Go forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer the trials of existence, believing in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will support you in duty, and duty firmly done will strengthen faith; till at last, when all is over here, and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades upon your dying ear, and you hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound of the ocean of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining on its waters still and fair in their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song of conquest, and in its retrospect of the life which has ended, and its forward glance upon the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration of the Hebrew king, "Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

STOPFORD A. BROOKE.

March 31

_Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace_.--JOB v. 23, 24.

Love had he found in huts where poor men lie; His daily teachers had been woods and rills, The silence that is in the starry sky, The sleep that is among the lonely hills.

W. Wordsworth.

That spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which seems to come forth to such from every dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, and half-embedded stone, on which the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the poor and hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. If thou fill thy brain with Boston and New York, with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate thy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, thou shall find no radiance of wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods.

R. W. EMERSON.

As a countenance is made beautiful by the soul's shining through it, so the world is beautiful by the shining through it of a God.

FRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI.

April 1

_For Thou Invest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of souls_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON xi. 24, 26.

He prayeth well who loveth well Both man and bird and beast; He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.

S. T. COLERIDGE.

To know that Love alone was the beginning of nature and creature, that nothing but Love encompasses the whole universe of things, that the governing Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all, is nothing but omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infinity of wisdom, to save every misguided creature from the miserable works of its own hands, and make happiness and glory the perpetual inheritance of all the creation, is a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every intelligent creature that is sensible of it.

WM. LAW.

April 2

_Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you_?--I COR. iii. 16.

Father! replenish with Thy grace This longing heart of mine; Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place, Thy sacred inmost shrine!

JOHANN SCHEFFLER.

Not man's manifold labors, but his manifold cares, hinder the presence of God. Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine own feverish vanities, and busy thoughts, and cares; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the light of His countenance will stream down upon thee. He will make a secret cell in thine heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou find Him. And if thou hast found Him there, all around shall reflect Him, all shall speak to Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly thou mayest be doing the work of thy calling; inwardly if thou commend thy work to God, thou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven.

E. B. PUSEY.

April 3

_As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do_.--DEUT. xviii. 14.

Lord, for the erring thought Not into evil wrought; Lord, for the wicked will Betrayed and baffled still; For the heart from itself kept, Our Thanksgiving accept.

W. D. HOWELLS.

What an amazing, what a blessed disproportion between the evil we do, and the evil we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on the very verge of doing! If my soul has grown tares, when it was full of the seeds of nightshade, how happy ought I to be! And that the tares have not wholly strangled the wheat, what a wonder it is! We ought to thank God daily for the sins we have not committed.

F. W. FABER.

We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual mercies _positive_; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies negative! We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered us _not_ to do, _not_ to be.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

You are surprised at your imperfections--why? I should infer from that, that your self-knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be astonished that you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous faults, and thank God for His upholding grace.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

April 4

_Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord_.--MATT. xxv. 23.

O father! help us to resign Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee; Then even lowliest work of Thine Most noble, blest, and sweet will be.

H. M. KIMBALL.

Nothing is too little to be ordered by our Father; nothing too little in which to see His hand; nothing, which touches our souls, too little to accept from Him; nothing too little to be done to Him.

E. B. PUSEY.

A soul occupied with great ideas best performs small duties; the divinest views of life penetrate most clearly into the meanest emergencies; so far from petty principles being best proportioned to petty trials, a heavenly spirit taking up its abode with us can alone sustain well the daily toils, and tranquilly pass the humiliations of our condition.

J. MARTINEAU.

Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he ought to do, because it seems to him too small a thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, but too great for him, that he doeth it not.

E. B. PUSEY.

April 5

_Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him_.--I KINGS xix. 18.

He went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in his heart,--the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet learnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still small voice asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" that however we may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is nowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

THOMAS HUGHES.

So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all. Seven thousand at least in Israel had been braced and encouraged by his example, and silently blessed him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In God's world, for those who are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in vain.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

April 6

_In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul_.--PS. xciv. 19.

_Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed_.--2 COR. iv. 8, 9.

Discouraged in the work of life, Disheartened by its load, Shamed by its failures or its fears, I sink beside the road;-- But let me only think of Thee, And then new heart springs up in me.

S. LONGFELLOW.

Discouragement is an inclination to give up all attempts after the devout life, in consequence of the difficulties by which it is beset, and our already numerous failures in it. We lose heart; and partly in ill-temper, partly in real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we first grow querulous and peevish with God, and then relax in our efforts to mortify ourselves and to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, and will lead us into numberless venial sins the first half-hour we give way to it.

F. W. FABER.

Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious of our faults that we are the most wicked; on the contrary, we are less so. We see by a brighter light; and let us remember, for our consolation, that we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

April 7

_That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God_.--ROM. xii. 2.

Thou knowest what is best; And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know? In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest; Beneath that will my humble head shall bow.

T. C. UPHAM.

To those who are His, all things are not only easy to be borne, but even to be gladly chosen. Their will is united to that will which moves heaven and earth, which gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of the world. It is a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that know so little must needs speak little. To be at the centre of that motion, where is everlasting rest; to be sheltered in the peace of God; even now to dwell in heaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."

H. E. MANNING.

Study to follow His will in all, to have no will but His. This is thy duty, and thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt and vex thyself; but by complying all is gained--sweet peace. It is the very secret, the mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His will, to be disposed of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought.

R. LEIGHTON.

April 8

_The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want_.--PS. xxiii. 1.

_They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing_.--PS. xxxiv. 10.

God, who the universe doth hold In his fold, Is my shepherd kind and heedful, Is my shepherd, and doth keep Me, his sheep, Still supplied with all things needful.

F. Davison.

_Who_ is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing,--HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought, you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?

H. W. Smith.

April 9

_Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation_.--MATT. xxvi. 41.

I want a sober mind, A self-renouncing will, That tramples down and casts behind The baits of pleasing ill; A spirit still prepared, And armed with jealous care, Forever standing on its guard, And watching unto prayer.

C. WESLEY.

When you say, "Lead us not into temptation," you must in good earnest mean to avoid in your daily conduct those temptations which you have already suffered from. When you say, "Deliver us from evil," you must mean to struggle against that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious of, and which you pray to be forgiven. To watch and pray are surely in our power, and by these means we are certain of getting strength. You feel your weakness; you fear to be overcome by temptation; then keep out of the way of it. This is watching. Avoid society which is likely to mislead you; flee from the very shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; better be a little too strict than a little too easy,--it is the safer side. Abstain from reading books which are dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they arise.

J. H. NEWMAN.

April 10

_Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men_.--COL. iii. 22, 23.

Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for Thee.

G. HERBERT.

There is no action so slight nor so mean but it may be done to a great purpose, and ennobled thereby; nor is any purpose so great but that slight actions may help it, and may be so done as to help it much, most especially, that chief of all purposes--the pleasing of God.

J. RUSKIN.

Every duty, even the least duty, involves the whole principle of obedience. And little duties make the will _dutiful_, that is, supple and prompt to obey. Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty is full of probation and of discipline; it trains the will, heart, and conscience. We need not to be prophets or apostles. The commonest life may be full of perfection. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of heaven.

H. E. MANNING.

April 11

_Wherefore, beloved... be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless_,--2 PETER iii. 14.

His conscience knows no secret stings, While grace and joy combine To form a life whose holy springs Are hidden and divine.

I. WATTS

Even the smallest discontent of conscience may render turbid the whole temper of the mind; but only produce the effort that restores its peace, and over the whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread; doubt and irritability pass as clouds away; the withered sympathies of earth and home open their leaves and live; and through the clearest blue the deep is seen of the heaven where God resides.

J. MARTINEAU.

The state of mind which is described as meekness, or quietness of spirit, is characterized in a high degree by inward harmony. There is not, as formerly, that inward jarring of thought contending with thought, and conscience asserting rights which it could not maintain.

T. C. UPHAM.

April 12

_Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you_.--2 COR. xiii. 11.

_He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen_?--I JOHN iv. 20.

Lord! subdue our selfish will; Each to each our tempers suit, By Thy modulating skill, Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

C. WESLEY.

It requires far more of the constraining love of Christ to love our cousins and neighbors as members of the heavenly family, than to feel the heart warm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole Church is one thing; to love--that is, to delight in the graces and veil the defects--of the person who misunderstood me and opposed my plans yesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sensitive feelings, or whose natural faults are precisely those from which my natural character most revolts, is quite another.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

April 13

_In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us_.--ROM. viii. 37.

Thus my soul before her God Lieth still, nor speaketh more, Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong, That once smote her to the core; Like a silent ocean, bright With her God's great praise and light.

J. J. WINCKLER.

My mind is forever closed against embarrassment and perplexity, against uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety; my heart against grief and desire. Calm and unmoved, I look down on all things, for I know that I cannot explain a single event, nor comprehend its connection with that which alone concerns me. In His world all things prosper; this satisfies me, and in this belief I stand fast as a rock. My breast is steeled against annoyance on account of personal offences and vexations, or exultation in personal merit; for my whole personality has disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose of my being.

J. G. FICHTE.

April 14

_All thing are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's_.--I COR. iii. 21, 22, 23.

_As having nothing, and yet possessing all things_,--2 COR. vi. 10.

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of heaven in each we see: Some softening gleam of love and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care.

J. KEBLE.

Out of love and hatred, out of earnings, and borrowings, and lendings, and losses; out of sickness and pain, out of wooing and worshipping; out of travelling, and voting, and watching, and caring; out of disgrace and contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws. Let him not slur his lesson; let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor exactly, bravely, and cheerfully, to solve the problem of that life which is set before _him_. And this, by punctual action, and not by promises or dreams. Believing, as in God, in the presence and favor of the grandest influences, let him deserve that favor, and learn how to receive and use it, by fidelity also to the lower observances.

R. W. EMERSON.

April 15

_We know that all things work together for good to them that love God_.--ROM. viii. 28.

_As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good_.--GEN. 1. 20.

Ill that He blesses is our good, And unblest good is ill; And all is right that seems most wrong, If it be His sweet Will.

F. W. FABER.

To those who know themselves, all things work together for good, and all things seem to be, as they are to them, good. The goods which God gives seem "very good," and God Himself in them, because they know that they deserve them not. The evils which God allows and overrules seem also "very good," because they see in them His loving hand, put forth to heal them of what shuts out God from the soul. They love God intensely, in that He is so good to them in each, and every, the least good, because it is more than they deserve: how much more in the greatest! They love God for every, and each, the very greatest of what seem evils, knowing them to be, from His love, real goods. For He by whom "all the hairs of our head are numbered," and who "knoweth whereof we are made," directs everything which befalls us in life, in perfect wisdom and love, to the well-being of our souls.

E. B. PUSEY.

April 16

_The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it_.--I THESS. v. 23, 24.

Be still, my soul!--the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide,-- In every change He faithful will remain.

HYMNS FROM THE LAND OF LUTHER.

It was no relief from temporal evils that the Apostle promised. No; the mercy of God might send them to the stake, or the lions; it was still His mercy, if it but kept them "unspotted from the world." It might expose them to insult, calumny, and wrong; they received it still as mercy, if it "established them in every good word and work." O brethren! how many of _you_ are content with _such_ faithfulness as this on the part of your heavenly Father? Is this, indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers?

WM. ARCHER BUTLER.

The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken sunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.

A. W. THOROLD.

April 17

_Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust_.--PS. xl. 4.

_That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life_.--I TIM. ii. 2.

Just to let thy Father do What He will; Just to know that He is true, And be still; Just to trust Him, this is all! Then the day will surely be Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, Bright and blessed, calm and free.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

Every morning compose your soul for a tranquil day, and all through it be careful often to recall your resolution, and bring yourself back to it, so to say. If something discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled; but having discovered the fact, humble yourself gently before God, and try to bring your mind into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, "Well, I have made a false step; now I must go more carefully and watchfully." Do this each time, however frequently you fall. When you are at peace use it profitably, making constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the most trifling things. Above all, do not be discouraged; be patient; wait; strive to attain a calm, gentle spirit.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

April 18