Chapter 7

We are ready to praise when all shines fair; but when life is overcast, when all things seem to be against us, when we are in fear for some cherished happiness, or in the depths of sorrow, or in the solitude of a life which has no visible support, or in a season of sickness, and with the shadow of death approaching,--then to praise God; then to say, This fear, loneliness, affliction, pain, and trembling awe are as sure tokens of love, as life, health, joy, and the gifts of home: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;" on either side it is He, and all is love alike; "blessed be the name of the Lord,"--this is the true sacrifice of praise. What can come amiss to a soul which is so in accord with God? What can make so much as one jarring tone in all its harmony? In all the changes of this fitful life, it ever dwells in praise.

H. E. MANNING.

May 10

_The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate_.--PS. xxxiv. 22.

_Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him_.--JOB xiii. 15.

I praise Thee while my days go on; I love Thee while my days go on: Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost, With emptied arms and treasure lost, I thank Thee while my days go on.

E. B. BROWNING.

The sickness of the last week was fine medicine; pain disintegrated the spirit, or became spiritual. I rose,--I felt that I had given to God more perhaps than an angel could,--had promised Him in youth that to be a blot on this fair world, at His command, would be acceptable. Constantly offer myself to continue the obscurest 'and loneliest thing ever heard of, with one proviso,--His agency. Yes, love Thee, and all Thou dost, while Thou sheddest frost and darkness on every path of mine.

MARY MOODY EMERSON.

May 11

_Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil_?--JOB ii. 10.

_Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word_.--PS. cxix. 65.

Whatsoe'er our lot may be, Calmly in this thought we'll rest,-- Could we see as Thou dost see, We should choose it as the best.

WM. GASKELL.

It is a proverbial saying, that every one makes his own destiny; and this is usually interpreted, that every one, by his wise or unwise conduct, prepares good or evil for himself: but we may also understand it, that whatever it be that he receives from the hand of Providence, he may so accommodate himself to it, that he will find his lot good for him, however much may seem to others to be wanting.

WM. VON HUMBOLDT.

Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil; there is generous battle-hope in place of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has become a kind of good.

T. CARLYLE.

May 12

_Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:... ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life_.--REV. ii. 10.

Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid, On Him who thee and all things made Do thou all calmly rest; Whate'er may come, where'er we go, Our Father in the heavens must know In all things what is best.

PAUL FLEMMING.

Guide me, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that in all things that shall happen, I may have an evenness and tranquillity of spirit; that my soul may be wholly resigned to Thy divinest will and pleasure, never murmuring at Thy gentle chastisements and fatherly correction. Amen.

JEREMY TAYLOR.

Thou art never at any time nearer to God than when under tribulation; which He permits for the purification and beautifying of thy soul.

M. DE MOLINOS.

Prize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles; and let faith and patience have their perfect work in them.

I. PENINGTON.

May 13

_I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil_.--JOHN xvii. 15.

In busy mart and crowded street, No less than in the still retreat, Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless, With all a Father's tenderness.

I. WILLIAMS.

Only the individual conscience, and He who is greater than the conscience, can tell where worldliness prevails. Each heart must answer for itself, and at its own risk. That our souls are committed to our own keeping, at our own peril, in a world so mixed as this, is the last reason we should slumber over the charge, or betray the trust. If only that outlet to the Infinite is kept open, the inner bond with eternal life preserved, while not one movement of this world's business is interfered with, nor one pulse-beat of its happiness repressed, with all natural associations dear and cherished, with all human sympathies fresh and warm, we shall yet be near to the kingdom of heaven, within the order of the Kosmos of God--in the world, but not of the world--not taken out of it, but kept from its evil.

J. H. THOM.

May 14

_And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God_?--MICAH vi. 8.

_Put on therefore... kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering_.--COL. iii. 12.

Plant in us an humble mind, Patient, pitiful, and kind; Meek and lowly let us be, Full of goodness, full of Thee.

C. WESLEY.

There is no true and constant gentleness without humility; while we are so fond of ourselves, we are easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded that nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often think of our own infirmities, and we shall become indulgent towards those of others.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of others, of what sort soever they be; for that thyself also hast many failings which must be borne with by others. If thou canst not make thyself such an one as thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have another in all things to thy liking?

THOMAS À KEMPIS.

May 15

_My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest_.--EX. xxxiii. 14.

_Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore_.--PS. xvi. 11.

Thy presence fills my mind with peace, Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile, Bids cares and sad forebodings cease, Makes all things smile.

CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.

How shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves wholly to Him. If you give yourself by halves, you cannot find full rest; there will ever be a lurking disquiet in that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints have tasted this rest, and "counted themselves happy in that they endured." A countless host of God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it under the daily burden of a weary life,--dull, commonplace, painful, or desolate. All that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once fairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a fitting rule of life, and a steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest coming over you.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

May 16

_Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might_.--EPH. vi. 10.

_No man can serve two masters_.--MATT. vi. 24.

Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach In many a fearful place, Where the poor timid heir of God Lies blindly on his face; Lies languishing for grace divine That he shall never see Till he go forward at Thy sign, And trust himself to Thee.

A. L. WARING.

Reservations lie latent in the mind concerning some unhallowed sentiments or habits in the present, some possibly impending temptations in the future; and thus do we cheat ourselves of inward and outward joys together. We give up many an indulgence for conscience' sake, but stop short at that point of entire faithfulness wherein conscience could reward us. If we would but give ourselves wholly to God,--give up, for the present and the future, every act, and, above all, every thought and every feeling, to be all purified to the uttermost, and rendered the best, noblest, holiest we can conceive,--then would sacrifice bear with it a peace rendering itself, I truly believe, far easier than before.

F. P. COBBE.

May 17

_Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do_.--I THESS. v. 11.

_Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself_.--MATT. xix. 19.

So others shall Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, And God's grace fructify through thee to all. The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, And share its dewdrop with another near.

E. B. BROWNING.

What is meant by our neighbor we cannot doubt; it is every one with whom we are brought into contact. First of all, he is literally our neighbor who is next to us in our own family and household; husband to wife, wife to husband, parent to child, brother to sister, master to servant, servant to master. Then it is he who is close to us in our own neighborhood, in our own town, in our own parish, in our own street. With these all true charity begins. To love and be kind to these is the very beginning of all true religion. But, besides these, as our Lord teaches, it is every one who is thrown across our path by the changes and chances of life; he or she, whosoever it be, whom we have any means of helping,--the unfortunate stranger whom we may meet in travelling, the deserted friend whom no one else cares to look after.

A. P. STANLEY.

May 18

_We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren_.--I JOHN iii. 14.

_He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love_.--I JOHN iv. 8.

Mutual love the token be, Lord, that we belong to Thee; Love, Thine image, love impart; Stamp it on our face and heart; Only love to us be given; Lord, we ask no other heaven.

C WESLEY.

Oh, how many times we can most of us remember when we would gladly have made any compromise with our consciences, would gladly have made the most costly sacrifices to God, if He would only have excused us from this duty of loving, of which our nature seemed utterly incapable. It is far easier to feel kindly, to act kindly, toward those with whom we are seldom brought into contact, whose tempers and prejudices do not rub against ours, whose interests do not clash with ours, than to keep up an habitual, steady, self-sacrificing love towards those whose weaknesses and faults are always forcing themselves upon us, and are stirring up our own. A man may pass good muster as a philanthropist who makes but a poor master to his servants, or father to his children.

F. D. MAURICE.

May 19

_Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him_.--PS. xxxvii. 7.

_Trust in Him at all times_.--PS. lxii. 8.

Dost thou ask when comes His hour? Then, when it shall aid thee best. Trust His faithfulness and power, Trust in Him, and quiet rest.

ANON.

I had found [communion with God] to consist, not only in the silencing of the outward man, but in the silencing also of every thought, and in the concentration of the soul and all its powers into a simple, quiet watching and waiting for the food which its heavenly Father might see fit either to give or to withhold. In no case could it be sent empty away; for, if comfort, light, or joy were withheld, the act of humble waiting at the gate of heavenly wisdom could not but work patience in it, and thus render it, by humility and obedience, more "meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light," and also more blessed in itself.

M. A. KELTY.

"REST IN THE LORD; WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM." In Hebrew, "be silent to God, and let Him mould thee." Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right shape.

MARTIN LUTHER.

May 20

_To be spiritually minded is life and peace_.--ROM. viii. 6.

Stilled now be every anxious care; See God's great goodness everywhere; Leave all to Him in perfect rest: He will do all things for the best.

FROM THE GERMAN.

We should all endeavor and labor for a calmer spirit, that we may the better serve God in praying to Him and praising Him; and serve one another in love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good; that we may make our passage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the wing. So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good ground, so much we live, and are, as it were, in heaven.

R. SIBBES.

Possess yourself as much as you possibly can in peace; not by any effort, but by letting all things fall to the ground which trouble or excite you. This is no work, but is, as it were, a setting down a fluid to settle that has become turbid through agitation.

MADAME GUYON.

May 21

_The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 12.

Whate'er events betide, Thy will they all perform; Safe in Thy breast my head I hide, Nor fear the coming storm.

H. F. LYTE.

I have seemed to see a need of everything God gives me, and want nothing that He denies me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either in it, or after it, I find that I could not be without it. Whether it be taken from or not given me, sooner or later God quiets me in Himself without it. I cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the care and wisdom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you know, are, in a sense, hedged up with thorns, and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I distrust not my good God in the least, and live more quietly in the absence of all by faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.

JOSEPH ELIOT, 1664.

May 22

_He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty_.--PS. xci. I.

They who on the Lord rely, Safely dwell though danger's nigh; Lo! His sheltering wings are spread O'er each faithful servant's head. When they wake, or when they sleep, Angel guards their vigils keep; Death and danger may be near, Faith and love have nought to fear.

HARRIET AUBER.

"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the case of all "who dwell in the secret place of the Most High." To them sorrows are not "evils," sicknesses are not "plagues;" the shadow of the Almighty extending far around those who abide under it, alters the character of all things which come within its influence.

ANON.

It is faith's work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of God.

S. RUTHERFORD.

MAY 23

_Be content with such things as ye have_.--HEB. xiii. 5.

_I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content_.--PHIL. iv. 11 ( R. V.).

No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.

J. G. WHITTIER.

If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."

E. B. PUSEY.

May 24

_Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby_.--HEB. xii. I1.

I cannot say, Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, I joy in these; But I can say That I had rather walk this rugged way, If Him it please.

S. G. BROWNING.

The particular annoyance which befell you this morning; the vexatious words which met your ear and "grieved" your spirit; the disappointment which was His appointment for to-day; the slight but hindering ailment; the presence of some one who is "a grief of mind" to you,--whatever this day seemeth not joyous, but grievous, is linked in "the good pleasure of His goodness" with a corresponding afterward of "peaceable fruit," the very seed from which, if you only do not choke it, this shall spring and ripen.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

May 25

_O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt_.--MATT. xxvi. 39.

O Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will,-- I will lie still. I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, And break the charm Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast, In perfect rest.

J. KEBLE.

Resignation to the will of God is the whole of piety; it includes in it all that is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of mind. Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be perfect, when our will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as our end, as being itself most just, and right, and good. And where is the impossibility of such an affection to what is just and right and good, such a loyalty of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail over all sinister indirect desires of our own?

JOSEPH BUTLER.

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.

F. W. FABER.

Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, child, in everything and everywhere; without a reserve, without a BUT, an IF, or a limit.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

May 26

_The Lord beareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against Him_.--EX. xvi. 8.

Without murmur, uncomplaining In His hand, Leave whatever things thou canst not Understand.

K. R. HAGENBACH.

One great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting--never to complain. Each complaint drags us down a degree, in our upward course. If you would discern in whom God's spirit dwells, watch that person, and notice whether you ever hear him murmur.

GOLD DUST.

When we wish things to be otherwise than they are, we lose sight of the great practical parts of the life of godliness. We wish, and wish--when, if we have done all that lies on us, we should fall quietly into the hands of God. Such wishing cuts the very sinews of our privileges and consolations. You are leaving me for a time; and you say that you wish you could leave me better, or leave me with some assistance: but, if it is right for you to go, it is right for me to meet what lies on me, without a wish that I had less to meet, or were better able to meet it.

R. CECIL.

May 27

_He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much_.--LUKE xvi, 10.

_The Lord preserveth the faithful_.--PS. xxxi. 23

The trivial round, the common task, Would furnish all we ought to ask; Room to deny ourselves; a road To bring us, daily, nearer God.

J. KEBLE.

Exactness in little duties is a wonderful source of cheerfulness.

F. W. FABER.

The unremitting retention of simple and high sentiments in obscure duties is hardening the character to that temper which will work with honor, if need be, in the tumult or on the scaffold.

R. W. EMERSON.

We are too fond of our own will. We want to be doing what we fancy mighty things; but the great point is, to do small things, when called to them, in a right spirit.

R. CECIL.

It is not on great occasions only that we are required to be faithful to the will of God; occasions constantly occur, and we should be surprised to perceive how much our spiritual advancement depends on small obediences.

MADAME SWETCHINE.

May 28

_Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness_.--COL. I. 11.

God doth not need Either man's works or His own gifts; who best Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait.

J. MILTON.

We cannot always be doing a great work, but we can always be doing something that belongs to our condition. To be silent, to suffer, to pray when we cannot act, is acceptable to God. A disappointment, a contradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and endured as in His presence, is worth more than a long prayer; and we do not lose time if we bear its loss with gentleness and patience, provided the loss was inevitable, and was not caused by our own fault.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

May 29

_Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises_.--HEB. vi. 12.

Where now with pain thou treadest, trod The whitest of the saints of God! To show thee where their feet were set, The light which led them shineth yet.

J. G. WHITTIER.

LET us learn from this communion of saints to live in hope. Those who are now at rest were once like ourselves. They were once weak, faulty, sinful; they had their burdens and hindrances, their slumbering and weariness, their failures and their falls. But now they have overcome. Their life was once homely and common-place. Their day ran out as ours. Morning and noon and night came and went to them as to us. Their life, too, was as lonely and sad as yours. Little fretful circumstances and frequent disturbing changes wasted away their hours as yours. There is nothing in your life that was not in theirs; there was nothing in theirs but may be also in your own. They have overcome, each one, and one by one; each in his turn, when the day came, and God called him to the trial. And so shall you likewise.

H. E. MANNING.

May 30

_And thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble courage, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his nation_.--2 MAC. vi. 31.

_Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field_.--JUDGES v. 18.

Though Love repine, and Reason chafe, There came a voice without reply,-- 'Tis man's perdition to be safe, When for the truth he ought to die.

R. W. EMERSON.

Some say that the age of chivalry is past. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth, or a man or woman left to say, "I will redress that wrong, or spend my life in the attempt." The age of chivalry is never past, so long as we have faith enough to say, "God will help me to redress that wrong; or, if not me, He will help those that come after me, for His eternal Will is to overcome evil with good."

C. KINGSLEY.

Thus man is made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A poor, tender, painful body, he can run into flame or bullets or pestilence, with duty for his guide.

R. W. EMERSON.

May 31

_Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: ... let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee_.--PS. v. 11.

_He maketh me to lie down in green pastures_.--PS. xxiii. 2.

I can hear these violets chorus To the sky's benediction above; And we all are together lying On the bosom of Infinite Love.

Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature! Oh, the light that is not of day! Why seek it afar forever, When it cannot be lifted away?

W. C. GANNETT.

What inexpressible joy for me, to look up through the apple-blossoms and the fluttering leaves, and to see God's love there; to listen to the thrush that has built his nest among them, and to feel God's love, who cares for the birds, in every note that swells his little throat; to look beyond to the bright blue depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of blessing,--the roof of the house of my Father; that if clouds pass over it, it is the unchangeable light they veil; that, even when the day itself passes, I shall see that the night itself only unveils new worlds of light; and to know that if I could unwrap fold after fold of God's universe, I should only unfold more and more blessing, and see deeper and deeper into the love which is at the heart of all.