Part 10
We thank Thee, O God, for the many influences past and present which have had a share in the moulding of our lives and characters toward a larger usefulness and a more perfect realization of the Christian ideal. We thank Thee for the mother's love which watched over us through years of helplessness; for the father's love which made provision for our wants, for the human sympathy which has everywhere blessed and strengthened us and made life brighter; for the friends of youth and age who have helped us to better things. Grant, O God, that a memory of these blessings may abide with us so long as life may last, and that as we have been helped by others to walk the way of life we may not forget to extend a helping hand to those who may need our comfort and our sympathy.
ORIN EDSON CROOKER.
June 10
_It is not to taste sweet things, but to do noble and true things, and vindicate himself under God's heaven, as a God-made man, that the poorest son of Adam dimly longs. This dim longing for what is noble and true, the still small voice which calls to one imperatively in moments of temptation, is the safeguard which, if hearkened to, not only protects one in severe trials of manliness and womanliness, but also incites to the formation of a fine character, without which all acquisitions, all graces and accomplishments, all talents and all learning, are but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal._
THOMAS CARLYLE.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in grateful recognition of Thy love and watchful care, we thank Thee for the repose of the night and the promise of the day. Our desire is to do Thy will, and we ask for the guidance and inspiration of Thy spirit. Enable us to perform faithfully all the work that Thou hast given us to do. Grant us a sufficiency of Thy grace to treat all our fellowmen as children of Thine, and when night comes may we have the blessed assurance that through the experiences of this day we have become a little more like Thine own glorious self in love and holiness. We ask it in the name of Jesus, our example, and Saviour. Amen.
WARREN S. PERKINS.
June 11
_Now it is June, and the secret is told; Flashed from the buttercup's glory of gold; Hummed in the bumblebee's gladness, and sung New from each bough where a bird's nest is swung; Breathed from the clover-beds, when the winds pass; Chirped in small psalms, through the aisles of the grass._
HENRY JAMES, SR.
Dear Father, in the morning hour of this new day, we thank Thee for the glorious revelation of Thyself in the open Book of Nature. May we love the beautiful and therein love Thee, with a true and abiding affection. Grant unto us the understanding that it is only as we have the spirit of the beautiful in our lives that we can appreciate the beautiful without us. So may we value this life, which is from Thee, as a means of attaining a larger usefulness and for realizing that goodness which is ever heavenly. In simply trying to be nobler, more unselfish, like unto Christ, we pray, that we may learn how good is life. Amen.
THOMAS EDWARD POTTERTON.
June 12
_Methinks I love all common things, The common air, the common flower, The dear, kind, common thought that springs From hearts that have no other dower, No other wealth, no other power, Save love; and will not that repay For all else fortune tears away?_
BRYAN WALLER PROCTER.
We thank God for the beauty of the world. We thank God that it is good to be alive. We thank God for the joy that joins us to Thy world in gladness, and makes it seem to be the open book of Thy graciousness and tenderness and compassion. We thank Thee also for the ministry of those days that were not bright, but that were full of comfort, even in their darkness, into which God came shrouded, only to reveal Himself more clearly as the light. We thank Thee for the intervening by the hand of love and tenderness that is human, so that our best nature was called out for love's sake, and all the lower forces of our lives led in the leash of that sweet attraction. We thank God for everything for which our life is better, and pray Thee to help us to use Thy mercies to turn them into strength, not the strength of praise alone, but the strength of service also. Amen.
THOMAS R. SLICER.
June 13
_A creed is a rod, And a crown is of night; But this thing is God, To be man with thy might, To grow straight in the strength of thy spirit, and live out thy life as the light._
ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.
_Life is fuller and sweeter for every fulness and sweetness that we take knowledge of. And to him that hath, cannot help being given from everything._
MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.
Infinite Love and Beauty, who stirrest in the tiniest seed that breaks its earthly shell to greet the light and warmth of thy beneficence and round its life in blade and flower and ripened fruit,--awake in us, we pray, that we may burst the casements of our dead selves and live to bear the fruits of completed lives. Be love alone our creed and service our crown; and in the sweetness and light of these twin ministers draw Thou us on, until having taken full knowledge of the fulness and sweetness of our Lord the Christ, we shall have measured in our spiritual stature, His perfect manliness and strength. Thus shall we have indeed and to us shall be given from everything. Amen.
ALBERT C. WHITE.
June 14
_He fails who climbs to power and place Up the pathway of disgrace. He fails not who makes truth his cause, Nor bends to win the crowd's applause. He fails not, he who stakes his all Upon the right and dares to fall. What though the living bless or blame, For him the long success of fame!_
RICHARD WATSON GILDER.
Our Heavenly Father, help us when we fail to see and know the truth and its blessed influence for good. Help us to combat bravely the evil in the world and to look to Thee for encouragement and success. Help us, if we fail, to regain our footing and to reach the higher because of the effort which Thy love prompts. We gratefully accept the power which Thy wisdom gives and thank Thee for the opportunity to use its strength. Be Thou our guide and we shall fear no failure, nor overestimate the worth of success. So shall we "rejoice in the Lord always,"--in failure because of Thy help and in success because of Thine approval. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
WILLIAM E. GIBBS.
June 15
_A singer sang a song of tears, And the great world heard and wept For the song of the sorrows of fleeting years, And the hopes which the dead past kept: And souls in anguish their burdens bore, And the world was sadder than ever before._
_A singer sang a song of cheer, And the great world listened and smiled, For he sang of the love of a Father dear And the trust of a little child; And souls that before had forgotten to pray, Looked up and went singing along the way._
EMMA C. DOWD.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, our trust is evermore in Thee, and we would keep that trust as a song within our hearts, which may cheer and bless and strengthen us. When the night is dark and the day is dreary may that song be with us, and when cares oppress and sorrows meet us, may our prayers still rise to Thee, for Thou art the God of our lives. Let not the day's discouragements depress us, nor its failures find us weak or helpless, nor its trials leave a stain upon our souls. But because we have Thy song of love within our hearts may we march to heavenly music, and ever go upon our way rejoicing. Amen.
PAUL REVERE FROTHINGHAM.
June 16
_It is only the sincerity of human feeling that abides. As for a thought, we know not, it may be deceptive; but the love, wherewith we have loved it, will surely return to our soul; nor can a single drop of its clearness or strength be abstracted by error. Of that perfect ideal that each of us strives to build up in himself, the sum total of all our thoughts will help only to model the outline; but the elements that go to construct it, and keep it alive, are the purified passion, unselfishness, loyalty, wherein these thoughts have had being._
MAETERLINCK.
O God, our Heavenly Father, help us to take up the cares of this day with an unselfish heart, and in loyalty to what is right and good. Keep us in right relation to those with whom our lot is cast, in sympathy with the unanxious joy of the world and with the deeper life which is its source. We desire to enter into the thought and the love of the most hopeful souls, that, in all the needful pauses of the day, we may find cheer, incentive, and the ampler rest: through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
CHARLES H. LEONARD.
June 17
_"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?" "Yes, to the very end!" "Will the day's journey take the whole long day?" "From morn to night, my friend!"_
_"But is there for the night a resting-place?" "A roof for all when the dark hours begin." "May not the darkness hide it from my face?" "You cannot miss that inn."_
_"Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?" "Those who have gone before." "Then must I knock or call when just in sight?" "They will not keep you standing at that door."_
_"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?" "Of labor you shall find the sum." "Will there be beds for me and all who seek?" "Yea,--beds for all who come!"_
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this new day. May it be an open door to faithful service. Open our eyes that we may see all vexations, distresses, and toil as angels in disguise sent to strengthen and fulfil us, to prepare us for larger blessings at our journey's end. As the blue sky of Thy loving kindness is broader and more enduring than the clouds that sometimes hide it, so teach us to trust Thine unfailing love that overarches and outlasts all weariness and pain. When life and strength fail us here, may we find them transformed and glorious in the city of God hereafter. Be Thou our shield and our reward now and forever. Amen.
JOHN M. WILSON.
June 18
_Those homelier wildflowers, which we call weeds; yellow japanned buttercups and star-disked dandelions, lying in the grass, like sparks that have leaped from the kindling sun of summer; the profuse daisy-like flower which whitens the fields, to the great disgust of liberal shepherds, yet seems fair to loving eyes, with its button-like mound of gold set round with milk-white rays; the tall-stemmed succory, setting its pale blue flowers aflame one after another; the red and white clovers; the broad, flat leaves of the plantain,--"the white man's foot," as the Indians called it;--those common growths which fling themselves to be crushed under our feet and our wheels, making themselves so cheap in this perpetual martyrdom that we forget, each of them is a ray of the divine beauty._
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
Our Heavenly Father, however poor and mean and commonplace our lives may seem to be, in our better moments we think of ourselves as Thy children. We may have failed sometimes but we shall not utterly fail. In Thy sight, nothing is common or worthless. No life shall be cast as rubbish to the void. However commonplace our tasks may seem, let us feel ourselves in partnership with God, and go forth to the duties of the day with high hope and sense of dignity. So shalt Thou make even our little lives of some real service to the world. We pray to Thee in the spirit of Him, who though the humblest of all, was yet Master of all. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
June 19
_There's a real grace of character in forgetting the things which disturb the harmony of life._
HAMILTON W. MABIE.
Touch your lips with gladness and go singing on your way, Smiles will strangely lighten every duty; Just a little word of cheer may span a sky of gray With hope's own heaven-tinted bow of beauty. Wear a pleasant face wherein shall shine a joyful heart, As shines the sun, the happy fields adorning; To every care-beclouded life some ray of light impart, And touch your lips with gladness every morning.
NIXON WATERMAN.
O Thou who art from everlasting to everlasting, Our God and Father, we flee unto Thee as the One who is able to save us from all foes within and without. We confess our weakness and our many grievous faults, and beseech Thee to touch us by Thy Spirit, that with penitent and lowly hearts we may seek Thee as our everlasting Friend and Helper. Be patient yet a while with our shortcomings and frowardness. Suffer us yet a little that Thine infinite grace and compassion may arouse us from our spiritual slumber unto the glorious life of obedience and love. In this new day we would be made to feel Thy presence and the light and joy and peace, which Thou dost promise to all who diligently seek Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
CLARENCE E. RICE.
June 20
_Now is the high tide of the year, And whatever of life hath ebbed away Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer, Into every bare inlet and creek and bay; Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it, We are happy now because God wills it._
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! early in the morning we approach unto Thee. The whole round of creation is burdened with the exuberance of Thy life, and everywhere is hallowed ground. We come with unshod feet. The sun, mighty minister of Thy great goodness, flooding the world with light and piercing all things with his fiery arrows, calls back to life the sleeping earth, and assures us that we are partakers of Thy light and Thy love and Thy life. O most glorious God! may these Thy mercies, fresh every morning, be with us through the day to strengthen us to do Thy will, we ask in the name of Him who came that we may have life and have it abundantly. Amen.
FRANK W. COLLIER.
June 21
_Man hath much need of courage; and need to brace His spiritual nerve in solitude; Self-trusting, self-sustained, and self-imbued; Seeking God in his own heart's secret place. To perfect self, and in that self embrace The triune essence of truth, beauty, and good; This is fulfilment, this beatitude Throned high above base fears and hopes more base. What shall it profit us, if, gaining all The privilege of priest-made paradise, We lose therewith our self which is the soul? And wherefore should we shrink from even the fall, If haply we should fail with steadfast eyes Fixed only on so bright, so pure a goal?_
JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS.
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the gift of a new day, for the tasks which it brings, and for the strength with which we rise to its requirements. Help us, through all this day, to remember Thee. Thou art our strength, our guide, our inspiration. Fill us with the courage born of faith. Let us feel that, seeking to do right, we shall be moved and aided by an unseen Power. In all our experiences this day, help us to speak the truth, to be loyal to friendship, to be steadfast in principle, to fight the good fight and to keep the faith. Bless our endeavors to give heart and hope to other souls; and grant them the presence of Thy loving spirit. Amen.
JOHN CLARENCE LEE.
June 22
_Let a man start out at breakneck speed in the morning, pushing and driving and hurrying as if it were a matter of life and death to accomplish a given task before noon, and he will generally end by working himself into a fever of anxiety and harassing care before night, and the man who, under any pretext whatsoever, whether for the sake of wealth or learning or pleasure, has pursued this mad, rushing, whirling method of life for fifteen or twenty years, will find himself thoroughly disqualified for the normal enjoyment of life thenceforward to the end of his days._
GEORGE L. PERIN.
Most gracious God! Thou who hast sustained us through the night watches, and who now openest to us the day, with its promise of good and opportunity for service, we still depend upon that heavenly faithfulness which never fails. We look to Thee for the quickening of our best powers. We would be laborers together with Thee to-day, not as driven to irksome tasks, but as honored with a welcome privilege. Whether we plant or water may we do it faithfully, and then trust Thee for the desired increase. May it please Thee to quiet our anxieties, to lay to rest our unworthy fears, and to assure us of Thine over-ruling providence; and thus through all our toiling may we enjoy large measures of the peace that passeth understanding. Amen.
JAMES EDWARD WRIGHT.
June 23
_I do not say you can make yourself merry and happy when you are in a physical condition which is contrary to such mental condition, but by practice and effort you can learn to withdraw from it, refusing to allow your judgments and actions to be ruled by it. "What does that matter?" you will learn to say. "It is enough for me to know that the sun does shine, and that this is only a weary fog that is round about me for a moment. I shall come out into the light beyond presently." This is faith,--faith in God, who is Light._
GEORGE MACDONALD.
Our Father, residing in the light incomprehensible and who art seeing and providing all good for Thine immortal household, when mid investing clouds we shall hail Thy presence, transforming weakness into perfect strength and sighs and groans into joy and swelling songs, above all the many rightful subjects of Christian petition, we pray that Thou wilt always press us near to Thee to feel Thy loving heart-beats and dwell in the light in which is no darkness at all. We pray not to be spared any of our full part of the burdens needful to this day, but to be given the measure of grace to maintain unfaltering steps. Behold with compassion the errors that befall us as we, too, compassionate others. Amen.
JACOB STRAUB.
June 24
_We are all perhaps familiar with the story of the little housemaid, who, when she was asked why she thought she had become a Christian, replied, after a little hesitation, "Because I sweep under the mats." A very poor reason at first sight, and only significant from the fact of the master-motive underlying the fact itself. A child's reasoning--but did not quaint old Herbert employ the same fine logic when he sang:_
_"Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws. Makes that and the action fine!"_
WILLIAM MOODIE.
Dear Lord of Life and Light, at the dawn of another day we rise to thank Thee for Thy watchful care, imparting strength and vitality during the closed hours of the night. Thy gift of eternal life is ours by Thy creatorship and love, and we would pray that in no way during this coming day shall we dishonor our birthright by evil thought or action. Help us to aspire to hold fast and develop Thy holy characteristics, normal to us and made active by our wills. We thank Thee for the goal revealed to us as our destiny, the spirit displayed by our Master, Jesus Christ, and like Him may we lean on Thee daily for the strengthening of our faith and the maturing of our plans. Amen.
CHARLES E. LUND.
June 25
_They are tired of what is old, We will give it voices new; For the half hath not been told Of the beautiful and true._
GEORGE MACDONALD.
_The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's, Is not to fancy what were fair in life Provided it could be--but finding first What may be, than find how to make it fair Up to our means, a very different thing._
ROBERT BROWNING.
Thou Infinite Heart! our hearts go out after Thee, not for past, not for future, not for what was, though dear, not for what may be, though in vision precious,--not these the burden of our prayer. Our hearts crave peace, comfort with what is. May we confide in Thee so utterly that the old pain is eased, the anxious foreboding is dispelled, self-will merged in divine will, self-direction yielding to divine leading. Lo! our prayer is answered in the making and we are helped. Amen.
STANFORD MITCHELL.
June 26
_Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole, we may not understand, but we are here to play it, and now is our time. This we know, it is a part of action, not of whining. It is a part of love, not cynicism. It is for us to express love in terms of human helpfulness. This we know, for we have learned from sad experience that any other course of life leads toward weakness and misery._
DAVID STARR JORDAN.
Our Father, Author alike of the morning light and Guardian through the darkness and shadow of the night, grant us the right spirit as we go forth to the unknown experiences of this day. We would not look eagerly for our own comfort and happiness, but would find them as Thy free gift while we are employed in giving comfort and happiness to others. Illuminate our lives with happy thoughts, cheerful words and blessed hopes, that we may go forth with no purpose but to do Thy will, and seeking no reward more glorious, than Thine approval whispered into loving and attentive hearts, in Thy name. Amen.
LEWIS G. WILSON.
June 27
_A Persian fable says: "One day A wanderer found a lump of clay, So redolent of sweet perfume Its odors scented all the room. "What art thou?" was his quick demand; "Art thou some gem from Samarcand, Or spikenard in this rude disguise, Or other costly merchandise?" "Nay, I am but a lump of clay." "Then whence this wondrous perfume--say?" "Friend, if the secret I disclose, I have been dwelling with the rose," Sweet parable! and will not those Who love to dwell with Sharon's Rose, Distil sweet odors all around, Though low and mean themselves are found? Dear Lord, abide with us, that we May draw our perfume fresh from thee._
ANONYMOUS.
Our Father, which art in heaven,--we thank Thee for the memory of those who lived in Thy spirit and labored in Thy love. The fragrance of their lives abides with us. We thank Thee for the prophets of great hopes,--for those who have seen the invisible, and have searched patiently for the city of their God. We bless those who by their pure hearts and unselfish lives have revealed unto us our greater selves. Help us to learn of them the way of life. Help us to live in such thoughts and deeds as made them truly great. Keep our hearts so pure to-day, our vision of the Master life so clear, that our path, before and after us, shall be as the light of day. Amen.
FREDERICK W. BETTS.
June 28
_Tell you what I like the best; 'Long about knee-deep in June, 'Bout the time the strawberries melts On the vine,--some afternoon Like to jes' git out and rest, And not work at nothing else._
_Orchard's where I'd ruther be-- Needn't fence it in for me! Jes' the whole sky overhead, And the whole airth underneath._
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
Help us, O Thou who art the Lord of life, that we may this morning praise Thee for the beauty of the world and for the joyful privilege of wandering in the green fields and by the sparkling brooks, and of resting tired body and weary limb beneath the sweet orchard shade, gazing with gladdened eyes at the blue canopy above, all forgetful of the toil and din of the far off city. O may our hearts this day be in tune with nature and in harmony with Thyself; and as we contemplate Thy works this and every day may our hearts go out in loving and practical sympathy toward those whose lives are spent within the narrow confines of sunless courts. Hear us for the Saviour's sake. Amen.
FRANCIS W. BRETT.
June 29