Daily Strength for Daily Needs, Mary W. Tileston [good book recommendations .TXT] 📗
- Author: Mary W. Tileston
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wrath, pride, and irresignation attack yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than when you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly passions of other people.
WM. LAW.
June 22
_There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it_.--I COR. x. 13, 14.
Not so, not so, no load of woe Need bring despairing frown; For while we bear it, we can bear, Past that, we lay it down.
SARAH WILLIAMS.
Everything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed by nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If then, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it. But, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not complain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 23
_Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God_.--PS. xlii. 11.
Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed, Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast? Turn thou to Him in every pain, Whom never suppliant sought in vain; Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day, Thy hope, when joy has passed away.
H. F. LYTE.
Beware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as you are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and say, "Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide, my pilot;" and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed the toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the tempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be disconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes produced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest child, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the loving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
June 24
Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.--MATT. xi. 26.
Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, Or too regretful; Be still; What God hath ordered must be right, Then find in it thine own delight, My will.
P. FLEMMING.
If we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate our lot less by what it is, than by what it is not; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind to its possibilities; and, comparing it only with imaginary lives, shall indulge in flattering dreams of what we should do, if we had but power; and give, if we had but wealth; and be, if we had no temptations. We shall be forever querulously pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses for our unloving temper and unfruitful life; and fancying ourselves injured beings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence that loves us, and chafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves unto God, and sincerely accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall count up its contents, and disregard its omissions; and be it as feeble as a cripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall find in it resources of good surpassing our best economy, and sacred claims that may keep awake our highest will.
J. MARTINEAU.
June 25
My times are in Thy hand.--PS. xxxi. 15.
Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed.--JER. li. 29.
I am so glad! It is such rest to know That Thou hast ordered and appointed all, And wilt yet order and appoint my lot. For though so much I cannot understand, And would not choose, has been, and yet may be, Thou choosest, Thou performest, THOU, my Lord. This is enough for me.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
"We mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose our own lot; we must wait to be guided. We are led on, like the little children, by a way that we know not. It is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the sake of finding a greater blessing to our own souls; as if we could choose for ourselves where we shall find the fulness of the Divine Presence, instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in loving obedience."
GEORGE ELIOT.
Everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy present condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 26
_And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses_.--MARK xi. 25, 26.
'Tis not enough to weep my sins, 'Tis but one step to heaven:-- When I am kind to others,--then I know myself forgiven.
F. W. FABER.
Every relation to mankind, of hate or scorn or neglect, is full of vexation and torment. There is nothing to do with men but to love them; to contemplate their virtues with admiration, their faults with pity and forbearance, and their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the ingenuity of your mind to devise some other thing, but you never can find it. To hate your adversary will not help you; to kill him will not help you; nothing within the compass of the universe can help you, but to love him. But let that love flow out upon all around you, and what could harm you? How many a knot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in simple and confiding truth of heart! How many a solitary place would be made glad if love were there; and how many a dark dwelling would be filled with light!
ORVILLE DEWEY.
June 27
The kingdom of God is within you.--LUKE xvii. 21.
Oh, take this heart that I would give Forever to be all Thine own; I to myself no more would live,-- Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone.
G. TERSTEEGEN.
Herein is the work assigned to the individual soul, to have life in itself, to make our sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of God within ourselves, for a true and full reign of our Father's abounding spirit,--thankful, unutterably thankful, if with the place and the companionship assigned to us we are permitted to build an earthly tabernacle of grace and goodness and holy love, a home like a temple; but, should this be denied us, resolved for our own souls that God shall reign there, for ourselves at least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or impious distrust, break with our own wills, our filial connection with our Father,--that whether joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity and foulness of circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, whether in dear fellowship or alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God may have in us a realm where His will is law, and where obedience and submission spring, not from calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from communion of spirit, ever humble aspiration, and ever loving trust.
J. H. THOM.
June 28
The Lord preserveth the simple.--PS. cxvi. 6.
Thy home is with the humble, Lord! The simple are Thy rest; Thy lodging is in childlike hearts; Thou makest there Thy nest.
F. W. FABER.
This deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet cares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom; this is true simplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence produces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. The soul which knows no self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly candid; it goes straight forward without hindrance; its path opens daily more and more to "perfect day," in proportion as its self-renunciation and its self-forgetfulness increase; and its peace, amid whatever troubles beset it, will be as boundless as the depths of the sea.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
June 29
_Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off_.--I KINGS xx. 11.
Put on the whole armor of God.--EPH. vi. 11.
Was I not girded for the battle-field? Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword? Behold the fragments of my broken shield, And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord!
ANON.
Oh, be at least able to say in that day,--Lord, I am no hero. I have been careless, cowardly, sometimes all but mutinous. Punishment I have deserved, I deny it not. But a traitor I have never been; a deserter I have never been. I have tried to fight on Thy side in Thy battle against evil. I have tried to do the duty which lay nearest me; and to leave whatever Thou didst commit to my charge a little better than I found it. I have not been good, but I have at least tried to be good. Take the will for the deed, good Lord. Strike not my unworthy name off the roll-call of the noble and victorious army, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and let me, too, be found written in the Book of Life; even though I stand the lowest and last upon its list. Amen.
C. KINGSLEY.
June 30
_And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever_.--ISA. xxxii. 17.
The heart that ministers for Thee In Thy own work will rest; And the subject spirit of a child Can serve Thy children best.
A. L. WARING.
It matters not where or what we are, so we be His servants. They are happy who have a wide field and great strength to fulfil His missions of compassion; and they, too, are blessed who, in sheltered homes and narrow ways of duty, wait upon Him in lowly services of love. Wise or simple, gifted or slender in knowledge, in the world's gaze or in hidden paths, high or low, encompassed by affections and joys of home, or lonely and content in God alone, what matters, so that they bear the seal of the living God? Blessed company, unknown to each other, unknowing even themselves!
H. E. MANNING.
July 1
In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord.--EX. xvi. 7.
Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope.--ROM. xii. 11, 12.
Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new. You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you; A hope for me and a hope for you.
WM. LAW.
June 22
_There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it_.--I COR. x. 13, 14.
Not so, not so, no load of woe Need bring despairing frown; For while we bear it, we can bear, Past that, we lay it down.
SARAH WILLIAMS.
Everything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed by nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If then, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it. But, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not complain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 23
_Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God_.--PS. xlii. 11.
Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed, Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast? Turn thou to Him in every pain, Whom never suppliant sought in vain; Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day, Thy hope, when joy has passed away.
H. F. LYTE.
Beware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as you are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and say, "Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide, my pilot;" and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed the toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the tempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be disconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes produced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest child, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the loving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.
June 24
Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.--MATT. xi. 26.
Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, Or too regretful; Be still; What God hath ordered must be right, Then find in it thine own delight, My will.
P. FLEMMING.
If we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate our lot less by what it is, than by what it is not; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind to its possibilities; and, comparing it only with imaginary lives, shall indulge in flattering dreams of what we should do, if we had but power; and give, if we had but wealth; and be, if we had no temptations. We shall be forever querulously pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses for our unloving temper and unfruitful life; and fancying ourselves injured beings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence that loves us, and chafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves unto God, and sincerely accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall count up its contents, and disregard its omissions; and be it as feeble as a cripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall find in it resources of good surpassing our best economy, and sacred claims that may keep awake our highest will.
J. MARTINEAU.
June 25
My times are in Thy hand.--PS. xxxi. 15.
Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed.--JER. li. 29.
I am so glad! It is such rest to know That Thou hast ordered and appointed all, And wilt yet order and appoint my lot. For though so much I cannot understand, And would not choose, has been, and yet may be, Thou choosest, Thou performest, THOU, my Lord. This is enough for me.
F. R. HAVERGAL.
"We mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose our own lot; we must wait to be guided. We are led on, like the little children, by a way that we know not. It is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the sake of finding a greater blessing to our own souls; as if we could choose for ourselves where we shall find the fulness of the Divine Presence, instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in loving obedience."
GEORGE ELIOT.
Everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy present condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee.
MARCUS ANTONINUS.
June 26
_And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses_.--MARK xi. 25, 26.
'Tis not enough to weep my sins, 'Tis but one step to heaven:-- When I am kind to others,--then I know myself forgiven.
F. W. FABER.
Every relation to mankind, of hate or scorn or neglect, is full of vexation and torment. There is nothing to do with men but to love them; to contemplate their virtues with admiration, their faults with pity and forbearance, and their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the ingenuity of your mind to devise some other thing, but you never can find it. To hate your adversary will not help you; to kill him will not help you; nothing within the compass of the universe can help you, but to love him. But let that love flow out upon all around you, and what could harm you? How many a knot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in simple and confiding truth of heart! How many a solitary place would be made glad if love were there; and how many a dark dwelling would be filled with light!
ORVILLE DEWEY.
June 27
The kingdom of God is within you.--LUKE xvii. 21.
Oh, take this heart that I would give Forever to be all Thine own; I to myself no more would live,-- Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone.
G. TERSTEEGEN.
Herein is the work assigned to the individual soul, to have life in itself, to make our sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of God within ourselves, for a true and full reign of our Father's abounding spirit,--thankful, unutterably thankful, if with the place and the companionship assigned to us we are permitted to build an earthly tabernacle of grace and goodness and holy love, a home like a temple; but, should this be denied us, resolved for our own souls that God shall reign there, for ourselves at least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or impious distrust, break with our own wills, our filial connection with our Father,--that whether joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity and foulness of circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, whether in dear fellowship or alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God may have in us a realm where His will is law, and where obedience and submission spring, not from calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from communion of spirit, ever humble aspiration, and ever loving trust.
J. H. THOM.
June 28
The Lord preserveth the simple.--PS. cxvi. 6.
Thy home is with the humble, Lord! The simple are Thy rest; Thy lodging is in childlike hearts; Thou makest there Thy nest.
F. W. FABER.
This deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet cares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom; this is true simplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence produces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. The soul which knows no self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly candid; it goes straight forward without hindrance; its path opens daily more and more to "perfect day," in proportion as its self-renunciation and its self-forgetfulness increase; and its peace, amid whatever troubles beset it, will be as boundless as the depths of the sea.
FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.
June 29
_Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off_.--I KINGS xx. 11.
Put on the whole armor of God.--EPH. vi. 11.
Was I not girded for the battle-field? Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword? Behold the fragments of my broken shield, And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord!
ANON.
Oh, be at least able to say in that day,--Lord, I am no hero. I have been careless, cowardly, sometimes all but mutinous. Punishment I have deserved, I deny it not. But a traitor I have never been; a deserter I have never been. I have tried to fight on Thy side in Thy battle against evil. I have tried to do the duty which lay nearest me; and to leave whatever Thou didst commit to my charge a little better than I found it. I have not been good, but I have at least tried to be good. Take the will for the deed, good Lord. Strike not my unworthy name off the roll-call of the noble and victorious army, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and let me, too, be found written in the Book of Life; even though I stand the lowest and last upon its list. Amen.
C. KINGSLEY.
June 30
_And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever_.--ISA. xxxii. 17.
The heart that ministers for Thee In Thy own work will rest; And the subject spirit of a child Can serve Thy children best.
A. L. WARING.
It matters not where or what we are, so we be His servants. They are happy who have a wide field and great strength to fulfil His missions of compassion; and they, too, are blessed who, in sheltered homes and narrow ways of duty, wait upon Him in lowly services of love. Wise or simple, gifted or slender in knowledge, in the world's gaze or in hidden paths, high or low, encompassed by affections and joys of home, or lonely and content in God alone, what matters, so that they bear the seal of the living God? Blessed company, unknown to each other, unknowing even themselves!
H. E. MANNING.
July 1
In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord.--EX. xvi. 7.
Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope.--ROM. xii. 11, 12.
Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new. You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you; A hope for me and a hope for you.
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