Daily Strength for Daily Needs, Mary W. Tileston [good book recommendations .TXT] 📗

to take up now, And many left behind; But present troubles move me not, Nor shake my quiet mind. And what may be to-morrow's cross I never seek to find; My Father says, "Leave that to me, And keep a quiet mind."

ANON.

Let us then think only of the present, and not even permit our minds to wander with curiosity into the future. This future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. It is exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to anticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for things which He may not destine for us. If such things should come to pass, He will give us light and strength according to the need. Why should we desire to meet difficulties prematurely, when we have neither strength nor light as yet provided for them? Let us give heed to the present, whose duties are pressing; it is fidelity to the present which prepares us for fidelity in the future.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Every hour comes with some little fagot of God's will fastened upon its back.

F. W. FABER.

July 12

_Be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ... for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee_.--DEUT. xxxi. 6.

The timid it concerns to ask their way, And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray, To make no step until the event is known, And ills to come as evils past bemoan. Not so the wise; no coward watch he keeps To spy what danger on his pathway creeps; Go where he will, the wise man is at home, His hearth the earth,--his hall the azure dome; Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road, By God's own light illumined and foreshowed.

R. W. EMERSON.

Though I sympathize, I do not share in the least the feeling of being disheartened and cast down. It is not things of this sort that depress me, or ever will. The contrary things, praise, openings, the feeling of the greatness of my work, and my inability in relation to it, these things oppress and cast me down; but little hindrances, and closing up of accustomed or expected avenues, and the presence of difficulties to be overcome,--I'm not going to be cast down by trifles such as these.

JAMES HINTON.

July 13

_And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought_.--ISA. lviii. 11.

Wherever He may guide me, No want shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, And nothing can I lack. His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim,-- He knows the way He taketh, And I will walk with Him.

A. L. WARING.

Abandon yourself to His care and guidance, as a sheep in the care of a shepherd, and trust Him utterly. No matter though you may seem to yourself to be in the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly or outwardly, and may think you will have to make a long journey before you can get into the green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that very place where you are into green pastures, for He has power to make the desert rejoice and blossom as a rose.

H. W. SMITH.

July 14

_Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind_.--ROM. xii. 2.

Father, let our faithful mind Rest, on Thee alone inclined; Every anxious thought repress, Keep our souls in perfect peace.

C. WESLEY.

Retirement from anxieties of every kind; entering into no disputes; avoiding all frivolous talk; and simplifying everything we engage in, whether in a way of doing or suffering; denying the, imagination its false activities, and the intellect its false searchings after what it cannot obtain,--these seem to be some of the steps that lead to obedience to the holy precept in our text.

JAMES P. GREAVES.

Retire inwardly; wait to feel somewhat of God's Spirit, discovering and drawing away from that which is contrary to His holy nature, and leading into that which is acceptable to Him. As the mind is joined to this, some true light and life is received.

I. PENINGTON.

Act up faithfully to your convictions; and when you have been unfaithful, bear with yourself, and resume always with calm simplicity your little task. Suppress, as much as you possibly can, all recurrence to yourself, and you will suppress much vanity. Accustom yourself to much calmness and an indifference to events.

MADAME GUYON.

July 15

_Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in_.--PS. xxiv. 9.

Ye are the temple of the living God.--2 COR. vi. 16.

Fling wide the portals of your heart, Make it a temple set apart From earthly use for Heaven's employ, Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy. So shall your Sovereign enter in, And new and nobler life begin.

G. WEISSEL.

Thou art to know that thy soul is the centre, habitation, and kingdom of God. That, therefore, to the end the sovereign King may rest on that throne of thy soul, thou oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet, and peaceable,--clean from guilt and defects; quiet from fears; and peaceable in temptations and tribulations. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine heart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that temple of God; and with a right and pure intention thou art to work, pray, obey, and suffer (without being in the least moved), whatever it pleases the Lord to send unto thee.

M. DE MOLINOS

July 16

_Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee_.--PS. xxxi. 19.

_I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me_.--PS. xiii. 6.

Thy calmness bends serene above My restlessness to still; Around me flows Thy quickening life, To nerve my faltering will; Thy presence fills my solitude; Thy providence turns all to good.

S. LONGFELLOW.

With a heart devoted to God and full of God, no longer seek Him in the heavens above or the earth beneath, or in the things under the earth, but recognize Him as the great fact of the universe, separate from no place or part, but revealed in all places and in all things and events, _moment by moment_. And as eternity alone will exhaust this momentary revelation, which has sometimes been called the ETERNAL Now, thou shalt thus find God ever present and ever new; and thy soul shall adore Him and feed upon Him in the things and events which each new moment brings; and thou shalt never be absent from Him, and He shall never be absent from thee.

T. C. UPHAM.

July 17

_For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us_.--ROM. viii. 18.

The power of an endless life.--HEB. vii. 16.

Believ'st thou in eternal things? Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart, Thou art not clay; thy soul hath wings, And what thou seest is but part. Make this thy med'cine for the smart Of every day's distress; be dumb, In each new loss thou truly art Tasting the power of things that come.

T. W. Parsons.

Every contradiction of our will, every little ailment, every petty disappointment, will, if we take it patiently, become a blessing. So, walking on earth, we may be in heaven; the ill-tempers of others, the slights and rudenesses of the world, ill-health, the daily accidents with which God has mercifully strewed our paths, instead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts abundantly.

E. B. PUSEY.

July 18

_A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another_.--JOHN xiii. 34.

_And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love, one toward another, and toward all men_.--I THESS. iii. 12.

Let love through all my conduct shine, An image fair, though faint, of Thine; Thus let me His disciple prove, Who came to manifest Thy love.

Simon Browne.

We should arrive at a fulness of love extending to the whole creation, a desire to impart, to pour out in full and copious streams the love and goodness we bear to all around us.

J. P. GREAVES.

Goodness and love mould the form into their own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love to shine forth from every part of the face. When this form of love is seen, it appears ineffably beautiful, and affects with delight the inmost life of the soul.

E. SWEDENBORG.

The soul within had so often lighted up her countenance with its own full happiness and joy, that something of a permanent radiance remained upon it.

SARAH W. STEPHEN.

July 19

_The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works_.--PS. cxlv. 9.

_For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills_.--PS. 1. 10.

Maker of earth and sea and sky, Creation's sovereign Lord and King, Who hung the starry worlds on high, And formed alike the sparrow's wing; Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care, And listen to their voiceless prayer.

ANON.

I believe where the love of God is verily perfected, and the true spirit of government watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards all creatures made subject to us will be experienced; and a care felt in us, that we do not lessen that sweetness of life in the animal creation, which the great Creator intends for them under our government. To say we love God as unseen, and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life, or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in itself.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it.

ROWLAND HILL.

July 20

_Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain_.--ISA. xlix. 4.

Because I spent the strength Thou gavest me In struggle which Thou never didst ordain, And have but dregs of life to offer Thee-- O Lord, I do repent.

SARAH WILLIAMS.

Mind, it is our best work that He wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I think He must prefer quality to quantity.

GEORGE MACDONALD.

If the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be. You have your natural limit of power as much as an engine,--ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain kind of handling.

GEORGE S. MERRIAM.

In your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace. It is not a good plan to be in haste to perform any action that it may be the sooner over. On the contrary, you should accustom yourself to do whatever you have to