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

remember me.

T. HAWEIS.

We need to know that our sins are forgiven. And how shall we know this? By feeling that we have peace with God,--by feeling that we are able so to trust in the divine compassion and infinite tenderness of our Father, as to arise and go to Him, whenever we commit sin, and say at once to Him, "Father, I have sinned; forgive me." To know that we are forgiven, it is only necessary to look at our Father's love till it sinks into our heart, to open our soul to Him till He shall pour His love into it; to wait on Him till we find peace, till our conscience no longer torments us, till the weight of responsibility ceases to be an oppressive burden to us, till we can feel that our sins, great as they are, cannot keep us away from our Heavenly Father.

J. F. CLARKE.

July 31

_I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee_.--ISA. xliv. 22.

_He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea_.--MICAH vii. 19.

If my shut eyes should dare their lids to part, I know how they must quail beneath the blaze Of Thy Love's greatness. No; I dare not raise One prayer, to look aloft, lest it should gaze On such forgiveness as would break my heart.

H. S. SUTTON.

O Lord God gracious and merciful, give us, I entreat Thee, a humble trust in Thy mercy, and suffer not our heart to fail us. Though our sins be seven, though our sins be seventy times seven, though our sins be more in number than the hairs of our head, yet give us grace in loving penitence to cast ourselves down into the depth of Thy compassion. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord. Amen.

C. G. ROSSETTI.

August 1

_Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools_.--ECCLES. vii. 9.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath--EPH. iv. 26.

Quench thou the fires of hate and strife, The wasting fever of the heart; From perils guard our feeble life, And to our souls Thy peace impart.

J. H. NEWMAN, Tr. from Latin.

When thou art offended or annoyed by others, suffer not thy thoughts to dwell thereon, or on anything relating to them. For example, "that they ought not so to have treated thee; who they are, or whom they think themselves to be;" or the like; for all this is fuel and kindling of wrath, anger, and hatred.

L. SCUPOLI.

Struggle diligently against your impatience, and strive to be amiable and gentle, in season and out of season, towards every one, however much they may vex and annoy you, and be sure God will bless your efforts.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

August 2

_Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation_.--ISA. xii. 2.

Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?--MARK. iv. 40.

Still heavy is thy heart? Still sink thy spirits down? Cast off the weight, let fear depart, And every care be gone.

P. GERHARDT.

Go on in all simplicity; do not be so anxious to win a quiet mind, and it will be all the quieter. Do not examine so closely into the progress of your soul. Do not crave so much to be perfect, but let your spiritual life be formed by your duties, and by the actions which are called forth by circumstances. Do not take overmuch thought for to-morrow. God, who has led you safely on so far, will lead you on to the end. Be altogether at rest in the loving holy confidence which you ought to have in His heavenly Providence.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

August 3

Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance.--PS. xxi. 6.

MY heart for gladness springs, It cannot more be sad, For very joy it laughs and sings, Sees nought but sunshine glad.

P. GERHARDT.

A new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky; the heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day has gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music and gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is certain that till we see GOD in the world--GOD in the bright and boundless universe--we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were translated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom, shining over this world and all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and glorious they are.

ORVILLE DEWEY.

When I look like this into the blue sky, it seems so deep, so peaceful, so full of a mysterious tenderness, that I could lie for centuries and wait for the dawning of the face of God out of the awful loving-kindness.

G. MACDONALD.

August 4

_He satisfieth the longing soul, and the hungry soul He filleth with good_.--PS. cvii. 9 (R. V.).

That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.--EPH. iii. 19.

Enough that He who made can fill the soul Here and hereafter till its deeps o'erflow; Enough that love and tenderness control Our fate where'er in joy or doubt we go.

ANON.

O God, the Life of the Faithful, the Bliss of the righteous, mercifully receive the prayers of Thy suppliants, that the souls which thirst for Thy promises may evermore be filled from Thy abundance. Amen.

GELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 490.

God makes every common thing serve, if thou wilt, to enlarge that capacity of bliss in His love. Not a prayer, not an act of faithfulness in your calling, not a self-denying or kind word or deed, done out of love for Himself; not a weariness or painfulness endured patiently; not a duty performed; not a temptation resisted; but it enlarges the whole soul for the endless capacity of the love of God.

E. B. PUSEY.

August 5

_O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto Him that hath called you to the heavenly kingdom_.--2 ESDRAS ii. 37.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.--2 COR. ix. 15.

O Giver of each perfect gift! This day our daily bread supply; While from the Spirit's tranquil depths We drink unfailing draughts of joy.

LYRA CATHOLICA.

The best way for a man rightly to enjoy himself, is to maintain a universal, ready, and cheerful compliance with the divine and uncreated Will in all things; as knowing that nothing can issue and flow forth from the fountain of goodness but that which is good; and therefore a good man is never offended with any piece of divine dispensation, nor hath he any reluctancy against that Will that dictates and determines all things by an eternal rule of goodness; as knowing that there is an unbounded and almighty Love that, without any disdain or envy, freely communicates itself to everything He made; that always enfolds those in His everlasting arms who are made partakers of His own image, perpetually nourishing and cherishing them with the fresh and vital influences of His grace.

DR. JOHN SMITH.

August 6

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.--PS. ciii. 2.

Wiser it were to welcome and make ours Whate'er of good, though small, the Present brings,-- Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers, With a child's pure delight in little things.

R. C. TRENCH.

Into all our lives, in many simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this element of joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly brighten our days, and fill our eyes with light. He drops this added sweetness into His children's cup, and makes it to run over. The success we were not counting on, the blessing we were not trying after, the strain of music, in the midst of drudgery, the beautiful morning picture or sunset glory thrown in as we pass to or from our daily business, the unsought word of encouragement or expression of sympathy, the sentence that meant for us more than the writer or speaker thought,--these and a hundred others that every one's experience can supply are instances of what I mean. You may call it accident or chance--it often is; you may call it human goodness--it often is; but always, always call it God's love, for that is always in it. These are the overflowing riches of His grace, these are His free gifts.

S. LONGFELLOW.

August 7

_If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth_.--MARK ix. 23.

Nothing shall be impossible unto you.--MATT. xvii. 20.

So nigh is grandeur to our dust, So near is God to man, When Duty whispers low, Thou must, The youth replies, I can.

R. W. EMERSON.

Know that "impossible," where truth and mercy and the everlasting voice of nature order, has no place in the brave man's dictionary. That when all men have said "Impossible," and tumbled noisily elsewhither, and thou alone art left, then first thy time and possibility have come. It is for thee now: do thou that, and ask no man's counsel, but thy own only and God's. Brother, thou hast possibility in thee for much: the possibility of writing on the eternal skies the record of a heroic life.

T. CARLYLE.

In the moral world there is nothing impossible, if we bring a thorough will to it. Man can do everything with himself; but he must not attempt to do too much with others.

WM. VON HUMBOLDT.

August 8

_Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage_.--GAL. v. i.

I believed, and therefore have I spoken.--2 COR. iv. 13.

They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three.

J. R. LOWELL.

The real corrupters of society may be, not the corrupt, but those who have held back the righteous leaven, the salt that has lost its savor, the innocent who have not even the moral courage to show what they think of the effrontery of impurity,--the serious, who yet timidly succumb before some loud-voiced scoffer,--the heart trembling all over with religious sensibilities that yet suffers itself through false shame to be beaten down into outward and practical acquiescence by some rude and worldly nature.

J. H. THOM.

August 9

The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.--LUKE xviii. 27.

_Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence_.--PS. xciv. 17.

When obstacles and trials seem Like prison-walls to be, I do the little I can do, And leave the rest to Thee.

F. W. FABER.

The mind never