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

the wisdom or goodness of God.

WM. LAW.

October 8

_Ye shall not go out in haste, for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward_.--ISA. lii. 12. (R. V.).

He that believeth shall not make haste.--ISA. xxviii. 16.

Holy Spirit, Peace divine! Still this restless heart of mine; Speak to calm this tossing sea, Stayed in Thy tranquillity.

S. LONGFELLOW.

In whatever you are called upon to do, endeavor to maintain a calm, collected, and prayerful state of mind. Self-recollection is of great importance. "It is good for a man to quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." He who is in what may be called a spiritual hurry, or rather who runs without having evidence of being spiritually sent, makes haste to no purpose.

T. C. UPHAM.

There is great fret and worry in always running after work; it is not good intellectually or spiritually.

ANNIE KEARY.

Whenever we are outwardly excited we should cease to act; but whenever we have a message from the spirit within, we should execute it with calmness. A fine day may excite one to act, but it is much better that we act from the calm spirit in any day, be the outward what it may.

J. P. GREAVES.

October 9

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.--JOSH. xxiv. 15.

O happy house I and happy servitude! Where all alike one Master own; Where daily duty, in Thy strength pursued, Is never hard or toilsome known; Where each one serves Thee, meek and lowly, Whatever Thine appointment be, Till common tasks seem great and holy, When they are done as unto Thee.

C. J. P. SPITTA.

At Dudson there was no rushing after anything, either worldly or intellectual. It was a home of constant activity, issuing from, and retiring to, a centre of deep repose. There was an earnest application of excellent sense to the daily duties of life, to the minutest courtesy and kindness, as well as to the real interests of others. Everything great and everything little seemed done in the same spirit, and with the same degree of fidelity, because it was the will of God; and that which could not be traced to His will was not undertaken at all. Nothing at Dudson was esteemed too little to be cared for, and nothing too great to be undertaken at the command of God; and for this they daily exercised their mental and bodily powers on the things around them; knowing that our Lord thoroughly furnishes each of His soldiers for his work, and places before each the task he has to do.

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.

October 10

Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.--2 THESS. iii. 16.

_The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace_.--PS. xxix. 11.

In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy Abides, and when pain seems to have its will, Or we despair,--oh, may that peace rise slowly, Stronger than agony, and we be still.

S. JOHNSON.

But if a man ought and is willing to lie still under God's hand, he must and ought also to lie still under all things, whether they come from God, himself, or the creatures, nothing excepted. And he who would be obedient, resigned, and submissive to God, must and ought to be also resigned, obedient, and submissive to all things, in a spirit of yielding, and not of resistance; and take them in silence, resting on the hidden foundations of his soul, and having a secret inward patience, that enableth him to take all chances or crosses willingly; and, whatever befalleth, neither to call for nor desire any redress, or deliverance, or resistance, or revenge, but always in a loving, sincere humility to cry, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"

THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.

October 11

And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord.--NUM. xi. 1.

When thou hast thanked thy God For every blessing sent, What time will then remain For murmurs or lament?

R. C. TRENCH.

Let him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, yield himself up to suffer whatever God shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, according to his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmost that he can discern it, and never complain of his distresses but to God alone, with entire and humble resignation, praying that he may be strong to endure all his sufferings according to the will of God.

JOHN TAULER.

He who complains, or thinks he has a right to complain, because he is called in God's Providence to suffer, has something within him which needs to be taken away. A soul whose will is lost in God's will, can never do this. Sorrow may exist; but complaint never.

CATHERINE ADORNA.

October 12

Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.--EPH. v. 19.

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.--I PETER iii. 15.

There are in this loud stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime; Who carry music in their heart Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, Plying their daily task with busier feet, Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.

J. KEBLE.

Strive to carry thyself with a total resignation to the Divine Will, that God may do with thee and all thine according to His heavenly pleasure, relying on Him as on a kind and loving Father. Never recall that intention, and though thou be taken up about the affairs of the condition wherein God hath placed thee, yet thou wilt still be in prayer, in the presence of God, and in perpetual acts of resignation. "A just man leaves not off to pray unless he leaves off to be just." He always prays who always does well. The good desire is prayer, and if the desire be continued so also is the prayer.

M. DE MOLINOS.

October 13

_We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end_.--HEB. vi. 11.

The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.--2 THESS. iii. 3.

Long though my task may be, Cometh the end. God't is that helpeth me, His is the work, and He New strength will lend.

ANON.

Set yourself steadfastly to those duties which have the least attractive exterior; it matters not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in great or small matters. Be patient with yourself and your own failings; never be in a hurry, and do not yield to longings after that which is impossible to you. My dear sister, go on steadily and quietly; if our dear Lord means you to run, He will "strengthen your heart."

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

Always begin by doing that which costs me most, unless the easier duty is a pressing one. Examine, classify, and determine at night the work of the morrow; arrange things in the order of their importance, and act accordingly. Dread, above all things, bitterness and irritation. Never say, or indirectly recall anything to my advantage.

MADAME SWET CHINE,

October 14

_He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death_.--PROV. viii. 36.

_But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord_.--ROM. vi. 22, 23.

O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry! Give me Thyself, or else I die! Save me from death; from hell set free! Death, hell, are but the want of Thee. Quickened by Thy imparted flame, Saved when possessed of Thee, I am: My life, my only heaven Thou art; O might I feel Thee in my heart!

C. WESLEY.

Sin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure from goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with whom the happiness, and blessedness, and heaven of a soul doth consist. Avoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable.

SAMUEL SHAW.

"I could n't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God."

GEORGE ELIOT.

Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.

JOHN WESLEY.

October 15

_Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me_.--PS. xl. 12, 13.

Sin shall not have dominion over you.--ROM. vi. 14.

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight The darkness shineth as the light! Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee; Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!

G. TERSTEEGEN.

Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart to morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of friendliness,--this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for me so long,--this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I at last shall say, "My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force."

W. C. GANNETT.

October 16

_I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant_.--GEN. xxxii. 10.

Some murmur if their sky is clear, And wholly bright to view, If one small speck of dark appear In their great heaven of blue: And some with thankful love are filled, If but one streak of light, One ray of God's good mercy, gild The darkness of their night.

R. C. TRENCH.

Habitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the Divine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest cheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy, their blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them fresh and brilliant as the first day's morning and evening light to the dwellers in Paradise. With the happy it is their constant peace that seems to come by nature, and to be blunted by its commonness,--and their griefs to come from God, sharpened by their sacred origin; with the sufferer, it is his pain that appears to be a thing of course, and to require no explanation, while his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as a breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.

J. MARTINEAU.

October 17

_Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice_.--I SAM. XV. 22.

_Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day_--EX. xiv. 13.

The folded hands seem idle: If folded at His word, 'Tis a holy service, trust me, In obedience to the Lord.

ANNA SHIPTON.

It is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course.