Thoughts for the Quiet Hour Part 7

A _station on the feet_ in front of the throne in _heaven_ is the effect of being often _on the knees_ before the throne on _earth_.--_Selected._

=March 28th.=

_G.o.d saw the light, that it was good: and G.o.d divided the light from the darkness. Gen. i. 4._

No sooner is there a good thing in the world than a _division is necessary_. Light and darkness have no communion; G.o.d has divided them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellows.h.i.+p with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord's work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever.

We should by our distinct separation from the world divide the light from the darkness. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in a.s.sociation, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world's first day.

O Lord Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for Thy light is the light of men.--_Spurgeon._

=March 29th.=

_The path of the just is as the s.h.i.+ning light, that s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov. iv.

18._

Have I begun this path of heavenly love and knowledge now? Am I progressing in it? Do I feel some dawnings of the heavenly light, earnests and antepasts of the full day of glory? Let all G.o.d's dealings serve to quicken me in my way. Let every affection it may please Him to send, be as the moving pillar-cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent onward, saying, "Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest." Let me be often standing now on faith's lofty eminences, looking for "the day of G.o.d"--the rising sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds.

Wondrous progression! How will all earth's learning, its boasted acquirements and eagle-eyed philosophy sink into the lispings of very infancy in comparison with this manhood of knowledge! Heaven will be the true "_Excelsior_," its song, "_a song of degrees_," Jesus leading His people from height to height of glory, and saying, as He said to Nathaniel, "_Thou shalt see GREATER things than these!_"--_Macduff._

=March 30th.=

_Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. Song of Sol. ii. 15. (R. V.)_

How numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises with the world; disobedience to the still, small voice in little things; little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty, and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!--_J. Hudson Taylor._

=March 31st.=

_The children of your Father which is in heaven. Matt.

v. 45._

The best name by which we can think of G.o.d is Father. It is a loving, deep, sweet, heart-touching name, for the name of father is in its nature full of inborn sweetness and comfort. Therefore, also, we must confess ourselves children of G.o.d, for by this name we deeply touch our G.o.d, since there is not a sweeter sound to the father than the voice of the child.--_Martin Luther._

[Ill.u.s.tration: APRIL]

=April 1st.=

_In the morning came the word of the Lord unto me.

Ezek. xii. 8._

A quiet hour spent alone with G.o.d at the beginning of the day is the best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. A brief season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and seeking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helps us to carry our religion into the business of the day. It brings joy and peace within the heart. And as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of the Lord, faithfully striving to do His will, we have a joyful trust that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our Father's hand is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our toils.--_Selected._

=April 2nd.=

_The Lord G.o.d formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 7._

And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds--dust and deity! It touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of G.o.d.

My soul, art thou living up to thy twofold origin? Art thou remembering thy double parentage, and therefore thy double duty? Thou hast a duty to thy G.o.d, for His breath is in thee; thou hast a duty to the earth, for out of it wast thou taken.--_George Matheson._

=April 3rd.=

_Always rejoicing. 2 Cor. vi. 10._

No Christian can ever know what is meant by those two little words, "always rejoicing," but the Christian who takes up his cross and follows Jesus.--_W. Hay Aitken._

=April 4th.=

_All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. Gen. xiii. 15._

G.o.d's promises are ever on the ascending scale. One leads up to another, fuller and more blessed than itself. In Mesopotamia G.o.d said, "I will show thee the land." At Bethel, "This is the land." Here, "I will give thee all the land, and children innumerable as the grains of sand." And we shall find even these eclipsed.

It is thus that G.o.d allures us to saintliness. Not giving anything till we have dared to act--that He may test us. Not giving everything at first--that He may not overwhelm us. And always keeping in hand an infinite reserve of blessing. Oh, the unexplored remainders of G.o.d!

Whoever saw His last star?--_F. B. Meyer._

=April 5th.=

_That night they caught nothing. John xxi. 3._

G.o.d may let the sinful world succeed in their forbidden schemes, but, blessed be His name, He does not allow His chosen ones to prosper in the path which leads them out of His holy will! He has a storm to send after every Jonah, and an empty net for every unbelieving and inconsistent Simon.--_A. B. Simpson._

=April 6th.=

_They made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Song of Sol. i. 6._

Our attention is here drawn to a danger which is preeminently one of this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in service _to the neglect of personal communion_; but such neglect will not only lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the highest service.--_J. Hudson Taylor._

=April 7th.=

_We came unto the land whither thou sentest us . . . we saw the children of Anak there. Num. xiii. 27, 28._

It is when we are in the way of _duty_ that we find _giants_. It was when Israel was going _forward_ that the giants appeared. When they turned back into the wilderness they found none.--_Selected._

=April 8th.=