Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 11

G. MACDONALD.

_Cast thy burdens upon the Lord_,--hand it over, heave it upon Him,--_and He shall sustain thee_; shall bear both, if thou trust Him with both, both thee and thy burden: _He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved_.

ROBERT LEIGHTON.

March 2

_But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices G.o.d is well pleased_.--HEB. xiii. 16.

_For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another_.--I JOHN iii. 11.

Be useful where thou livest, that they may Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still.

...Find out men's wants and will, And meet them there. All worldly joys go less To the one joy of doing kindnesses.

G. HERBERT.

Let the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words, sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness,--these cost very little, but they are priceless in their value. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.

M. A. KELTY.

March 3

_I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments_.--PS. cxix. 60.

_Ye know not what shall be on the morrow_.--JAMES iv. 14.

Never delay To do the duty which the hour brings, Whether it be in great or smaller things; For who doth know What he shall do the coming day?

ANON.

It is quite impossible that an idle, floating spirit can ever look up with clear eye to G.o.d; spreading its miserable anarchy before the symmetry of the creative Mind; in the midst of a disorderly being, that has neither centre nor circ.u.mference, kneeling beneath the glorious sky, that everywhere has both; and for a life that is _all_ failure, turning to the Lord of the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, that "not one faileth." The heavens, with their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no sadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the slattern in their prayers.

J. MARTINEAU.

March 4

_But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of G.o.d, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace_.--WISDOM OF SOLOMON iii. 1-3.

But souls that of His own good life partake, He loves as His own self; dear as His eye They are to Him: He 'll never them forsake: When they shall die, then G.o.d Himself shall die; They live, they live in blest eternity.

HENRY MORE.

Though every good man is not so logically subtile as to be able by fit mediums to demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in a higher light: his soul, being purged and enlightened by true sanct.i.ty, is more capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in conjunction with G.o.d. It knows that G.o.d will never forsake His own life which He hath quickened in it; He will never deny those ardent desires of a blissful fruition of Himself, which the lively sense of His own goodness hath excited within it: those breathings and gaspings after an eternal partic.i.p.ation of Him are but the energy of His own breath within us; if He had had any mind to destroy it, He would never have shown it such things as He hath done.

DR. JOHN SMITH.

March 5

_And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure_.--I JOHN iii. 3.

Now, Lord, what wait I for?

On Thee alone My hope is all rested,-- Lord, seal me Thine own!

Only Thine own to be, Only to live to Thee.

Thine, with each day begun, Thine, with each set of sun, Thine, till my work is done.

ANNA WARNER.

Now, believe me, G.o.d hides some ideal in every human soul. At some time in our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life finds its n.o.blest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our best. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, or mother. Here is G.o.d,--G.o.d standing silently at the door all day long,--G.o.d whispering to the soul, that to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short of that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.

ROBERT COLLYER.

March 6

_The shadow of a great rock in a weary land_.--ISA. x.x.xii. 2.

_In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength_.--ISA. x.x.x. 15.

O Shadow in a sultry land!

We gather to Thy breast, Whose love, enfolding like the night, Brings quietude and rest, Glimpse of the fairer life to be, In foretaste here possessed.

C. M. PACKARD.

Strive to see G.o.d in all things without exception, and-acquiesce in His will with absolute submission. Do everything for G.o.d, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance, or by the overflowing of your heart towards Him. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to G.o.d, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to G.o.d, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

March 7