Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 15

March 23

_Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest_.--3 JOHN 5.

_And this also we wish, even your perfection_.--2 COR. xiii. 9.

In all the little things of life, Thyself, Lord, may I see; In little and in great alike Reveal Thy love to me.

So shall my undivided life To Thee, my G.o.d, be given; And all this earthly course below Be one dear path to heaven.

H. BONAR.

In order to mould thee into entire conformity to His will, He must have thee pliable in His hands, and this pliability is more quickly reached by yielding in the little things than even by the greater. Thy one great desire is to follow Him fully; canst thou not say then a continual "yes" to all His sweet commands, whether small or great, and trust Him to lead thee by the shortest road to thy fullest blessedness?

H. W. SMITH.

With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of your condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise that do the business.

HENRY MORE.

March 24

_I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety_.--PS. iv. 8.

_He giveth His beloved sleep_.--PS. cxxvii. 2.

He guides our feet, He guards our way, His morning smiles bless all the day; He spreads the evening veil, and keeps The silent hours while Israel sleeps.

I. WATTS.

We sleep in peace in the arms of G.o.d, when we yield ourselves up to His providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; no more restless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the place we are in; for it is G.o.d who has put us there, and who holds us in His arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?

FRANcOIS DE LA MOTHE FeNELON.

One evening when Luther saw a little bird perched on a tree, to roost there for the night, he said, "This little bird has had its supper, and now it is getting ready to go to sleep here, quite secure and content, never troubling itself what its food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow.

Like David, it 'abides under the shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its little twig content, and lets G.o.d take care."

MARTIN LUTHER.

March 25

_I will hear what G.o.d the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people_.--PS. lx.x.xv. 8.

There is a voice, "a still, small voice" of love, Heard from above; But not amidst the din of earthly sounds, Which here confounds; By those withdrawn apart it best is heard, And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.

ANONYMOUS.

He speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to drown His voice. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." It is a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still, small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or pa.s.sions, or anxieties, or show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?

E. B. PUSEY.

March 26

_Are they not all ministering spirits_?--HEB. i. 14

May I reach That purest heaven, be to other souls The cup of strength in some great agony, Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, And in diffusion ever more intense!

So shall I join the choir invisible Whose music is the gladness of the world.

GEORGE ELIOT.

Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to whom we owe the most. Among the common people whom we know, it is not necessarily those who are busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever on the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage. It seems to me that there is rea.s.surance here for many of us who seem to have no chance for active usefulness. We can do nothing for our fellow-men. But still it is good to know that we can be something for them; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

March 27

_If we love one another, G.o.d dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us_.--I JOHN iv. 12.

_And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us_.--I JOHN iii. 24.

Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin; Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire, And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.

H. B. STOWE.

The Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It cannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be sympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot delight in the rect.i.tude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.

J. H. THOM.

March 28

_Giving thanks always for all things unto G.o.d_.--EPH. v. 20.

For blessings of the fruitful season, For work and rest, for friends and home, For the great gifts of thought and reason,-- To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.

Yes, and for weeping and for wailing, For bitter hail and blighting frost, For high hopes on the low earth trailing, For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.