Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 18

_The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want_.--PS. xxiii. 1.

_They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing_.--PS. x.x.xiv. 10.

G.o.d, who the universe doth hold In his fold, Is my shepherd kind and heedful, Is my shepherd, and doth keep Me, his sheep, Still supplied with all things needful.

F. Davison.

_Who_ is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord G.o.d of heaven and earth, the almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing,--HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought, you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?

H. W. Smith.

April 9

_Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation_.--MATT. xxvi. 41.

I want a sober mind, A self-renouncing will, That tramples down and casts behind The baits of pleasing ill; A spirit still prepared, And armed with jealous care, Forever standing on its guard, And watching unto prayer.

C. WESLEY.

When you say, "Lead us not into temptation," you must in good earnest mean to avoid in your daily conduct those temptations which you have already suffered from. When you say, "Deliver us from evil," you must mean to struggle against that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious of, and which you pray to be forgiven. To watch and pray are surely in our power, and by these means we are certain of getting strength. You feel your weakness; you fear to be overcome by temptation; then keep out of the way of it. This is watching. Avoid society which is likely to mislead you; flee from the very shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; better be a little too strict than a little too easy,--it is the safer side. Abstain from reading books which are dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they arise.

J. H. NEWMAN.

April 10

_Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing G.o.d. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men_.--COL. iii. 22, 23.

Teach me, my G.o.d and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for Thee.

G. HERBERT.

There is no action so slight nor so mean but it may be done to a great purpose, and enn.o.bled thereby; nor is any purpose so great but that slight actions may help it, and may be so done as to help it much, most especially, that chief of all purposes--the pleasing of G.o.d.

J. RUSKIN.

Every duty, even the least duty, involves the whole principle of obedience.

And little duties make the will _dutiful_, that is, supple and prompt to obey. Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty is full of probation and of discipline; it trains the will, heart, and conscience.

We need not to be prophets or apostles. The commonest life may be full of perfection. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of heaven.

H. E. MANNING.

April 11

_Wherefore, beloved... be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless_,--2 PETER iii. 14.

His conscience knows no secret stings, While grace and joy combine To form a life whose holy springs Are hidden and divine.

I. WATTS

Even the smallest discontent of conscience may render turbid the whole temper of the mind; but only produce the effort that restores its peace, and over the whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread; doubt and irritability pa.s.s as clouds away; the withered sympathies of earth and home open their leaves and live; and through the clearest blue the deep is seen of the heaven where G.o.d resides.

J. MARTINEAU.

The state of mind which is described as meekness, or quietness of spirit, is characterized in a high degree by inward harmony. There is not, as formerly, that inward jarring of thought contending with thought, and conscience a.s.serting rights which it could not maintain.

T. C. UPHAM.

April 12

_Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the G.o.d of love and peace shall be with you_.--2 COR. xiii. 11.

_He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love G.o.d whom he hath not seen_?--I JOHN iv. 20.

Lord! subdue our selfish will; Each to each our tempers suit, By Thy modulating skill, Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

C. WESLEY.

It requires far more of the constraining love of Christ to love our cousins and neighbors as members of the heavenly family, than to feel the heart warm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole Church is one thing; to love--that is, to delight in the graces and veil the defects--of the person who misunderstood me and opposed my plans yesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sensitive feelings, or whose natural faults are precisely those from which my natural character most revolts, is quite another.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

April 13

_In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us_.--ROM. viii. 37.

Thus my soul before her G.o.d Lieth still, nor speaketh more, Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong, That once smote her to the core; Like a silent ocean, bright With her G.o.d's great praise and light.

J. J. WINCKLER.

My mind is forever closed against embarra.s.sment and perplexity, against uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety; my heart against grief and desire. Calm and unmoved, I look down on all things, for I know that I cannot explain a single event, nor comprehend its connection with that which alone concerns me. In His world all things prosper; this satisfies me, and in this belief I stand fast as a rock. My breast is steeled against annoyance on account of personal offences and vexations, or exultation in personal merit; for my whole personality has disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose of my being.

J. G. FICHTE.