Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 26

May 21

_The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long_.--DEUT. x.x.xiii. 12.

Whate'er events betide, Thy will they all perform; Safe in Thy breast my head I hide, Nor fear the coming storm.

H. F. LYTE.

I have seemed to see a need of everything G.o.d gives me, and want nothing that He denies me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either in it, or after it, I find that I could not be without it. Whether it be taken from or not given me, sooner or later G.o.d quiets me in Himself without it. I cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the care and wisdom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you know, are, in a sense, hedged up with thorns, and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I distrust not my good G.o.d in the least, and live more quietly in the absence of all by faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.

JOSEPH ELIOT, 1664.

May 22

_He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty_.--PS. xci. I.

They who on the Lord rely, Safely dwell though danger's nigh; Lo! His sheltering wings are spread O'er each faithful servant's head.

When they wake, or when they sleep, Angel guards their vigils keep; Death and danger may be near, Faith and love have nought to fear.

HARRIET AUBER.

"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the case of all "who dwell in the secret place of the Most High." To them sorrows are not "evils," sicknesses are not "plagues;" the shadow of the Almighty extending far around those who abide under it, alters the character of all things which come within its influence.

ANON.

It is faith's work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of G.o.d.

S. RUTHERFORD.

MAY 23

_Be content with such things as ye have_.--HEB. xiii. 5.

_I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content_.--PHIL.

iv. 11 ( R. V.).

No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.

J. G. WHITTIER.

If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circ.u.mstances in which thou art not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. G.o.d Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is G.o.d's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."

E. B. PUSEY.

May 24

_Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby_.--HEB. xii. I1.

I cannot say, Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, I joy in these; But I can say That I had rather walk this rugged way, If Him it please.

S. G. BROWNING.

The particular annoyance which befell you this morning; the vexatious words which met your ear and "grieved" your spirit; the disappointment which was His appointment for to-day; the slight but hindering ailment; the presence of some one who is "a grief of mind" to you,--whatever this day seemeth not joyous, but grievous, is linked in "the good pleasure of His goodness" with a corresponding afterward of "peaceable fruit," the very seed from which, if you only do not choke it, this shall spring and ripen.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

May 25

_O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pa.s.s from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt_.--MATT. xxvi. 39.

O Lord my G.o.d, do Thou Thy holy will,-- I will lie still.

I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, And break the charm Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast, In perfect rest.

J. KEBLE.

Resignation to the will of G.o.d is the whole of piety; it includes in it all that is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of mind. Our resignation to the will of G.o.d may be said to be perfect, when our will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as our end, as being itself most just, and right, and good. And where is the impossibility of such an affection to what is just and right and good, such a loyalty of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail over all sinister indirect desires of our own?

JOSEPH BUTLER.

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of G.o.d.

F. W. FABER.

Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, child, in everything and everywhere; without a reserve, without a BUT, an IF, or a limit.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.