Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 47

Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou shall choose.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

If a man may attain thereunto, to be unto G.o.d as his hand is to a man, let him be therewith content, and not seek further. That is to say, let him strive and wrestle with all his might to obey G.o.d and His commandments so thoroughly at all times, and in all things, that in him there be nothing, spiritual or natural, which opposeth G.o.d; and that his whole soul and body, with all their members, may stand ready and willing for that to which G.o.d hath created them; as ready and willing as his hand is to a man, which is so wholly in his power, that in the twinkling of an eye, he moveth and turneth it whither he will. And when we find it otherwise with us, we must give our whole diligence to amend our state.

THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.

When the mind thinks nothing, when the soul covets nothing, and the body acteth nothing that is contrary to the will of G.o.d, this is perfect sanctification.

ANONYMOUS, _in an old Bible_, 1599.

September 11

_Thy kingdom come_.--MATT. vi. 10.

The kingdom of established peace, Which can no more remove; The perfect powers of G.o.dliness, The omnipotence of love.

C. WESLEY.

My child, thou mayest not measure out thine offering unto me by what others have done or left undone; but be it thine to seek out, even to the last moment of thine earthly life, what is the utmost height of pure devotion to which I have called _thine own self_. Remember that, if thou fall short of this, each time thou utterest in prayer the words, "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come," thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for is it not a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not seek to promote even unto the uttermost, within the narrow compa.s.s of thine own heart and spirit?

THE DIVINE MASTER.

If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't pray for it. But if you do, you must do more than pray for it; you must work for it.

J. RUSKIN.

September 12

_She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not In the Lord; she drew not near to her G.o.d_.--ZEPH. iii. 2.

Oh! let us not this thought allow; The heat, the dust upon our brow, Signs of the contest, we may wear; Yet thus we shall appear more fair In our Almighty Master's eye, Than if in fear to lose the bloom, Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume, We from the strife should fly.

R. C. TRENCH.

If G.o.d requires anything of us, we have no right to draw back under the pretext that we are liable to commit some fault in obeying. It is better to obey imperfectly than not at all. Perhaps you ought to rebuke some one dependent on you, but you are silent for fear of giving way to vehemence;--or you avoid the society of certain persons, because they make you cross and impatient. How are you to attain self-control, if you shun all occasions of practising it? Is not such self-choosing a greater fault than those into which you fear to fall? Aim at a steady mind to do right, go wherever duty calls you, and believe firmly that G.o.d will forgive the faults that take our weakness by surprise in spite of our sincere desire to please Him.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

September 13

_It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord_.--LAM. iii. 26.

_Truly my soul waiteth upon G.o.d: from Him cometh my salvation_.--PS. lxii.

I.

Not so in haste, my heart; Have faith in G.o.d, and wait; Although He linger long, He never comes too late.

ANON.

The true use to be made of all the imperfections of which you are conscious is neither to justify, nor to condemn them, but to present them before G.o.d, conforming your will to His, and remaining in peace; for peace is the divine order, in whatever state we may be.

FRANcOIS DE LA MOTHE FeNELON.

You will find it less easy to uproot faults, than to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think of your faults; still less of others' faults; in every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong: honor that; rejoice in it; and, as you can, try to imitate it; and your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.

J. RUSKIN.

September 14

_Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not_.--JER. x.x.xiii. 3.

_And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked_.--I KINGS iii.

13.

No voice of prayer to Thee can rise, But swift as light Thy Love replies; Not always what we ask, indeed, But, O most Kind! what most we need.

H. M. KIMBALL.

If you have any trial which seems intolerable, pray,--pray that it be relieved or changed. There is no harm in that. We may pray for anything, not wrong in itself, with perfect freedom, if we do not pray selfishly.

One disabled from duty by sickness may pray for health, that he may do his work; or one hemmed in by internal impediments may pray for utterance, that he may serve better the truth and the right. Or, if we have a besetting sin, we may pray to be delivered from it, in order to serve G.o.d and man, and not be ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But the answer to the prayer may be, as it was to Paul, not the removal of the thorn, but, instead, a growing insight into its meaning and value. The voice of G.o.d in our soul may show us, as we look up to Him, that His strength is enough to enable us to bear it.

J. F. CLARKE.

September 15

_Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with_?--MARK. x. 38.

Whate'er my G.o.d ordains is right; Though I the cup must drink That bitter seems to my faint heart, I will not fear nor shrink.

S. RODIGAST.

The worst part of martyrdom is not the last agonizing moment; it is the wearing, daily steadfastness. Men who can make up their minds to hold out against the torture of an hour have sunk under the weariness and the hara.s.s of small prolonged vexations. And there are many Christians who have the weight of some deep, incommunicable grief pressing, cold as ice, upon their hearts. To bear that cheerfully and manfully is to be a martyr. There is many a Christian bereaved and stricken in the best hopes of life. For such a one to say quietly, "Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt," is to be a martyr. There is many a Christian who feels the irksomeness of the duties of life, and feels his spirit revolting from them. To get up every morning with the firm resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and do them well, and finish the work which G.o.d has given us to do, that is to drink Christ's cup. The humblest occupation has in it materials of discipline for the highest heaven.