LITMIR.BIZ

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NEWTON.

      Have we found that anxiety about possible consequences increased the clearness of our judgment, made us wiser and braver in meeting the present, and arming ourselves for the future? If we had prayed for this day's bread, and left the next to itself, if we had not huddled our days together, not allotting to each its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the future, and drawing upon the future for its own troubles, which must be met when they come whether we have anticipated them or not, we should have found a simplicity and honesty in our lives, a capacity for work, an enjoyment in it, to which we are now, for the most part, strangers.

      F. D. MAURICE.

      January 29

      I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.—ISA. xli. 13.

      Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee.—PS. xvii. 7.

      Take Thy hand, and fears grow still;

       Behold Thy face, and doubts remove;

       Who would not yield his wavering will

       To perfect Truth and boundless Love?

      S. JOHNSON.

      Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto—do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen to-morrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day, will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

      ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

      January 30

      If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.—PS. cxxxix. 9, 10.

      I cannot lose Thee! Still in Thee abiding,

       The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam;

       The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding,

       And I must rest at last in Thee, my home.

      E. SCUDDER.

      How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful looking at home, and abiding; within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own heart, and cease from his restless chase of and search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he will surely come to see what there is to do at home—what God commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel His hand in all things, let him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for God's sake, out of love, and still press forward.

      J. TAULER.

      January 31

      In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.—PROV. iii. 6.

      He leadeth me.—PS. xxiii. 2.

      In "pastures green"? Not always; sometimes He

       Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me

       In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.

      So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair

       I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where

       The shadows lie, what matter? He is there.

      HENRY H. BARRY.

      The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not question nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still waters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have all their blessed influences upon you.

      H. W. SMITH.

      February 1

      Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus.—ROM. xv. 5.

      Let patience have her perfect work.—JAMES i. 4.

      Make me patient, kind, and gentle,

       Day by day;

       Teach me how to live more nearly

       As I pray.

      SHARPE'S MAGAZINE.

      The exercise of patience involves a continual practice of the presence of God; for we may be come upon at any moment for an almost heroic display of good temper, and it is a short road to unselfishness, for nothing is left to self; all that seems to belong most intimately to self, to be self's private property, such as time, home, and rest, are invaded by these continual trials of patience. The family is full of such opportunities.

      F. W. FABER.

      Only as we know what it is to cherish love when sore at some unkindness, to overmaster ourselves when under provocation, to preserve gentleness during trial and unmerited wrong—only then can we know in any degree the "manner of spirit" that was in Christ.

      T. T. CARTER.

      February 2

      Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.—I THESS. v. 14.

      The little worries which we meet each day

       May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way,

       Or we may make them stepping-stones to be

       Of grace, O Lord, to Thee.

      A. E. HAMILITON.

      We must be continually sacrificing our own wills, as opportunity serves, to the will of others; bearing, without notice, sights and sounds that annoy us; setting about this or that task, when we had far rather be doing something very different; persevering in it, often, when we are thoroughly tired of it; keeping company for duty's sake, when it would be a great joy to us to be by ourselves; besides all the trifling untoward accidents of life; bodily pain and weakness long continued, and perplexing us often when it does not amount to illness; losing what we value, missing what we desire; disappointment in other persons, wilfulness, unkindness, ingratitude, folly, in cases where we least expect it.

      J. KEBLE.

      February 3

      Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.—PS. cxxxix. 23, 24.

      Save us from the evil tongue,

       From the heart that thinketh wrong,

       From the sins, whate'er they be,

       That divide the soul from Thee.

      ANON.

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