Part 5 (1/2)

O truth who art Eternity! And Love who art Truth! And Eternity who art Love! Thou art my G.o.d, to Thee do I sigh night and day. When I first knew Thee, Thou liftedst me up, that I might see there was somewhat for me to see, and that I was not yet such as to see. And Thou streaming forth Thy beams of light upon me most strongly, didst beat back the weakness of my sight, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far off from Thee in the region of unlikeness.

ST. AUGUSTINE.

January 28

_O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him_--PS. x.x.xiv. 9.

_Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing_.--PS. cxlv. 16.

What Thou shalt to-day provide, Let me as a child receive; What to-morrow may betide, Calmly to Thy wisdom leave.

'Tis enough that Thou wilt care; Why should I the burden bear?

J. 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 antic.i.p.ated 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, G.o.d, 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 s.h.i.+eld 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. cx.x.xix. 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 G.o.d? 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 G.o.d commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and then let him surrender himself, and follow G.o.d 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 G.o.d do not give him thus to feel His hand in all things, let him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for G.o.d's sake, out of love, and still press forward.