Part 61

ALBERT E. EVANS.

The soul loses command of itself when it is impatient. Whereas, when it submits without a murmur it possesses itself in peace, and possesses God. To be impatient, is to desire what we have not, or not to desire what we have. When we acquiesce in an evil, it is no longer such. Why make a real calamity of it by resistance? Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul. We may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence even in disagreeable things, not in an exemption from bearing them.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

The chief pang of most trials is not so much the actual suffering itself, as our own spirit of resistance to it.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

August 14

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.--PS. cxxi. 1.

My grace is sufficient for thee.--2 COR. xii. 9.

I look to Thee in every need, And never look in vain; I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love, And all is well again: The thought of Thee is mightier far Than sin and pain and sorrow are.

S. LONGFELLOW.

How can you live sweetly amid the vexatious things, the irritating things, the multitude of little worries and frets, which lie all along your way, and which you cannot evade? You cannot at present change your surroundings. Whatever kind of life you are to live, must be lived amid precisely the experiences in which you are now moving. Here you must win your victories or suffer your defeats. No restlessness or discontent can change your lot. Others may have other circumstances surrounding them, but here are yours. You had better make up your mind to accept what you cannot alter. You can live a beautiful life in the midst of your present circumstances.

J. R. MILLER.

Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, independent of circumstances.

J. P. GREAVES.

August 15

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.--2 TIM. i. 7.

We cast behind fear, sin, and death; With Thee we seek the things above; Our inmost souls Thy spirit breathe, Of power, of calmness, and of love.

HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.

I must conclude with a more delightful subject,--my most dear and blessed sister. I never saw a more perfect instance of the spirit of power and of love, and of a sound mind; intense love, almost to the annihilation of selfishness--a daily martyrdom for twenty years, during which she adhered to her early-formed resolution of never talking about herself; thoughtful about the very pins and ribands of my wife's dress, about the making of a doll's cap for a child,--but of herself, save only as regarded her ripening in all goodness, wholly thoughtless; enjoying everything lovely, graceful, beautiful, high-minded, whether in God's works or man's, with the keenest relish; inheriting the earth to the very fulness of the promise, though never leaving her crib, nor changing her posture; and preserved through the very valley of the shadow of death, from all fear or impatience, or from every cloud of impaired reason, which might mar the beauty of Christ's spirit's glorious work.

THOMAS ARNOLD.

August 16

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.--GAL. vi. 7.

The life above, when this is past, Is the ripe fruit of life below.

Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure; Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright; Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, And find a harvest-home of light.

H. BONAR.

The dispositions, affections, inclinations of soul, which shall issue hereafter in perfection, must be trained and nurtured in us throughout the whole course of this earthly life. When shall we bear in mind this plain truth, that the future perfection of the saints is not a translation from one state or disposition of soul into another, diverse from the former; but the carrying out, and, as it were, the blossom and the fruitage of one and the same principle of spiritual life, which, through their whole career on earth, has been growing with an even strength, putting itself forth in the beginnings and promise of perfection, reaching upward with steadfast aspirations after perfect holiness?

H. E. MANNING.

August 17