Part 64

C. WESLEY.

When therefore the smallest instinct or desire of thy heart calleth thee towards God, and a newness of life, give it time and leave to speak; and take care thou refuse not Him that speaketh. Be retired, silent, passive, and humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee.

WM. LAW.

It is hardly to be wondered at that he should lose the finer consciousness of higher powers and deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself wrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in the streets of life, that, penetrating too deep into the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent and lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, far apart. He had no time to think or feel.

G. MACDONALD.

August 26

Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord.--ZECH. ii. 13.

Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn; Let noise and vanity be gone: In secret silence of the mind, My heaven, and there my God, I find.

I. WATTS.

It is only with the pious affection of the will that we can be spiritually attentive to God. As long as the noisy restlessness of the thoughts goes on, the gentle and holy desires of the new nature are overpowered and inactive.

J. P. GREAVES.

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us wellnigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.

F. W. FABER.

The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and quiet view of divine, eternal truth. The soul rests quiet, perceiving and loving God; sweetly rejecting all the imaginations that present themselves, calming the mind in the Divine presence, and fixing it only on God.

M. DE MOLINOS.

August 27

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it.--PHIL. i. 6.

He that endureth to the end shall be saved.--MATT. x. 22.

Fill with inviolable peace; Stablish and keep my settled heart; In Thee may all my wanderings cease, From Thee no more may I depart: Thy utmost goodness called to prove, Loved with an everlasting love!

C. WESLEY.

If any sincere Christian cast himself with his whole will upon the Divine Presence which dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the end. What is it that makes us unable to persevere? Is it want of strength? By no means. We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. When did we ever set ourselves sincerely to any work according to the will of God, and fail for want of strength? It was not that strength failed the will, but that the will failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine will with the whole love of ours; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we should be borne along as upon "the river of the water of life." We open only certain chambers of our will to the influence of the Divine will. We are afraid of being wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if we would have peace, we must be altogether united to Him.

H. E. MANNING.

August 28

They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.--PS. ix. 10.

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good.--PS. lxxxv. 12.

In Thee I place my trust, On Thee I calmly rest; I know Thee good, I know Thee just, And count Thy choice the best.

H. F. LYTE.

The souls that would really be richer in duty in some new position, are precisely those who borrow no excuses from the old one; who even esteem it full of privileges, plenteous in occasions of good, frequent in divine appeals, which they chide their graceless and unloving temper for not heeding more. Wretched and barren is the discontent that quarrels with its tools instead of with its skill; and, by criticising Providence, manages to keep up complacency with self. How gentle should we be, if we were not provoked; how pious, if we were not busy; the sick would be patient, only he is not in health; the obscure would do great things, only he is not conspicuous!