Part 70

September 17

Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.--MARK x. 43-45.

A child's kiss Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad; A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich; A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strong; Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense Of service which thou renderest.

E. B. BROWNING.

Let every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and cares, and his sins too, as it were, on the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy in this lofty inward work, were called by some duty in the Providence of God to cease therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick person, or any other such service, he should do so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake such work, and go out to preach or aught else, I should go cheerfully, believing not only that God would be with me, but that he would vouchsafe me it may be even greater grace and blessing in that external work undertaken out of true love in the service of my neighbor, than I should perhaps receive in my season of loftiest contemplation.

JOHN TAULER.

September 18

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.--PS. xxv. 10.

Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth, Speak peace to my anxious soul, And help me to feel that all my ways Are under Thy wise control; That He who cares for the lily, And heeds the sparrows' fall, Shall tenderly lead His loving child: For He made and loveth all.

ANON.

It is not by seeking more fertile regions where toil is lighter--happier circumstances free from difficult complications and troublesome people--but by bringing the high courage of a devout soul, clear in principle and aim, to bear upon what is given to us, that we brighten our inward light, lead something of a true life, and introduce the kingdom of heaven into the midst of our earthly day. If we cannot work out the will of God where God has placed us, then why has He placed us there?

J. H. THOM.

September 19

Pray for us unto the Lord thy God... that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.--JER. xlii. 2, 3.

That which I see not, teach Thou me.--JOB xxxiv. 32.

O father, hear! The way is dark, and I would fain discern What steps to take, into which path to turn; Oh! make it clear.

CHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.

"We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we can't tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will renounce that, for the sake of obeying the Divine voice within us,--for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped away from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life."

GEORGE ELIOT.

There was a care on my mind so to pass my time, that nothing might hinder me from the most steady attention to the voice of the true Shepherd.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

September 20

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.--PS. xxxi. 20.

The praying spirit breathe, The watching power impart, From all entanglements beneath Call off my anxious heart. My feeble mind sustain, By worldly thoughts oppressed; Appear, and bid me turn again To my eternal rest.

C. WESLEY.

As soon as we are with God in faith and in love, we are in prayer.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

If you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry or flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple common-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish.