Part 79

C. WESLEY.

If we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome it by good. There are doubtless many ways of overcoming the evil in our own hearts, but the simplest, easiest, most universal, is to overcome it by active occupation in some good word or work. The best antidote against evil of all kinds, against the evil thoughts which haunt the soul, against the needless perplexities which distract the conscience, is to keep hold of the good we have. Impure thoughts will not stand against pure words, and prayers, and deeds. Little doubts will not avail against great certainties. Fix your affections on things above, and then you will be less and less troubled by the cares, the temptations, the troubles of things on earth.

A. P. STANLEY.

October 21

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.--GEN. xvii. I.

Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord.--EX. xxxii. 29.

Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the characteristics of the daily life. A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will; sweetness under provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle; yieldingness to the wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights and affronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear;--all these, and many similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural outward development of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.

H. W. SMITH.

October 22

Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done.--LUKE xxii. 42.

Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will; Give me but this, the heart to be content, And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still, Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent, And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant.

SUSAN COOLIDGE.

Let your will be one with His will, and be glad to be disposed of by Him. He will order all things for you. What can cross your will, when it is one with His will, on which all creation hangs, round which all things revolve? Keep your hearts clear of evil thoughts; for as evil choices estrange the will from His will, so evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide Him from us. Whatever sets us in opposition to Him makes our will an intolerable torment. So long as we will one thing and He another, we go on piercing ourselves through and through with a perpetual wound; and His will advances moving on in sanctity and majesty, crushing ours into the dust.

H. E. MANNING.

October 23

Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.--PS. cxliii. 10.

The battle of our life is won, And heaven begun, When we can say, "Thy will be done!" But, Lord, until These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still, We pray Thee, "Teach us how to do Thy will!"

LUCY LARCOM.

"You are seeking your own will, my daughter. You are seeking some good other than the law you are bound to obey. But how will you find good? It is not a thing of choice; it is a river that flows from the foot of the Invisible Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. I say again, man cannot choose his duties. You may choose to forsake your duties, and choose not to have the sorrow they bring. But you will go forth, and what will you find, my daughter? Sorrow without duty--bitter herbs, and no bread with them."

GEORGE ELIOT.

However dark and profitless, however painful and weary, existence may have become, life is not done, and our Christian character is not won, so long as God has anything left for us to suffer, or anything left for us to do.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

October 24

The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him.--PS. xxviii. 7.

Well may Thy happy children cease From restless wishes, prone to sin, And, in Thy own exceeding peace, Yield to Thy daily discipline.