Part 92

December 7

Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.--JOB xxii. 21.

All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.--ISA. liv. 13.

Unite, my roving thoughts, unite In silence soft and sweet; And thou, my soul, sit gently down At thy great Sovereign's feet.

P. DODDRIDGE.

Yes! blessed are those holy hours in which the soul retires from the world to be alone with God. God's voice, as Himself, is everywhere. Within and without, He speaks to our souls, if we would hear. Only the din of the world, or the tumult of our own hearts, deafens our inward ear to it. Learn to commune with Him in stillness, and He, whom thou hast sought in stillness, will be with thee when thou goest abroad.

E. B. PUSEY.

The great step and direct path to the fear and awful reverence of God, is to meditate, and with a sedate and silent hush to turn the eyes of the mind inwards; there to seek, and with a submissive spirit wait at the gates of Wisdom's temple; and then the Divine Voice and Distinguishing Power will arise in the light and centre of a man's self.

THOMAS TRYON.

December 8

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings.--EPH. i. 3.

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing.--2 COR. vi. 10.

It is not happiness I seek, Its name I hardly dare to speak; It is not made for man or earth, And Heaven alone can give it birth.

There is a something sweet and pure, Through life, through death it may endure; With steady foot I onward press, And long to win that Blessedness.

LOUISA J. HALL.

The elements of happiness in this present life no man can command, even if he could command himself, for they depend on the action of many wills, on the purity of many hearts, and by the highest law of God the holiest must ever bear the sins and sorrows of the rest; but over the blessedness of his own spirit circumstance need have no control; God has therein given an unlimited power to the means of preservation, of grace and growth, at every man's command.

J. H. THOM.

There is in man a higher than love of happiness: he can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness!

T. CARLYLE.

December 9

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.--PS. xxxii. 6.

Be not o'ermastered by thy pain, But cling to God, thou shall not fall; The floods sweep over thee in vain, Thou yet shall rise above them all; For when thy trial seems too hard to bear, Lo! God, thy King, hath granted all thy prayer: Be thou content.

P. GERHARDT.

It is the Lord's mercy, to give thee breathings after life, and cries unto Him against that which oppresseth thee; and happy wilt thou be, when He shall fill thy soul with that which He hath given thee to breathe after. Be not troubled; for if troubles abound, and there be tossing, and storms, and tempests, and no peace, nor anything visible left to support; yet, lie still, and sink beneath, till a secret hope stir, which will stay the heart in the midst of all these; until the Lord administer comfort, who knows how and what relief to give to the weary traveller, that knows not where it is, nor which way to look, nor where to expect a path.

I. PENINGTON.

December 10

Behold, we count them happy which endure.--JAMES v. 11.

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.--HEB. xii. 7.