Part 93

Trials must and will befall; But with humble faith to see Love inscribed upon them all, This is happiness to me.

W. COWPER.

Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee. It is with the wind and storm of tribulation that God separates the true wheat from the chaff. Always remember, therefore, that God comes to thee in thy sorrows, as really as in thy joys. He lays low, and He builds up. Thou wilt find thyself far from perfection, if thou dost not find God in everything.

M. DE MOLINOS.

God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for His children, could they improve and use it; a calm and firm conviction in all the storms and troubles that are about them, however things go, to find content, and be careful for nothing.

R. LEIGHTON.

December 11

Oh, that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!--I CHRON. iv. 10.

Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread and thy water.--EX. xxiii. 25.

What I possess, or what I crave, Brings no content, great God, to me, If what I would, or what I have, Be not possest, and blest, in Thee; What I enjoy, O make it mine, In making me that have it, Thine.

J. QUARLES.

Offer up to God all pure affections, desires, regrets, and all the bonds which link us to home, kindred, and friends, together with all our works, purposes, and labors. These things, which are not only lawful, but sacred, become then the matter of thanksgiving and oblation. Memories, plans for the future, wishes, intentions; works just begun, half done, all but completed; emotions, sympathies, affections,--all these things throng tumultuously and dangerously in the heart and will. The only way to master them is to offer them up to Him, as once ours, under Him, always His by right.

H. E. MANNING.

December 12

I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.--PS. xl. 8.

A patient, a victorious mind, That life and all things casts behind, Springs forth obedient to Thy call; A heart that no desire can move, But still to adore, believe, and love, Give me, my Lord, my Life, my All.

P. GERHARDT.

That piety which sanctifies us, and which is a true devotion to God, consists in doing all His will precisely at the time, in the situation, and under the circumstances, in which He has placed us. Perfect devotedness requires, not only that we do the will of God, but that we do it with love. God would have us serve Him with delight; it is our hearts that He asks of us.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Devotion is really neither more nor less than a general inclination and readiness to do that which we know to be acceptable to God. It is that "free spirit," of which David spoke when he said, "I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou hast set my heart at liberty." People of ordinary goodness walk in God's way, but the devout run in it, and at length they almost fly therein. To be truly devout, we must not only do God's will, but we must do it cheerfully.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

December 13

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.--PS. xc. 12.

Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.--LUKE xii. 29.

Our days are numbered: let us spare Our anxious hearts a needless care: 'T is Thine to number out our days; 'T is ours to give them to Thy praise.

MADAME GUYON.

Every day let us renew the consecration to God's service; every day let us, in His strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do His will, even in the veriest trifle, and to turn aside from anything that may displease Him. He does not bid us bear the burdens of tomorrow, next week, or next year. Every day we are to come to Him in simple obedience and faith, asking help to keep us, and aid us through that day's work; and to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, through years of long to-morrows, it will be but the same thing to do; leaving the future always in God's hands, sure that He can care for it better than we. Blessed trust! that can thus confidingly say, "This hour is mine with its present duty; the next is God's, and when it comes, His presence will come with it."

W. R. HUNTINCTON.