Chapter M: De Molinos

July 16

_Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee_.--PS. xxxi. 19.

_I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me_.--PS. xiii. 6.

Thy calmness bends serene above
My restlessness to still;
Around me flows Thy quickening life,
To nerve my faltering will;
Thy presence fills my solitude;
Thy providence turns all to good.

S. LONGFELLOW.

With a heart devoted to God and full of God, no longer seek Him in the heavens above or the earth beneath, or in the things under the earth, but recognize Him as the great fact of the universe, separate from no place or part, but revealed in all places and in all things and events, _moment by moment_. And as eternity alone will exhaust this momentary revelation, which has sometimes been called the ETERNAL Now, thou shalt thus find God ever present and ever new; and thy soul shall adore Him and feed upon Him in the things and events which each new moment brings; and thou shalt never be absent from Him, and He shall never be absent from thee.

T. C. UPHAM.

July 17

_For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us_.--ROM. viii. 18.

_The power of an endless life_.--HEB. vii. 16.

Believ'st thou in eternal things?
Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart,
Thou art not clay; thy soul hath wings,
And what thou seest is but part.
Make this thy med'cine for the smart
Of every day's distress; be dumb,
In each new loss thou truly art
Tasting the power of things that come.

T. W. Parsons.

Every contradiction of our will, every little ailment, every petty disappointment, will, if we take it patiently, become a blessing. So, walking on earth, we may be in heaven; the ill-tempers of others, the slights and rudenesses of the world, ill-health, the daily accidents with which God has mercifully strewed our paths, instead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts abundantly.

E. B. PUSEY.

July 18

_A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another_.--JOHN xiii. 34.

_And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love, one toward another, and toward all men_.--I THESS. iii. 12.

Let love through all my conduct shine,
An image fair, though faint, of Thine;
Thus let me His disciple prove,
Who came to manifest Thy love.

Simon Browne.

We should arrive at a fulness of love extending to the whole creation, a desire to impart, to pour out in full and copious streams the love and goodness we bear to all around us.

J. P. GREAVES.

Goodness and love mould the form into their own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love to shine forth from every part of the face. When this form of love is seen, it appears ineffably beautiful, and affects with delight the inmost life of the soul.

E. SWEDENBORG.

The soul within had so often lighted up her countenance with its own full happiness and joy, that something of a permanent radiance remained upon it.

SARAH W. STEPHEN.

July 19

_The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works_.--PS. cxlv. 9.

_For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills_.--PS. 1. 10.

Maker of earth and sea and sky,
Creation's sovereign Lord and King,
Who hung the starry worlds on high,
And formed alike the sparrow's wing;
Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care,
And listen to their voiceless prayer.

ANON.

I believe where the love of God is verily perfected, and the true spirit of government watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards all creatures made subject to us will be experienced; and a care felt in us, that we do not lessen that sweetness of life in the animal creation, which the great Creator intends for them under our government. To say we love God as unseen, and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life, or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in itself.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it.

ROWLAND HILL.

July 20

_Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain_.--ISA. xlix. 4.

Because I spent the strength Thou gavest me
In struggle which Thou never didst ordain,
And have but dregs of life to offer Thee--
O Lord, I do repent.

SARAH WILLIAMS.

Mind, it is our best work that He wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I think He must prefer quality to quantity.

GEORGE MACDONALD.

If the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be. You have your natural limit of power as much as an engine,--ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain kind of handling.

GEORGE S. MERRIAM.

In your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace. It is not a good plan to be in haste to perform any action that it may be the sooner over. On the contrary, you should accustom yourself to do whatever you have to do with tranquillity, in order that you may retain the possession of yourself and of settled peace.

MADAME GUYON.

July 21

_For which cause we faint not; but, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day_.--2 COR. iv. 16.

Let my soul beneath her load
Faint not through the o'erwearied flesh;
Let me hourly drink afresh
Love and peace from Thee, my God!