Chapter C: Wesley

Sin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure from goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with whom the happiness, and blessedness, and heaven of a soul doth consist. Avoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable.

SAMUEL SHAW.

"I could n't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God."

GEORGE ELIOT.

Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.

JOHN WESLEY.

October 15

_Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me_.--PS. xl. 12, 13.

_Sin shall not have dominion over you_.--ROM. vi. 14.

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight
The darkness shineth as the light!
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;
Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!

G. TERSTEEGEN.

Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart to morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of friendliness,--this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for me so long,--this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I at last shall say, "My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force."

W. C. GANNETT.

October 16

_I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant_.--GEN. xxxii. 10.

Some murmur if their sky is clear,
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue:
And some with thankful love are filled,
If but one streak of light,
One ray of God's good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.

R. C. TRENCH.

Habitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the Divine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest cheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy, their blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them fresh and brilliant as the first day's morning and evening light to the dwellers in Paradise. With the happy it is their constant peace that seems to come by nature, and to be blunted by its commonness,--and their griefs to come from God, sharpened by their sacred origin; with the sufferer, it is his pain that appears to be a thing of course, and to require no explanation, while his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as a breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.

J. MARTINEAU.

October 17

_Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice_.--I SAM. XV. 22.

_Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day_--EX. xiv. 13.

The folded hands seem idle:
If folded at His word,
'Tis a holy service, trust me,
In obedience to the Lord.

ANNA SHIPTON.

It is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see our duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.

FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON.

Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, as to a living person whose will is to be its law, whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of living before the face of God, and not the simply doing certain things.

J. B. BROWN.

October 18

_Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven_.--MATT. v. 20.

The freedom from all wilful sin,
The Christian's daily task,--
Oh these are graces far below
What longing love would ask!
Dole not thy duties out to God.

F. W. FABER.

You perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the Gospel, and therefore you are content with your failings. But this is saying nothing to the purpose: for the question is not whether Gospel perfection can be fully attained, but whether you come as near it as a sincere intention and careful diligence can carry you. Whether you are not in a much lower state than you might be if you sincerely intended and carefully labored to advance yourself in all Christian virtues.

WM. LAW.

We know not exactly how low the least degree of obedience is, which will bring a man to heaven; but this we are quite sure of, that he who aims no higher will be sure to fall short even of that, and that he who goes farthest beyond it will be most blessed.

JOHN KEBLE.

October 19

_Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go_.--ISA. xlviii. 17.

I seek Thy aid, I ask direction,
Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee;
I can bear toil, endure affliction,
Only Thy leadings let me see.

ANON.

Of all paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a _best path_ for every man; a thing which, here and now, it were of all things _wisest_ for him to do; which could he but be led or driven to do, he were then doing "like a man," as we phrase it. His success, in such case, were complete, his felicity a maximum. This path, to find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.

T. CARLYLE.

Every man has his own vocation. There is one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.

R. W. EMERSON.

October 20

_Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good_.--ROM. xii. 21.

Come, in this accepted hour;
Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in;
Fill us with Thy glorious power,
Rooting out the seeds of sin.