Chapter L: Ward Brigham

January 19

_God has put the keys to His kingdom into your own hands. Your
intelligence is a key, your affection is a key, your conscience is
a key. With these keys you are to unlock the great doors of life,
and gain access to its heavenly treasures._

JAMES M. PULLMAN.

Master of life, as Thou hast opened our eyes to see the sun, open the eyes of our hearts to see the splendor of Thy law. And even as Thou dost bring to birth, through the marriage of our eye and the sun, all the beauty of this visible world, so through the union between our hearts and Thy holy will, create a world rejoicing in the beauty of truth and justice and peace. Lead us this day deeper into the mystery of Thy life and our life and make us interpreters of life to our fellows, through Him who by His death opened for us the book of life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HENRY S. NASH.

January 20

_A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark'd how on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them._

_And you, O my soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to
connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer threads you fling catch somewhere O my soul._

WALT WHITMAN.

Thou Infinite Spirit, we are glad of all human relationships. We are thankful for all companionship with nature. We rejoice in the fellowship with books, yet like the child who grows tired with every plaything and every childish task and lonely for a mother's love, we look to Thee with an infinite longing. In our effort to solve the problems of life, we throw our web of life hither and thither, but it will not hold. Only when at last we have thrown the thread of faith to Thee, shall the ductile anchor hold. Our Heavenly Father, as we go forth into this day, may we not leave Thee for any dream or phantom, but may we walk with Thee all day long, and find in Thee the answer to every longing and the solution of every problem. Though we may not see, we may trust and wait. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

January 21

_Do not think of your faults, still less of others' faults; in
every person who comes near you, look for what is good and strong;
honor that; rejoice in it; and as you can, try to imitate it; and
your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes._

RUSKIN.

_With a clear sky, a bright sun, and a gentle breeze, you will have
friends in plenty; but let fortune frown, and the firmament be
overcast, and then your friends will prove like the strings of the
lute, of which you will tighten ten before you find one that will
bear the stretch and keep the pitch._

GOTTHOLD.

Dear Father, may the new day bring some fresh and inspiring thought of Thyself. May it give some tender communion with the universe, kindling into beauty as Thy smile shines through. May we make and keep a few dear friends. May some good book enrich the passing hours. May love flow through all acts, and the star of hope shine in all shadows. And trusting Thee supremely, may we humbly do our best that good may abound on earth. Amen.

JOSEPH H. CROOKER.

January 22

_The power of mere activity is often overrated. It is not what the
best men do, but what they are, that constitutes their truest
benefaction to their fellowmen. The things that men do get their
value, after all, from the way in which they are able to show the
existence of character which can comfort and help mankind.... It is
the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm
light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and
out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage._

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

Thou knowest, dear Father, how often we wish to do many things which are beyond our power. Help us to believe that Thou dost accept the wish when we cannot do the deed. But we thank Thee that we can do some things, though they are not large nor many. We know that as we grow in faith, in patience, in courage, in love, we radiate light and peace and power to those who are around us. As we begin a new day, we are uplifted by the thought that we have been called into being because Thou desirest the love of children, and because we are to co-work with Thee by loving and serving all whom we can reach. Always, we believe, art Thou ready to help us. Always art Thou brooding over us to draw us nearer to Thee, and to give us light and strength to be fellow-workers with Thee. In this new day, may we speak some word and do some work which shall please Thee and give us joy as we shall lie down to sleep. Amen.

HENRY BLANCHARD.

January 23

_We pride ourselves, in weighing worth and merit,
Too much in virtues that we but inherit.
Some punctual grandsire makes us hate delay
And we are proud to keep our oath and day.
But our ancestral follies and abuses
We still indulge in, and make for them excuses.
Let him be proud, dared man be proud at all,
Who stands where all his fathers used to fall,
Holding their virtues fast and passing on
Still higher good through his own victories won._

ISAAC OGDEN RANKIN.

This morning, the sun shines by his own inherent worth. The clouds often intercept his influence but he shines back of them and finds a way through the slightest cleft to tip them with glory. He always reveals himself--his inner self--and makes all purer and more beautiful. May we so shine! The world needs the divinity there is in us. We are a part of Thee. Thou art our deeper self. The Nazarean prophet relied entirely upon his inner life and found ancient good uncouth. Whatever clouds intercept our influence, teach us to reveal what conscience dictates, what intuition illumines, what reason shows, to purify our time, and all unrighteousness, wrong thinking and useless and hurtful custom. To this end, give us purity, courage, and nobility. Amen.

WILLIAM S. MORGAN.

January 24

_My faith begins where your religion ends,--
In service to mankind. This single thread
Is given to guide us through the maze of life.
You start at one end, I the other; you,
With eyes fixed only upon God, begin
With lofty faith, and, seeking but to know
And do His will who guides the universe,
You find the slender and mysterious thread
Leads down to earth, with God's divine command
To help your fellowmen; but this to me
Is something strangely vague. I see alone
The fellowmen, the suffering fellowmen.
Yet, with a cup of water in my hand
For all who thirst, who knows but I one day,
Following faithfully the slender thread,
May reach its other end, and kneel at last
With you in heaven at the feet of God?_

ALICE WELLINGTON ROLLINS.

Our Father in heaven, author of life and light, justice and mercy, liberty and love, we hail with joy and gratitude this new born day, token of Thy presence, good will and continued care. Help us with high ideals, pure thoughts and noble endeavors to hallow Thy name, trusting where we cannot prove, proving where we cannot trust, by a willing service to our fellowmen, ever advancing by faith, by works, with a strong heart, a firm step, a generous hand, a sunny smile, and a cheering voice, until we all come into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

HENRY N. COUDEN.

January 25

_If you would have sunlight in your home, see that you have work in
it: that you work yourself and set others to work. Nothing makes
moroseness and heavy-heartedness in a house so fast as idleness.
The very children gloom and sulk if they are left with nothing to
do. Every day there is the light of something conquered in the eyes
of those who work. In such a house, if there be also the good
temper of love, sunshine never ceases. For in it the great law of
humanity is obeyed, a law which is also God's law. For what said
Christ, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work." Sunlight comes
with work._

STOPFORD A. BROOKE.

O Thou, who art the source of light and life, we pause in Thy presence at the opening of the day, that in the light of thy countenance we may see ourselves as we are and as we ought to be, and receive the inspiration to consecrated effort and worthy achievement. We thank Thee that Thou hast done so much for us and yet left so much for us to do. May we think how important are these lives we are going to live today; that no matter how small we are, this universe in all its majesty can never be complete without our effort, and Thou, Almighty God, art waiting with infinite patience for us to do our part. Thus shall our work, however humble, be glorified by a Godlike temper and a Christlike faith. Amen.

FREDERICK A. BISBEE.

January 26

_All that is, at all,
Lasts ever, past recall:
Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure;
What entered into thee,
That was, is and shall be._

* * * * *

_He fixed thee 'mid this dance
Of plastic circumstance,
This Present, thou, forsooth, wouldst fain arrest;
Machinery just meant
To give thy soul its bent,
Try thee, and turn thee forth, sufficiently impressed._

ROBERT BROWNING.

We thank Thee, O Father, for the yet unwrought possibilities of this day. Show us Thy purpose; or, if it please Thee, withhold the entire plan, yet may our faith claim a divine sanction for each hour's work as a part of the fulfilment of Thy purpose. We pray for strength and patience to have our souls rightly impressed by the cares, the joys, and disappointments of life. Make the things of the body only incidental to us. Save us from all but the best things. Give us the happiness of harmony with Thee. Wilt Thou grant these things through the power of Thy spirit, and in the name of Thy perfect Son, the vision of whom transforms our lives. Amen.

GEORGE W. OWEN.

January 27

_Beloved, let us love so well,
Our work shall still be better for our love
And still our love be sweeter for our work._

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

_If your name is to live at all, it is so much more to have it live
in people's hearts than only in their brains! I don't know that
one's eyes fill with tears when he thinks of the famous inventor of
logarithms, but a song of Burns or a hymn of Charles Wesley goes
straight to your heart and you can't help loving both of them, the
sinner as well as the saint._

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

Our Father, who art in heaven, help us to hold Thee in our hearts this day, that we may live for Thee, from the love of Thee. Forgive us that we have not always a thankful spirit. Strengthen our wills to do good work, as in Thy sight, with clean hands and heart. Help us now as we pray, and flood the morning with the sunshine of Thy face, that we may be glad all the day long, and bring other lives into the brightness of Thy light. Save us from a partial mind, that we may love all Thy little ones with the same love of Him who said "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Amen.